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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 Christ, for it is evening,

~And the day is almost over.

WEDNESDAY EVENING HYMN 

There was no sun to rule the day,

no moon to roam the night until

our God flung forth the nebulae,

the  planets, suns and stars at will.

 

With these God made the greater light

to dawn and blaze upon our day;

a lesser lamp illumined night

and marked each month along its way.

 

Thus time, the seasons and the years

began their endless ordered round;

the moon called forth the festivals

on which God’s praises would resound.

 

And so it was and it was good!

Companions, friends, the stars would be:

bright beacons in the cosmic night,

sure bearings both on land and sea.

 

Thus evening came and morning came.

The fourth day saw our day-star, sun,

bright symbol of undying light,

undimmed when day and night are done.  Amen.

Text: Aelred-Seton Shanley; Tune: Plainsong

SERVICE OF THE WORD

PSALMODY

 Antiphon

The Sun of Righteousness will arise with healing in his wings.

St. Francis’ Canticle of Creation

Most High, Almighty God,

Good and Holy One!

All praise, glory, and honor

and exaltation are yours!

To you alone do they belong,

And no mere mortal dares pronounce your Name.

We praise you O Loving God! 

 

Praise to you, O Adonai our God,

for all your creatures:

first for our dear Brother Sun,

who gives us the day and illumines us with his light;

fair is he, in splendor radiant,

bearing your very likeness, O Holy One!

We praise you O Loving God! 

 

For our Sister Moon,

and for bright shining stars:

We praise you O Loving God! 

 

For our Brother Wind,

for fair and stormy seasons

and all of heaven’s varied moods,

by which you nourish all that you have made.

We praise you O Loving God! 

 

For our Sister Water,

so useful, and lowly,

so precious and pure.

We praise you O Loving God! 

 

For our Brother Fire,

who brightens up our darkest nights:

beautiful is he and eager,

invincible and keen:

We praise you O Loving God! 

The Sun of Righteousness will arise with healing in his wings.

Reading   1 JOHN 2:3-6

The way we may be sure that we know Christ is to keep his commandments.
Those who say, “I know him,”  but do not keep his commandments
are liars, and the truth is not in them.

But whoever keep the word of Jesus, the love of God is truly perfected in them.
This is the way we may know that we are in union with Christ: those who claim to abide in him ought to live just as he lived.

Responsory

R. I will give you glory, * O God my God.

V. I will bless your Name forever: *O God my God.

V. Glory to the ONE, to the WORD, and to the Holy BREATH of Life.

Gospel Canticle of Mary

Antiphon

 The Human One did not come to be served but to serve

and to give his life as a ransom for many.

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

 The Human One did not come to be served but to serve

and to give his life as a ransom for many.

SERVICE OF PRAYER

Litany of Intercession

For astronomers, cosmologists, and all who explore the depths of space and the mysteries and wonder of the universe,

~God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

For all whose lives and work are intimately connected to the time of day and the seasons of the years, especially those affected most by global warming and climate change,

~God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

For all who are forced by poverty or war to live under the open sky, burned by the sun

during the day or freezing under the stars each night,

~God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

For all who are deprived by modern lifestyles and preferences from experiencing the natural beauty and rhythms of day and night, seasons and celebrations that acknowledge our home and role in the universe,

~God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

Every atom in our bodies was forged in the fiery belly of a star who lived, died and gave itself back to the universe: may we learn this Wisdom of God, manifest in the stars and in Jesus of Nazareth, and live and die in harmony with everything else going on in the universe. ~God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Prayer of Jesus

Our Father …

Closing Prayer & Blessing

God of the Starry Universe, as we celebrate  the  fourth day of the week, we praise and thank you for the wisdom and splendor of each shimmering star; the heat and life-giving energy of our Sun, the serene beauty and mystery of our Moon, and the reliable rhythms of days, weeks, months, seasons and years.  May every person on earth be entranced by each sunset, amazed by each constellation, astonished by each season, and filled with gratitude that your universe in its infinite variety has invited each of us to be an integral part of such splendor, for your love is the power that has created all things, sustains all things, and frees all things to join you in building the future now and forever.  Amen.

 

May the God of the Cosmos +   bless us with reverence, wonder and awe .   Amen.

 

Let us bless Adonai!    ~And give thanks to God.

Those who wish may end evening prayer with the Salve Regina

Marian Antiphon

Mother of Mercy, Our Queen we greet you. Our life, our hope, our happiness we hail you. We call to you as Eve’s own children, and exiles.  To you we lift our hearts in sorrow and fear,  in this valley of tears.  Turn then, our loving Advocate, and look with favor upon us.  And after our life in exile, show us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus.  O gracious, O loving, O Virgin benign, our Mother Mary.

 

Pray for us, Holy Mother of God

~ That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

 

Let us pray.  Holy, Mighty and Immortal God, through the working of the Holy Spirit, you prepared the body and soul of the glorious virgin Mother Mary, as a worthy dwelling for your Word; grant that we, who celebrate her memory each evening, may with the help of her prayers, be freed from ever-present evil, and come to share the fulness of life eternal.   Amen.