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Invitation to Worship
Come, let us return to Adonai, Our God —Our God who is gracious and merciful!
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.
Rescue me, O God, my Savior;
~ And my tongue shall ring out your goodness!
MORNING HYMN for LENT
All may sing or alternate the verses of any Lenten Morning Hymn .
May we observe these forty days With charity and prayer,
That you may bless with holiness This season of the year.
By our offenses we abuse Your endless gifts of love.
Be patient, O redeeming One, Send pardon from above.
Undo the damage we have done, Increase your gift of grace,
That we may always live and serve In joy before your face.
Receive, most Loving Trinity, the offerings we raise;
O God of all simplicity, Increase our loving praise.
Text: Ralph Wright, OSB, alt.; Tune: DETROIT C.M.
PSALMODY
Antiphon/Refrain
You stretch forth your hand and save me, Adonai!
Psalm 137/138
I thank you Adonai with all my heart, you have heard the words of my mouth.
Before the angels I’ll bless you, and adore before your holy temple.
I thank you for your faithfulness and love which excel all we ever knew of you.
On the day I called you answered me; you increased the strength of my soul.
You stretch forth your hand and save me, your hand will do all things for me.
Your love, my God, is eternal; discard not the work of your hands.
Setting: Tobias Colgan, OSB, alt.
READING Jeremiah 17:6-10
Thus says ADONAI:
Blessed are those who trust in ADONAI, whose hope is ADONAI.
They are like a tree planted beside the flowing waters that stretches out its roots to the stream: It fears not the heat when it comes, its leaves stay green;
In the year of drought it shows no distress, but still bears fruit.
More tortuous than all else is the human heart,
beyond remedy; who can understand it?
I, ADONAI, alone probe the mind and test the heart,
To reward all according to their respective ways,
according to the merit of their deeds.”
Thanks be to God.
Silent Prayer
Responsory
R. Those who shall meditate day and night on the law of Adonai shall yield their fruit in due season. V. Life does not depend on bread alone, but on the Word that comes from God. V. Glory to the ONE and the WORD and the Breath of Life.
Canticle of Zachary– Luke 1:68-79
Antiphon
The rich man who had denied Lazarus table scraps
pleaded for a drop of water.
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 rich man who had denied Lazarus table scraps
pleaded for a drop of water.
Intercessory Prayer
When we see you hungry and begging but we turn our heads certain that you will only use our money to buy drugs or alcohol~ Forgive us O God.
When you are uneducated, unemployed, or newly released from prison and we refuse to consider your applications for school, housing or employment… ~ Forgive us O God.
When you are living in alleys, searching for food and clothing in garbage dumps, and we oppose the building of homeless shelters or the provision of social services … ~ Forgive us O God.
When we create huge chasms between the rich and the poor and misuse the Scriptures to justify this inequality~ Forgive us O God.
When we ask for miracles to move us from greed and selfishness to compassion and generosity but refuse to recognize the spiritual and ecological wisdom revealed in the daily miracles of creation and cooperation… ~ Forgive us O God.
When we seem so holy, so close to God– but you are still very hungry, and lonely and cold… ~ Forgive us O God.
Prayer of Jesus
Our Father …
Closing Prayer & Blessing
God of Life and Liberation, in his teaching, his parables and his example, Jesus revealed that to live fully as the image of God, each of us is called and gifted to meet the real, practical needs of our sisters and brothers. May our celebration of this holy season rehearse us in living by his values and bring us closer to realizing the freedom, flourishing and fullness of life that your love offers to us and all creation both now and forever. ~Amen.
May the God of light fill us with all peace and joy, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit, + we may celebrate this special season and prepare for the joy of Easter. ~Amen.
Let us bless the world with peace.
~And give thanks to God.