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SERVICE OF LIGHT
Greeting/Invocation
We light the EVENING CANDLE and say or sing:
Jesus Christ is the Light of the World!
~The Light no darkness can extinguish!
Throughout all the Earth their voices carry;
~Their message resounds with hope for all!
HYMN FOR Apostles’ Feasts
Th’ Eternal Gifts of Christ the King, Th’ Apostles’ glory let us sing,
And all with hearts of gladness raise Due hymns of thankful love and praise.
Their faith in Christ, the Lord, prevailed; Their hope, a light that never failed;
Their love ablaze o’er pathways trod To lead them to our loving God.
In them the Abba’s glory shone, In them the will of God’s own Son,
In them exults the Holy Ghost, Through them rejoice the heav’ly host.
O great Redeemer hear our cry, That you would join to them on high
Your servants, who this grace implore, Forever and for ever more. Amen.
Text: Aeterna Christi Munera, Ambrose of Milan, tr. .M. Neale, alt. Tune: JESU DULCIS MEMORIA
SERVICE OF THE WORD
EVENING PSALMODY
Antiphon
I have run the race, I have kept the faith,
now I await the crown that has been prepared for me.
Psalm 115/116
I trust in God, even when I say,
“I am sorely afflicted,”
I believe, even when I cry out,
“There is no one I can trust!”
What gift can repay Adonai
for such goodness to me?
I will raise the cup of freedom
as I call on the Holy Name!
I will fulfill all my vows
in the presence of the people.
Adonai you hate to see
your faithful ones suffer and die.
It is I, the servant you love
the one you have freed from bondage,
who calls to you now for help.
I bring an offering of thanks
as I call on your Name.
I fulfill my vows to you, Adonai
standing before your assembly,
in the courts of your house, my God,
in the very heart of Jerusalem.
Glory to the ONE and to the WORD
And to the BREATH of Love!
As always before,
so now and evermore. Amen.
I have run the race, I have kept the faith,
now I await the crown that has been prepared for me.
READING I CORINTHIANS 15:3-5, 8
I handed on to you first of all what I myself had received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures; that he was buried and, in accordance with the Scriptures, rose on the third day; that he was seen by Cephas, then by the Twelve. Last of all he was seen by me.
Responsory
R. Throughout all the earth, their voices carry. V. Their message resounds with hope for all. V. Glory to the Abba and the Word and the Holy Breath of Love.
Gospel Canticle John 15:9-17
Antiphon/Refrain
“I call you my friends, no longer are you slaves:
for I’ve made known to you all that the Abba told me.”
As the Abba has loved me,
so I have loved you.
Live on in my love,
and love one another.
No greater love exists,
than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
And you are my friends
if you love as I have commanded.
I have chosen you
to go forth and bear much fruit;
your fruit must endure
so my Abba will hear your prayer:
Ask and you will receive;
seek and you shall find;
knock and the door will be opened;
Do all things in my name.
“I call you my friends, no longer are you slaves:
for I’ve made known to you all that the Abba told me.”
SERVICE OF PRAYER
Litany of Intercession
Although Nathaniel’s bigotry doubted anything good could come out of Nazareth, You identified him as a true Israelite and he came to acknowledge you as Son of God and Ruler of Israel; teach us to live with integrity, to overcome our biases, and to recognize you in our sisters and brothers.
You understood the apostles quarreling about rank and status, but explained to them that real glory comes from self-emptying service, taking the place of a slave, and giving up your life for others, ~may we seek not to be served but to serve and to be close to you in the persons and species who count for nothing in the eyes of the world.
You invited the apostles to support you with their presence and prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, ~ make us conscious of the presence of your glory in the beauty of every day and in the faces of all those who suffer.
You sent your apostles to carry the Good News to the poor, to set the universe ablaze with the light and warmth of your love; make us messengers of peace and bearers of your Word in all we say and do.
You strengthened Bartholomew to bear witness to the truth in the face of bitter persecution and execution; ~empower us to bear witness to the reality of your love at all times and in every place.
Prayer of Jesus
Our Father…
Closing Prayer
Gracious God of Life and Love, you called Bartholomew to stay close to Jesus and to learn from him that the most important position on earth as in heaven is being the servant and slave of all. He quickly learned that serving a community of disciples makes one a target of religious and political leaders whose power is built on wealth and violence which “lord it” over others. May we who celebrate Bartholomew’s life and legends on this feast, learn from his example that sitting in glory with Christ means finding and serving him in the least of our brothers and sisters. We ask this through the same Jesus Christ, who lives and loves with you and the Holy Spirit, One God for ever and ever. Amen.
Blessing
May God bless + us, protect us from all evil, and lead us to freedom and the fullness of life, ~Amen.
Let us bless Adonai. ~Thanks be to God.
Those who wish may end evening prayer with the Salve Regina
Marian Antiphon
Salve Regina, Mater misericordiae, Vita dulcedo et Spes nostra, salve!
Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Evae; Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum vale. Eia, ergo, Advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos, ad nos converte; et Jesum benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis, post hoc exilium ostende. O Clemens, O Pia, O Dulcis, Virgo Maria!