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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 O Christ, for it is evening,
~And the day is almost over.
WEDNESDAY EVENING HYMN
O God, whose hand has spread the sky
And all its shining stars on high,
For when the fourth day was begun
You framed the circle of the sun.
Surrounding it with fi’ry light
You crowned the Sun with glor’ous might,
And set the Moon her ordered ways,
The Mistress over months and days.
O shine your light upon our mind;
The dark of sin and guilt unbind.
Direct us in the way of right
As true, free children of the light.
O Loving Abba hear our cry
Through Jesus Christ our Love on high;
Whom in the Spirit we adore,
Who reigns with you forevermore. Amen.
Text: Caeli Deus Sanctissime. Tune: Plainsong
SERVICE OF THE WORD
PSALMODY
Antiphon
Our life like a bird has escaped from the snare of the fowler.
Psalm 123/124
“If Adonai had not been with us,”
this is Israel’s song,
“If Adonai had not been on our side
when evil men rose up against us,
then would we have been swallowed alive,
when their fury was inflamed toward us.”
The waters of the flood would have engulfed us,
a thundering torrent over our heads;
the rushing and surging waters
would have swept us away.
Blessed be Adonai
for saving our flesh from their teeth!
for tearing the fowler’s nets,
so we could flutter away like birds.
Our help is in the Name of Adonai,
who made both heaven and Earth.
Glory to the ONE and to the WORD
And to the BREATH of Love!
As always before,
so now and evermore. Amen
Our life like a bird has escaped from the snare of the fowler.
Reading Romans 6:12-14
Sin must not reign over your mortal bodies so that you obey their desires.
And do not present the parts of your bodies to sin as weapons for wickedness,
but present yourselves to God as raised from the dead to life
and the parts of your bodies to God as weapons for righteousness.
For sin is not to have any power over you, since you are not under the law but under grace.
Responsory
R. In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength. V. For Adonai is a God of Justice, blessed are all who wait patiently; *in quietness and in trust shall be your strength. V. Glory to the ABBA, and to the WORD, and to the Holy BREATH of Life.
Gospel Canticle of Mary
Antiphon
Happy are those servants who are watching when the master returns.
I tell you he will put on an apron, seat them at table
and wait upon them, Alleluia.
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 the WORD
And to the BREATH of Love!
As always before,
so now and evermore. Amen
Happy are those servants who are watching when the master returns.
I tell you he will put on an apron, seat them at table
and wait upon them, Alleluia.
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 Dear Abba…
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! ~Thanks be 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 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.