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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.
THURSDAY EVENING HYMN
Our mother Earth, her mantle green,
lay ripened, seeded and at rest;
she yearned to nurture all to life,
providing nourishment and nest.
So God, unbounded, uncontained,
ordained the oceans teem with life
and bid the skies be filled with flight:
with fish and fowl the world was rife.
These each were blest and both deemed good
God urged them mate and multiply:
thus life would ever be increased
and God in all be glorified.
With song and plumage, soaring flight,
birds blazoned forth God’s gifts so free;
while sea-life, fathomless and feared,
reflected, dark, God’s mystery.
Thus evening came and morning came
the fifth day, filling air and sea.
Life overflowing and outpoured
depends upon diversity! Amen.
Text: Aelred-Seton Shanley; Tune: Plainsong
SERVICE OF THE WORD
PSALMODY
Antiphon
Let praise resound from the birds of the air–
the sea and its creatures sound their joy.
Psalm 148
Alleluia! Praise Adonai!
Sing praise from the heavens above,
Sing praise from the heights of the mountains!
All angels and spirits, sing praise!
Sing praise, O Sun and Moon!
Sing praise, O glittering Stars!
Sing praise, O Galaxies of the Universe!
Sing praise, O Cosmos of Creation!
Praise the Name of the ONE
Whose Word invited you to be,
Establishing the pattern of creation:
Wanting us all to be free.
Let praise resound from the Earth
From oceans and creatures of the sea;
fire and hail, snow and mist,
Stormy winds that hear the Word.
All mountains and hills,
All fruit trees and cedars
Beasts both wild and tame
Reptiles and birds on the wing;
Princes and judges,
Rulers and citizens
All men and women
Elders and children;
Together sing praise to the HOLY
To the ONE whose praise is exalted;
To the NAME beyond all names,
Whose splendor fills heaven and earth.
For LOVE gives strength to the people,
Shares glory with all the faithful;
Welcoming us as companions,
Teaching us how to sing praise.
Glory to the ONE and to the WORD
And to the BREATH of Love;
as always before,
so now and evermore. Amen.
Let praise resound from the birds of the air–
the sea and its creatures sound their joy.
Reading Luke 5: 3-9
After he had finished speaking, Jesus said to Simon,
“Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.”
Simon said in reply,
“Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.” When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish
and their nets were tearing. They signaled to their partners in the other boat
to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that the boats were in danger of sinking.
Responsory
R. O Adonai, how great are your works * how deep are your designs! V. In wisdom you have wrought them all.* how deep are your designs! V. Glory to the ONE, to the WORD, and to the Holy BREATH of Life.
Gospel Canticle of Mary
Antiphon
Master, we have worked long and hard and yet have nothing,
but at your command we will try again.
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
Master, we have worked long and hard and yet have nothing,
but at your command we will try again.
SERVICE OF PRAYER
Litany of Intercession
For all who study and explore the beauty and wonder of birds, fish and other forms of sea life;
For all whose lives and livelihoods involve fish and other forms of sea life, especially those striving to preserve endangered species through the development of sustainable fishing practices and to improve and restore oceans, seas, rivers, lakes and ponds;
For all whose lives and livelihoods involve poultry and other birds, especially those striving to develop sustainably integrated practices and to improve and restore their natural habitat;
For all who are deprived by modern lifestyles and urban jungles from experiencing the incredible beauty, diversity, liveliness and songs of the birds;
For all the sea creatures and winged birds themselves, whose praise of God that has been sounding for hundreds of millions of years, is threatened with extinction by the human destruction of their habitats and the toxins produced by consumerism and greed;
Prayer of Jesus
Our Father …
Closing Prayer & Blessing
God of the Sea and Sky, as we celebrate the fifth day of the week, we praise and thank you for the wonder and beauty of all the creatures that You have made, for each one of them reveals something of Your inexpressible love. Awaken in us a profound sensitivity to Your presence in all of creation and awareness that it is in You that we and all creation live and move and have our being. For your love is the power that has created all things, sustains all things, and invites 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 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.