Leader: The world belongs to God:
All: The earth & all its people.
Leader: How good & how lovely it is,
All: To live together in unity.
Leader: Love & faith come together,
All: Justice & peace join hands.
Leader: If God’s disciples keep silence,
All: These stones will shout aloud.
Leader: O God, open our lips,
All: And our mouths shall proclaim your praise.
Please join in the Taize hymn, ‘The Lord is my Light’.
Songs of Taize 1.4.
The Lord is my light, my light & salvation:
In him I trust, in him I trust.
The psalm & antiphon will be sung as indicated.
Cantors: The Lord cares for the weak
And oppressed.
Side 1: In the Lord I take shelter. How can you say to me
‘Bird, fly back to your mountain!
Side 2: See how the wicked are bending their bows &
fitting their arrows to the string,
Ready to shoot the upright from the shadows.
Side 1: When foundations fall to ruin,
What can the virtuous do?’
Side 2: God is in the holy temple
God whose throne is in heaven,
Side 1: Whose eyes look down on the world,
Whose searching gaze scans all.
Side 2: God tests the just and the wicked;
God hates the lover of violence,
Side 1: Sending fire and brimstone on the wicked.
A scorching wind is their lot.
Side 2: God is just and loves justice,
The upright shall see God’s face.
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: The Lord cares for the weak
And oppressed.
We will read the psalm & antiphon as indicated.
All: I have become a minister of the Gospel according to the
bountiful gift of God, alleluia!
Side 1: Dear God, who are the honoured guests in your tent?
Who may dwell in your presence upon your holy mountain? Who may commune with those who are your heart’s desire, lovingly embraced in the union of friends.
Side 2: Those who lead incorrupt lives, & do the thing that is right, who speak the truth from their hearts & have not slandered with their tongues.
Side 1: Those who have not betrayed their friends, or rained down abuse on their neighbours, in whose eyes the shifty have no honour, but hold in high esteem those who fear God.
Side 2: Those who give their word to their neighbour, & do not go back on their promise, who have not grown wealthy at the expense of the poor, or grown sleek with flattery or bribes; who depend on the mercy of God, who live the highest law that is love.
Side 1: Those who are steadfast & kind, who are resilient & patient & humble, who know the cost of a morsel of justice, a glimpse of compassion in savage times.
Side 2: Their roots are deep in the being of God, their arms are spread wide in welcome embrace. They are faithful, joyful & blessed, God’s sisters & brothers & friends.
All: Glory be to the Father and to the Son, & to the Holy
Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall
be, world without end, Amen.
All: I have become a minister of the Gospel according to
the bountiful gift of God, alleluia!
Reading: From ‘The Time is Now’ Joan Chittister.
Prophecy is nothing more than Christianity at its best. It is John the Baptist ‘making straight the way of the Lord’. It is Jesus contending with the pharisees about the keeping of the Sabbath. It is you & I trying to make a stand against a society where money is flowing to the top while the poor languish for the necessities of life at the bottom of the ladder. We are called to live the Word ourselves, to say a prophet’s word so that others may lead better lives because of us & our relationship with God. Otherwise, we use a standard that does not really describe the truly spiritual person in the Judeo-Christian tradition. It is little more than camouflage for religious
comfort, for making a spa out of religious life, for confusing a feel-good following of Jesus with the hard work of tending the world. After all, God did not finish creation. God created us to do that. To abandon or discard the very people, ideals, creation, & commitment we are meant to care about, what kind of spirituality is that? Right. Almost none.
Pause for personal reflection.
We will sing the Magnificat as indicated.
Cantors: The noble stem of Jesse put forth a branch
From which there blossomed a flower full of beauty & rich in scent.
Side 1: My soul glorifies the Lord,
My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.
Side 2: He looks on his servant, in her lowliness:
Henceforth all ages will call me blessed.
Side 1: The almighty works marvels for me:
Holy is his name.
Side 2: His mercy is from age to age
On those who fear him.
Side 1: He puts forth his arm in strength
And scatters the proud-hearted.
Side 2: He casts the mighty from their thrones,
And raises the lowly.
Side 1: He fills the starving with good things,
Sends the rich away empty.
Side 2: He protects Israel, his servant,
Remembering his mercy-
Side 1: The mercy promised to our fathers,
To Abraham, Sarah & their children for ever.
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: The noble stem of Jesse put forth a branch
From which there blossomed a flower full of beauty & rich in scent.
Reader: Tonight we pray for all grandparents – those who enjoy
frequent contact with their grandchildren, those who
live far away from them, & those who are estranged
from them. ……. pause ……… In your mercy, loving God,
All: Hear our prayer.
.Reader: We pray for all older people – that they may be helped
to seek to live life to the full as long as they are able
……. pause ……… In your mercy, loving God,
All: Hear our prayer.
Reader: We pray for all who care for older people – at home, in
residential care, in hospitals & hospices. May
compassion be their hall mark.. ……. pause ……… In your
mercy, loving God,
All: Hear our prayer.
Reader: We pray for people who have died today and for those who will die tonight. We also remember in prayer those whose anniversaries occur tomorrow, especially:
Pause for people to add silently or aloud any further intentions.
Leader begins the Our Father.
Leader: Lord God of our Fathers, you bestowed on St Joachim & St Anne this singular grace that their daughter Mary should become the Mother of your son, Jesus Christ. Grant that at their intercession, the salvation you promised to your people. We make our prayer through Christ our lord,
All: Amen
Leader: As our time of prayer comes to an end, we will listen
to, or join in with, a sung blessing. (Heavenly Peace. 16.)
The peace of Christ be with you,
The love of Christ enfold you,
The joy of Christ inspire you;
The strength of Christ uphold you,
And the beauty of Christ be within you,
All the days of your life. Amen.