Leader:        As a parent raises her child to adulthood

All:          So God brings creation to maturity.

Leader:        Let us thank God for the beauty of the earth

All:          We praise and bless you, Creator God.

Leader:        We are part of this creation, growing to fullness in God.

All:          Thanks be to God.

 

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 listen to or join in with, a version of Ubi Caritas.(Heavenly Light)

 

Ubi caritas et amor (repeated)

Deus ibi est.

 

Please read psalm 109 & its antiphon as indicated.

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

Side 1:         The Lord’s revelation to my Master: sit on my right. Your

                    foes I will put beneath your feet. The Lord will wield from

                    Sion your sceptre of power: rule in the midst of your foes.

Side 2:      A prince from the day of your birth on the holy

              mountains: from the womb before the dawn I begot you.

              The Lord has sworn an oath he will not change, you are a

              priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedec of old.

Side 1:         The Master standing at your right hand will shatter kings in

                    the day of his wrath.  He shall drink from the stream by the

                    wayside and therefore he shall lift up his head.

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

 

 

Please sing psalm 111 (112) as indicated.

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

For they shall have their fill.

Cantors:       Happy are those who fear the Lord

                   And joyfully keep God’s commandments!

All:          Children of such as these will be powers on earth;

              Each generation of the upright will be blessed.

Cantor:        There will be riches and wealth for their families,

                   And righteousness stands firm forever.

All:          Even in the darkness, light dawns for the upright,

              For the merciful, compassionate and righteous.

Cantor:        These good of heart lend graciously,

                   Handling their affairs honestly.

All:          Kept safe by virtue, they are always steadfast

              And leave an everlasting memory behind them.

Cantor:        With a trusting heart and confidence in the Lord,

                   They need never fear evil news.

All:          Steadfast in heart they overcome their fears;

              In the end they will triumph over their enemies.

Cantor:        Quick to be generous, they give to the poor;

                   Their righteousness stands firm forever.

All:          People such as these will always be honoured,

              And this fills the wicked with fury.

Cantor:        Grinding their teeth, they waste away,

                   Vanishing like their vain hopes.

 

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.

 

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.

 

Silent or shared response to the reading.

 

Please stand to sing the Magnificat as indicated.

Cantors: Wk 8:   A good tree cannot bear bad fruit;

                         A bad tree cannot bring forth good fruit.

    Wk 16: Mary has chosen the better part

               And it will never be taken away from her.

              Wk 24: I say to you that there is great joy among the angels

                          When one sinner repents.

              Wk 32: He is God, not of the dead, but of the living:

                          Because for him all things are alive, 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.

Cantor:        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.

Cantor:        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:

Reader:        God’s greatest desire is for us all to be united, and so we pray:

All:          Father, unite us all in you.

Reader:        Let us pray for all the other churches in our neighbourhood;  inspire us all to pray and work together……..silence…… we pray

All:          Father, unite us all in you.

Reader:        We pray for people of different faiths – locally and throughout the world.  May we all learn to live together with respect and acceptance. ……..silence…… we pray,

All:          Father, unite us all in you.

Reader:        We pray for the peoples of our world who are divided by war and hatred.  Lead all peoples into greater understanding and acceptance. ……..silence…… we pray

All:          Father, unite us all in you.

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

 

Pause for those who wish to pray for 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.

 

We will end with a sung blessing the refrain of which is printed below.

 

 

The hand of God shall hold you, the peace of God enfold you;

The love that dreamed & formed you still surrounds you here today.

The light of God beside you, above, beneath, inside you,

The light that shines to guide you home to the loving hand of God.