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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.
Adonai, I cry to you for help;
~ and you, my God, will heal me.
HYMN FOR HEALING
All may sing or alternate the verses of any Morning Hymn .
O Christ, the healer, we have come To pray for health, to plead for friends.
How can we fail to be restored, When reached by love that never ends?
From ev’ry ailment flesh endures Our bodies clamor to be freed;
Yet in our hearts we would confess That wholeness is our deepest need.
How strong, O Love, are our desires, How weak our knowledge of ourselves!
Release in us those healing truths Unconscious pride resists or shelves.
In conflicts that destroy our health We recognize the world’s dis-ease;
Our common life declares our ills: Is there no cure, O Christ, for these?
Grant that we all, made one in faith, In your community may find
The wholeness that, enriching us, Shall reach the whole of humankind.
Text: Fred Pratt Green; Tune: Plainsong Mode IV
PSALMODY
Antiphon
O Love, I cried to you for help,
and you, my God, have healed me.
Psalm 29/30
I will extol you, Adonai,
for you have rescued me
and have not let those who hate
rejoice over me.
O Compassionate One, I cried for help,
and you, O God, have healed me.
You released me from the pit,
restored me to life from the depths of Sheol.
Sing praise, all you saints
give thanks to Holy Name;
Love withdraws when we close our hearts,
yet ever awaits an open door.
In the evening we may weep,
yet joy comes with the dawn.
In my prosperity, I lost sight of Love,
I thought I could never fail.
I assumed I had God’s blessing,
I would stand firm as a mountain!
In mercy, you shook my foundation,
recognizing my separation, I shook with fear!
I cried to you for help;
from You I begged forgiveness:
“Why push me down to the pit?
Can the bones of the dead give you praise
or recount your unbroken love?
Hear me, my Love and help me now.”
You listened and moved with compassion,
came swiftly to set me free;
turned my mourning into dancing
removed my sackcloth and robed me with joy;
that my life might sing your glory
never silent in your praise.
I will thank you forever,
Adonai Elohim.
Glory to the One and to the Word
and to the Breath of Love;
As always before
so now and evermore. Amen
O Love, I cried to you for help,
and you, my God, have healed me.
READING Revelation 21: 1-5
I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem,coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race. God will dwell with them and they will be God’s people…
The one who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”
Silent Prayer
Responsory
R. O Adonai, I love the house where you dwell, *the place where your glory abides.
V. How lovely is your dwelling place, O Adonai Elohim Sabbaoth; *the place where your glory abides.
V. Glory to the One and the Word and the Holy Breath of Love.
Canticle of Zachary– Luke 1:68-79
Antiphon
There was at Capharnaum a royal official whose son was ill.
When he heard that Jesus had come back to Galilee,
he begged him to come down and restore the health of his son.
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
There was at Capharnaum a royal official whose son was ill.
When he heard that Jesus had come back to Galilee,
he begged him to come down and restore the health of his son.
Intercessory Prayer
*For eco-systems on land, in the soil, in the seas and of the sky –now suffering from greenhouse gases, nuclear radiation, and other imbalances in the atmosphere.
*For peoples and species deprived of the gifts which Earth has given to sustain, nourish and support the thriving of life in all its diversity…
*For all who thirst—whose lives are endangered by lack of safe water to drink—whose crops and livestock whither from lack of rain….
*For those who are cold, deprived of light and heat, isolated by sickness or loneliness from the warmth of companionship and love…
*For all those people and species that are in need of healing—physical, mental, emotional and spiritual—especially those in lands besieged by weapons and war, and for those oppressed by intolerance and injustice…
*For those who practice the healing arts, who have healed us with their compassion and have inspired us to become partners in healing minds, bodies and spirits…
*For those who strive to heal Earth, to restore the balance and to live more simply so that others may simply live…
Prayer of Jesus
Our Father…
God of loving kindness, Giver of all good things, look with mercy on all who live with injustice, terror, disease, and death as their constant companions. Let their suffering awaken our compassion; Let your love empower us to extend a healing touch. When overwhelmed by the immensity and complexity of suffering in this world, sustain us with the Good News of justice, healing, wholeness and peace. ~Amen!
May all beings be freed from suffering and from the causes of suffering.
May all beings experience loving kindness and compassion.
May all beings live in harmony + and peace.
Let us bless the world with peace.
~And give thanks to God.