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May 31 — Visitation of Mary and Elizabeth
SERVICE OF LIGHT
Greeting/Invocation
We light the Evening Candle and say or sing:
Light and Peace in Jesus Christ our Love!
~Thanks be to God!
Stay with us, O Christ, for it is evening,
~And the day is almost over.
HYMN FOR THE VISITATION
All may sing or alternate the verses of any Morning Hymn .
Lady of the Visitation, Daughter of a Royal Name,
Where so quickly do you hasten, Glowing with the Spirit’s Flame?
Christ it is you bear within you; Love it is that leads you on
To attend your holy cousin At the birth of her son, John.
See, Elizabeth in greeting Comes to meet you with the word:
“Blest are you among all women!” God has called and you have heard.
“Blessed is the fruit of your womb;” So your cousin claims her Lord,
Him who lies within your body, Word Eternal, Christ adored.
Honor, glory, praise and power Be to Christ the Virgin’s Son,
With the Abba and the Spirit, While eternal ages run. Amen.
Text: Jean-Baptiste de Santeuil (1671), alt. ; Tune: 87.87
PSALMODY
Antiphon
Blessed is she who has believed,
for what Adonai has promised her will be fulfilled.
Psalm 112/113
Servants of God, sing praise,
praise God’s holy Name.
Bless the Name of the Holy One,
both now and forever.
From the rising of the sun to its setting
praised be the Holy Name.
Adonai towers above the nations;
God’s glory shines over the heavens.
Who compares to the Holy One?
Who is enthroned so high,
yet stoops from the heights to look down,
to observe both heaven and Earth?
Love lifts the humble from the dust
And raises the poor from the mire
To be seated with leaders of the people,
and to wear a crown of joy;
The childless, no longer alone,
Rejoice in many children.
Glory to the ONE and to the WORD
And to the BREATH of Love;
as always before,
so now and evermore. Amen.
Blessed is she who has believed,
for what Adonai has promised her will be fulfilled.
Reading 1 Peter 5:5b-7
In your relations with one another clothe yourselves with humility, God “is stern with the arrogant but shows kindness to the humble.” Bow humbly under God’s strong-yet-gentle arm, so that in due time you may be lifted high. Cast all your care on the One who cares for you.
Silent Prayer
Responsory
R. Glorify Adonai with me: *for the Love of our God for me has been great.
V. From this day forward all generations will count me blessed.
*for the Love of our God for me has been great.
V. Glory to the Abba and the Word and to the Holy Breath of Love.
Canticle of Mary– Luke 1:46-55
Antiphon
How can this be that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
Blessed are you for believing that what God has promised will be fulfilled!
It is customary to make the sign of the cross at the beginning of the Gospel Canticle.
My heart + is radiant with the Lord,
My whole being delights in God my Savior.
All people now will call me blessed
For God has loved this humble handmaid.
The Almighty has shown me great favor
Holy is the NAME,
Whose mercy embraces the faithful,
From one generation to the next.
The mighty arm of God,
Scatters the proud in their own conceit,
Pulls tyrants from their thrones
While lifting up the lowly:
Fills the famished with bounty,
And reveals the emptiness of riches.
Rescues lowly Israel,
Sharing such loving kindness,
As promised to our ancestors
To Abraham and Sarah, and their descendants forever.
Glory to the ONE and to WORD
And to the BREATH of Love!
As always before,
so now and evermore. Amen
How can this be that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
Blessed are you for believing that what God has promised will be fulfilled!
SERVICE OF PRAYER
Litany of Intercession
You filled Elizabeth with the Holy Spirit and she acclaimed the Presence of your Word;
~ may your Spirit open our eyes and our hearts to know Christ present in our world today.
You blessed Mary among all women, and bless all creation through the Fruit of her womb;
~ may we contemplate your Word in our hearts and share with other the fruit of our contemplation.
You scatter the haughty, dethrone the mighty, and raise those who have no status or prestige; free us from arrogance and greed to join you in filling the hungry with good things.
Prayer of Jesus
Our Dear Abba …
Gracious God, you showed great favor to Mary of Nazareth and asked her to bring your eternal Word into the world. May we follow her example and carry your liberating word into a world that still longs for the poor to be lifted up, and the hungry to be filled with good things. May all who have celebrated this feast of her visit to Elizabeth work together for the freedom and flourishing of all people and the whole of creation. We ask this through Jesus, the Incarnate Word, who lives and loves with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen
Blessing
May the Word of God, born of Mary of Nazareth,
+ bless us with her courage and strength.
~Amen.
Let us bless Adonai.
~Thanks be to God.
Those who wish may end evening prayer with the Marian Antiphon.
Marian Antiphon
Salve Regina, Mater misericordiae, Vita dulcedo et Spes nostra, Salve! Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Evae; ad te suspiramus gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum vale. Eia, ergo, Advocata nostra, illos tuos, misericordes oculos ad nos converte. Et Jesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis post hoc exilium ostende. O Clemens, O Pia, O Dulcis Virgo: Maria!