As we come together to pray we listen to some music.

 

Leader:        O God, come to our aid

All:              O Lord, make haste to help us.  Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end, Amen. Alleluia!

 

Incense is lit & we sit.

Silently or aloud, as the week begins, we may like to place before the

 Lord any particular thing that we have planned during the week – or

that you know is taking place – & ask for our prayer & God’s blessing.

 

We deepen our awareness of the presence of God as we join in with the chant.

 

 

O Lord hear our prayer (repeat)  when we call, answer us.

O Lord hear our prayer (repeat)  come & listen to us.

 

Please say the psalm & its antiphon as indicated.

All:          In holy splendour I begot you before the dawn, alleluia!

Side 1:         The oracles of old exalted the king to stand at the right hand of God. As priest & prince he was to rule not by descent but by God’s call. The sceptre of power was placed in his hand, to shatter the heads of his enemies.  Through him God routed the armies, striding across corpses strewn in the way.

Side 2:     A strange world to us, faded from view, kings riding out on horseback to conquer. The wars of our time have tarnished the glory, the rhetoric of God but masking our pride. Arrogance & pride are the Gods that we follow, & even the wars we name holy or just degrade those who wage them, reminding us all how cruel & cold the world can become.

Side 1:         Yet as we dig deep in these words from the past, we see a vision of those who would lead: They lay on themselves the robe of the priestly, willingly weighed down by the burden of service, sacrificing themselves for the good of their land, growing in discernment & wisdom. They bring greater good from the conflicts around them, & they heal the wounds of the people.

All:          Glory be to the Father & to the Son, & to the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning, is now & ever shall be, world without end, amen.

All:    In holy splendour I begot you before the dawn, alleluia!

Please sing the second psalm as indicated.

Cantors:                 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice,

For they shall have their fill.

Cantors:       Happy the one who fears the Lord,

                   Who greatly delights in his commands.

All:          His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth;

              The upright generation shall be blessed.

Cantors:       An evil report he shall not fear;

                   His heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.

All:          His heart is steadfast; he shall not fear

              Till he looks down on his foes.

Cantors:       Lavishly he gives to the poor;

                   His generosity shall endure forever;

All:          He shall be exalted in glory,

              Happy the one who fears the Lord.

All:   Glory be to the Father and to the Son,

       And to the Holy Spirit;

       As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be,

       World without end, Amen.

All:          Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice,

For they shall have their fill.

Please read the canticle with different people taking each of the verses.

All: Praise God, all you his servants, both great & small, alleluia!  

      Alleluia, salvation and glory and honour and power belong to our God,

       his judgments are true and just, Alleluia!

Alleluia, praise our God all you his servants, you who fear him,

small and great, alleluia!

       Alleluia, the Lord our God, the Almighty reigns, let us rejoice and

       exult and give him the glory, alleluia!

Alleluia, the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has

made herself ready, alleluia!

 

All:  Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,

      as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world

     without end, Amen.

 

All: Praise God, all you his servants, both great & small, alleluia!  

 

Reading:       Heb 12:  22-24

What you have come to is Mount Sion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem where the millions of angels have gathered for the festival, with the whole Church in which everyone is a firstborn and a citizen of Heaven.  You have come to God, the supreme judge, and been placed with the spirits of the saints who have been made perfect; and to Jesus the mediator who brings a new covenant and a blood for purification which pleads more insistently than Abel’s.

 

Leader:        Great is our Lord, great is God’s might

All:          Great is our Lord, great is God’s might

Leader:        God’s wisdom can never be measured

All:          Great is our Lord, great is God’s might

Leader:        Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

All:          Great is our Lord, great is God’s might

 

Please stand to sing the Magnificat and its antiphon as indicated.

Cantor:  Wk 4: Everyone was astonished at the words

                      That came from the mouth of God.

             Wk 12: If anyone wishes to come after me, they must deny

                       themselves & take up their cross,

                         And in that way, they must follow me.

   Wk 20: I have come to spread a fire on earth,

     And how I wish it were burning already.

   Wk 28: When one of them saw that he had been made clean,

      He went back & gave praise to God with a loud voice, alleluia!

Cantors:       My being proclaims your greatness,

                   And my spirit finds joy in you, God my Saviour,

All:          For you have looked upon me, your servant, in my lowliness;

              All ages to come shall call me blessed.

Cantors:       God, you who are mighty, have done great things for me.

                   Holy is your name.

All:          Your mercy is from age to age

Towards those who fear you.

Cantors:       You have shown might with your arm

                   And confused the proud in their inmost thoughts.

All:          You have deposed the mighty from their thrones

              And raised the lowly to high places.

Cantors:       The hungry you have given every good thing

While the rich you have sent away empty.

All:          You have upheld Israel, your servant,

Ever mindful of your mercy.

Cantors:       Even as you promised our ancestors;

Promised Abraham, Sarah, and their descendants for ever.

 

All:          Give praise to the Father Almighty,

              To his Son Jesus Christ our Lord,

                   To the Spirit who dwells in our hearts

              Both now and for ever, Amen.

 

Repeat antiphon as above.

Intercessions: these will be spontaneous, ad lib tonight concluding with……

Reader:        We pray for people who have died today & for those who will die tonight. We pray also for those whose anniversaries occur tomorrow, remembering especially………….

 

Pause for people to add silently or aloud any further intentions..

Leader begins the Our Father….

Leader:        Lord God, open our hearts to your grace.  Let it go before us & be with us, that we may always be intent upon doing your will. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever.

All:          Amen.

All:          For each other we now ask:

May God bless you richly; may you grow in grace; may your heart be full of love; love received, & there to give; may you be held closely in God’s presence; may you sleep in true peace. Amen.

We conclude our prayer with music.