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Invitation to Worship
Come, let us sing to Adonai, let us praise the God of all Creation!
We make the Sign of the Cross over our lips as we begin.
O Holy ONE + open my lips,
~And my mouth will proclaim your praise.
Give us eyes to see the gift of this life,
~and hearts that see deep into eternity.
MORNING HYMN FEAST OF PASTORS
All may sing or alternate the verses of any Morning Hymn .
Come let us raise our songs of celebration,
Joining the triumph train of this confessor,
Father and leader, now above the heavens
Reigning forever.
Priest of the Church, a leader and a teacher,
Holiness plain in all his words and actions,
He strove to please God, generous in service,
And with a pure heart.
Now let us ask him earnestly for favor:
Cleansing of all the sins of his beloved;
And by his fervent prayers may we be lifted
To the high heavens.
Glory and power, praises in the highest,
to the one God, and honor everlasting,
for His dominion, orderly and lawful,
governs creation.
Text: Inclitus Rector, tr. Kathleen Pluth; Tune: ISTE CONFESSOR
PSALMODY
Antiphon
Let us sing to your Name, O Most High,
and proclaim your loving kindness when morning dawns.
Psalm 91/92
It is good to give thanks to you, Adonai,
to make music to your name, O Most High,
to proclaim your love in the morning
and your truth in the watches of the night,
on the ten-stringed lyre and the lute,
with the murmuring sound of the harp.
Your deeds, Adonai, have made me glad;
for the work of your hands I shout with joy.
Adonai, how great are your works!
How deep are your designs!
The foolish cannot know this
and the ignorant cannot understand.
Though the wicked seem to spring up like grass
and those who do evil thrive:
their behavior will lead to destruction.
But you, Adonai, are eternal:
Those who oppose your love will perish;
those who do evil will be scattered.
To me you give the strength of an ox;
you anoint me with the purest oil.
My eyes saw the triumph of justice;
my ears heard gladly of the end of oppression.
The just can now flourish like the palm-tree
and grow like a Lebanon cedar.
Planted in the house of Adonai
they will flourish in the courts of our God,
still bearing fruit when they are old
still full of sap and green with life,
to proclaim that Adonai is just.
In God, my Rock, there is no wrong.
Glory to the One and to the Word,
and to the Breath of Love;
as always before,
so now and evermore. Amen.
Let us sing to your Name, O Most High,
and proclaim your loving kindness when morning dawns.
READING Catechetical Instructions of St. John Vianney
This is our glorious duty as human beings: to pray and to love. If you pray and love, that is where human happiness lies.
Prayer is nothing else but union with God. When you have a heart that is pure and united with God, you are given a kind of serenity and sweetness that makes you ecstatic, a light that surrounds you with marvelous brightness. In this intimate union, God and the soul are fused together like two bits of wax that no one can ever pull apart. This union of God with a tiny creature is a lovely thing. It is a happiness beyond understanding.
We had become unworthy to pray, but God in such goodness allowed us to speak. Our prayer is incense that gives God the greatest pleasure.
My little children, your hearts are small, but prayer stretches them and makes them capable of loving God. Through prayer we receive a foretaste of heaven and something of paradise comes down upon us. Prayer never leaves us without sweetness. It is honey that flows into the soul and makes all things sweet. When we pray properly, sorrows disappear like snow before the sun.
Silent Prayer
Responsory
R. We hold a treasure not made of gold in earthen vessels wealth untold; one treasure only: the Lord, the Christ, in earthen vessels. V. Light has shown in our darkness; God has shone in our heart, with the light of the glory of Jesus the Lord. V. God has chosen the lowly who are small in this world; in this weakness is glory, in Jesus the Lord.
Canticle of Zachary– Luke 1:68-79
Antiphon
The greatest among you must be your servant.
Anyone who exalts the self will be humbled
and anyone who humbles the self will be exalted.
Blessed + be Adonai, the God of Israel,
Who visits this people to set us free
Raising for us a sign of salvation
In the house and family of David.
God promised throughout past ages
In words of holy prophets
To save us from our enemies,
And from the control of our oppressors.
Adonai favored our ancestors
And remembered the sacred covenant.
The pledge to Abraham and Sarah
Is now renewed for us;
That freed from the grip of our foes
We might worship without fear
And be both just and holy
For the rest of our days.
And you, child, called “prophet of the Most High,”
Will go ahead to prepare the way,
By teaching this people of salvation
Through forgiveness of their sins.
For the loving compassion of the Holy One
As the Rising Sun will shine upon us
To illumine the darkness and dispel death’s shadow
To guide our feet on the way of peace.
Glory to the ONE and to the WORD
and to the BREATH of Love!
As always before,
so now and evermore. Amen
The greatest among you must be your servant.
Anyone who exalts the self will be humbled
and anyone who humbles the self will be exalted.
Intercessory Prayer
You called St. Jean-Marie to reveal your merciful love in pastoral care and counseling,
– may our words and actions reveal your compassion to all we meet today.
His early life and education were interrupted by the French Revolution and difficulties with his studies; ~ may his example of persistence and perseverance inspire refugees and all who struggle to learn.
St. Jean-Marie understood that our hearts are small;
~ may prayer stretch them and enable us to love God, love our neighbor, and all of creation!
Create in us clean hearts, O God;
~ And fill us with your Holy Spirit.
Prayer of Jesus
Our Dear Abba in heaven …
Closing Prayer & Blessing
O Holy One, your are the glory of creation and the praise of all your saints.
You called Saint Jean-Marie Vianney to a pastoral ministry of mercy and compassion, simplicity and prayer. May all who celebrate his feast learn from his wisdom and follow his example of kindness and generosity to deny our selfish egos, seek to hear your voice in the silence, and to love You in our brothers and sisters and all of creation. Amen.
May the God of Sea and Sky who has called us to glory + bless us and all creation with freedom, flourishing and the fullness of life. ~Amen.
Let us bless Adonai.
~ Thanks be to God.