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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.
WEDNESDAY EVENING HYMN
O God, Whose hand has spread the sky
And all its shining hosts on high,
You, when the fourth day was begun
Did frame the circle of the sun.
Surrounding it with fiery light,
You crowned the sun with awesome might,
And set the moon her ordered ways,
The mistress over months and days.
O shine your light upon our mind;
The darksome guilt of sin unbind.
Direct us in the way of right
As your free children of the light.
O Loving Abba hear our cry
Through Jesus Christ, our Love, most high,
Whom in the Spirit we adore,
Who reigns with you forevermore. Amen.
Text: Caeli Deus Sanctissimae; Tune: Plainsong Mode VIII
SERVICE OF THE WORD
PSALMODY
Antiphon
Adonai is my light and my salvation;
I will play and sing praise to my God!
Adonai is my light and my help,
whom should I fear?
Adonai is the stronghold of my life,
before whom should I tremble?
When the violent draw near
to eat me alive,
the mob eager to kill
will stumble and fall.
Should battalions lay siege around me,
my heart would not fear;
should war break out against me,
even then would I trust.
There is one thing I ask of Adonai,
this one thing do I seek:
to live in the house of God
every day of my life,
caught up in God’s splendor and beauty–
at prayer in the temple.
Adonai will hide me there,
hide my life from attack:
a sheltering tent around me,
a firm rock below.
I am now beyond the reach
of those who lay siege around me.
and I will offer a sacrifice of joy,
I will play and sing praise to God.
Glory to the ONE and to the WORD
And to the BREATH of Love;
as always before,
so now and evermore. Amen.
Adonai is my light and my salvation;
I will play and sing praise to my God!
Reading Hebrews 2: 16-18
Surely Christ Jesus did not help angels
but rather the descendants of Abraham;
therefore, he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every way,
that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest before God
to expiate the sins of the people.
Because he himself was tested through what he suffered,
he is able to help those who are being tested.
Responsory
R. Here are words in which you can trust * Christ Jess came so save all of us.
V. Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Abba, and from God’s Word * Christ Jess came so save all of us. V. Glory to the ONE, to the WORD, and to the Holy BREATH of Life.
Gospel Canticle of Mary
Antiphon
That evening as the sun was setting they brought to Jesus
all the sick and those who had unclean spirits.
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
That evening as the sun was setting they brought to Jesus
all the sick and those who had unclean spirits.
SERVICE OF PRAYER
Litany of Intercession
O Jesus, God from God and Light from Light, through whom all things were made,
~ Be our light and our salvation.
O Jesus, source of life and holiness, ~ Be our light and our salvation.
O Jesus, faithful preacher and guardian of the Gospel, ~ Be our light and our salvation.
O Jesus, salt of the earth and light of the world, ~ Be our light and our salvation.
O Jesus, the beginning and the end, the first and the last, ~ Be our light and our salvation.
O Jesus, you taught us to pray…
Prayer of Jesus
Our Father …
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 in existence 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! ~And give thanks to God.
Those who wish may end evening prayer with the Marian Antiphon for this season.
Marian Antiphon
Loving Mother of our Savior, holding open heaven’s only hope, Star for steerage in this vastness, rise to help us, save the sinking. Nature’s greatest Wonder: you have borne your own true Maker, giving human life to him. Virgin ever, before and after, that Good News from Gabriel, Word of Life for living, tell it now: mercy to all people!
The angel of the Lord brought the message to Mary. ~ And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.
Let us pray. O Holy One, as you have already blessed humankind through the fruitful virginity of Blessed Mary, grant that we may further enjoy the fruit of the prayers of her, through whom we are related to the very Author of Life, Jesus our Emmanuel. Amen.