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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 Lord!
~Thanks be to God!
Stay with us Lord for it is evening,
~And the day is almost over.
Hymn for Saturday Evening
Stars and planets flung in orbit, Galaxies that swirl through space,
Powers hid within the atom, Cells that form an infant’s face:
These, 0 God, in silence praise you; By your wisdom they are made.
Skies adorned with sunset splendor, Silent peaks in calm repose,
Golden fields awaiting harvest, Foaming surf and fragrant rose:
Earth, her bounty clothed with beauty, Echoes all creation’s praise.
Life in wondrous, wild profusion, Seed and fruit, each flower and tree,
Beast and fish and swarming insect, Soaring bird, rejoicing, free:
These, your creatures, join in chorus, Praising you in wordless song.
Humankind, earth’s deepest mystery, Born of dust but touched by grace,
Torn apart by tongue and color, Yet a single, striving race:
We, in whom you trace your image, Add our words to nature’s song.
Gracious God, we bring before you gifts of human life alone,
Truth that throbs through song and story, Visions caught in paint and stone:
These, 0 God, we gladly offer, Gifts to praise the Giver’s name.
Christ, the Word before creation As creation’s final goal,
Once you came for earth’s redemption; By your Spirit make earth whole:
Then, 0 God, the new creation Will your praise for ever sing.
Text: Herman G. Steumpfle (1923-2007) Tune: LAUDA ANIMA, John Goss (1869)
SERVICE OF THE WORD
Evening Psalm
Antiphon/Refrain
You will show me the path of life,
you will give me the fullness of joy
in your presence forever.
Psalm 15/16
Protect me God, I turn to you for help.
I profess, “You are my Love, my greatest good.”
I once put trust in false gods,
the idols of the land.
Now I make no offerings to them,
nor do I invoke their names
Those who chase after them
simply add grief to their grief.
Adonai, you are my portion and cup,
the shape of my future;
you mark off the best place for me
to enjoy my place on the earth.
I bless God who teaches me,
who even at night directs my heart.
I am sure that God is right here beside me,
I can never be shaken.
And so my heart rejoices
my body thrills with life,
my whole being rests securely.
You will not abandon me to Sheol,
nor send your faithful one down to death.
You show me the road to life:
boundless joy as your companion for ever!
Glory to the One and to the Word
And to the Breath of Love
As always before
So now and evermore, Amen.
You will show me the path of life,
you will give me the fullness of joy
in your presence forever.
Reading Isaiah 5:1-2
Let me now sing of my friend, my friend’s song concerning his vineyard.
My friend had a vineyard on a fertile hillside;
he spaded it, cleared it of stones, and planted the choicest vines;
within it he built a watchtower, and hewed out a wine press.
Then he looked for the crop of grapes, but what it yielded was wild grapes.
Responsory
R. Behold, the vineyard of Adonai is the House of Israel.
V. Look down, Adonai, and see; visit this vine and protect it.
V. Glory to the Abba and to the Word and to the Holy Breath of Love.
Gospel Antiphon
The Stone which the builders rejected
has become the Cornerstone.
It is the work of Adonai and it is wonderful!
Canticle from Philippians 2: 6-11
Though he was in the form of God
Jesus did not snatch at equality with God.
He emptied himself,
taking the form of a servant,
being born in the likeness of human beings.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself,
and became obedient unto death,
even death on a cross.
Therefore God has highly exalted him
and bestowed on him
the name that is above every name.
That at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow
in heaven and on earth
and under the earth.
And every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Abba.
Glory to the ONE and to the WORD,
and to the BREATH of Love;
As always before,
so now and evermore. Amen.
The Stone which the builders rejected
has become the Cornerstone.
It is the work of Adonai and it is wonderful!
.
SERVICE OF PRAYER
Litany of Intercession
That we may be without anxiety but with prayer and thanksgiving make our requests known to You ~hear us O God.
That we may seek whatever is true, honorable and just, ~hear us O God.
That we may delight in whatever is pure, lovely, or gracious, ~hear us O God.
That we may set our minds and hearts on excellence and on anything worthy of praise, ~hear us O God.
That we may be faithful to what we have learned and the traditions we have received from the Jesus and the saints ~hear us O God.
Prayer of Jesus
Our Dear Abba in heaven, …
Closing Prayer & Blessing
Creator and Sustainer of this wondrous Universe, You fill the Earth with bounty to satisfy the needs of all creatures, and invite them to participate in your creative process. Open our eyes and hearts to see the intrinsic good in all things lest we reject the very stone needed to connect the structures of your reign on earth as it is in heaven; for yours is the power and the glory, now and forever. ~Amen.
May the peace of God that surpasses all understanding
guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Let us bless Adonai ~Thanks be to God.
Those who wish may end evening prayer with the Marian Antiphon.
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 heart 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, O 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.