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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.

 

TUESDAY EVENING HYMN

Life, never bounded or constrained,

tamed chaos, took the flood in hand,

determined these should now recede

and bare what would become the land.

 

And so, this day, their bound’ries set,

God named one “Earth!” the other “Sea!”

And then, beholding both were good,

Love’s eye was drawn to shrub and tree.

 

Life thus addressed our Mother Earth,

and charged her: “Color, bloom and root!

Be lavish in the gifts you bear

of greening forests, plants and fruit!”

 

And so it was and it was good!

Our planet’s splendors stood untrod;

each peak, each valley, plain and pond

poured forth its poetry to God.

 

Thus evening came and morning came

the third day, when our Earth first breathed;

so fragile, faithful, fruitful, free:

by Life sustained, by Love conceived!  Amen.

_{Text: Aelred-Seton Shanley; Tune: Plainsong}

 

 

 SERVICE OF THE WORD

PSALMODY

 Antiphon

Let the Earth and all she bears rejoice;

All the trees of the woods and orchards shout for joy!

Psalm 64/65

To You our praise is due

O God in Zion

To You do we commit our lives,

for you are the One who hears our prayer.

 

To you do we come

when we have gone astray.

When our transgressions weigh us down

You are the One who sets us free.

 

Blessed are those you invite

and welcome to your dwelling.

You fill us with the bounty of your house,

and the holiness of your temple.

 

You keep your promise with wonders,

O Adonai, our savior,

You are the hope of all on Earth

even the most distant isles.

 

Clothed in power and strength

You uphold and steady the mountains;

You still the roaring of the seas

(restless waves and raging nations).

 

You fill them from east to west with your joy.

You tend and water the land,

and it yields a great harvest.

You fill your springs,

ready the seeds, and prepare the grain.

 

You soak the furrows and level the ridges;

With softening rain you bless its growth.

You crown the year with your goodness,

All you touch comes alive:

Abundance flows in your steps,

In fields and meadows it flows.

 

The hills are dressed with joy,

the pastures covered with flocks.

the valleys wrap themselves in grain,

They shout for joy and break into song:

 

Glory to the ONE and to the WORD

And to the BREATH of Love;

as always before,

so now and evermore. Amen.

Let the Earth and all she bears rejoice;

All the trees of the woods and orchards shout for joy!

Reading   James 1: 13-18

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and God actually tempts no one. But all of us are tempted when we are lured and enticed by our own desires. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Abba of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

 

Responsory

R. The earth has yielded her fruit, * God, our God has blessed us.   V. The meadows are covered with fruit trees, the valleys are decked with wheat. * God, our God has blessed us. V. Glory to the ONE, to the WORD, and to the Holy BREATH of Life.

Gospel Canticle of Mary

Antiphon

Everyone who has given up family and possessions
for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more,
and life everlasting.

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

 Everyone who has given up family and possessions
for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more,
and will inherit eternal life.

SERVICE OF PRAYER

Litany of Intercession

For all who hunger–whose lives are endangered by lack of fresh fruit and vegetables–whose families and livestock are perishing from lack of vegetation,

~God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

For all whose poverty force them to survive on grains and vegetables, and for those who willingly adopt this simple diet so others may simply live,

~God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

For all who work closely with soil–farmers, scientists, and gardeners–who recognize its fragile beauty and strive to restore its natural balance,

~God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

For those who farm and garden the Earth using permaculture and other sustainable methods that harmonize with the life of entire ecosystems,

~God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

For those who hoard the produce of the land, who build larger barns and funnel grains and greens that could feed the whole world into the unsustainable production of pork, beef and poultry to satisfy the cravings of the elite,

~God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

For those who hunger for meaning, cut off from the life-giving and sustaining love of God manifest in the cycle of life in all its paradox and diversity,

~God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

 

Prayer of Jesus

Our Father …

 

Closing Prayer & Blessing

Creator God, we stand in wonder and awe before Mother Earth, whom you invited to join you in the on-going work of Creation; and now each peak, valley, field and pond pours forth its poetry of gratitude and praise.   As we celebrate  the appearance of dry land and the birth of plants and vegetation on this third day of the week, give us the wisdom and will to care for and conserve the Earth and the many life forms to which she has given birth.   May we join the trees in clapping our hands and join all your saints in singing your praise, for yours is the love, the power and the glory now and forever.  Amen.

 

May the God of all creation +   bless us with a hunger and thirst for justice.   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 hearts 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, 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.