Leader: O God, you are the gathering one who calls into community with each other:
All: To love & work, to support & to heal.
Leader: You are the gathering one who calls into community with the whole of creation:
All: To live in harmony, to cherish & renew– to pray.
Please sit and join in with the hymn:
Blest are the pure in heart for they shall see our God;
The secret of the Lord is theirs, their home is Christ’s abode.
The Lord who left the heavens, our life and peace to bring,
To dwell in lowliness with us, our pattern and our king.
Still to the lowly soul he does himself impart,
And for his dwelling and his throne chooses the pure in heart.
Lord we thy presence seek; may ours thy blessing be;
Give us a pure and lowly heart, a temple fit for thee.
We will listen to a setting of Psalm 71 (72) from Singing the Psalms 3,
Tr B7, joining in the refrain if we wish:
Justice shall flourish in God’s time & goodness & peace for ever.
The Canticle from Revelation will be spoken taking a verse each
All: The Lord will give him power and honour and empire and all peoples will serve him.
We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty who are & who were, that you have taken your great power and begun to reign.
The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great.
Now the salvation & the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them day & night before our God.
And they have conquered him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Rejoice then O Heaven, and you that dwell therein.
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 will give him power and honour and empire and all peoples will serve him.
Reading: 1 Peter 4: 13-14
My dear people, if you can have some share in the suffering of Christ, be glad, because you will enjoy a much greater gladness when his glory is revealed. It is a blessing for you when they insult you for bearing the name of Christ, because it means you have the spirit of glory, the spirit of God, resting on you.
After a few moments of silent reflection, we are invited to respond aloud to the reading – maybe with an insight, or just the repetition of a single word or phrase that is important for you, maybe relating the text or part of it to something that has happened during the day or recently.
Please sing the Magnificat and its antiphon. as indicated.
Cantors: Saint Agnes opened her arms and prayed: I pray to you, holy Father;
Behold I am coming to you whom I have loved, whom I have sought, whom I have always desired.
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.
All: Saint Agnes opened her arms and prayed: I pray to you, holy Father;
Behold I am coming to you whom I have loved, whom I have sought, whom I have always desired.
Intercessions:
Reader: St Agnes was a child of immense commitment to Christ & made choices that reflected that. We pray to have that same commitment & to make our choices in line with that commitment ….. pause ……
Cantors: With St Agnes & all the saints,
All: We pray to the Lord.
Reader; St Agnes was only twelve when she was martyred as a result of wishing to remain a virgin. Let us pray for all young girls in our time who suffer when they refuse to do what is demanded of them knowing it is not right. ….. pause ……
Cantors: With St Agnes & all the saints,
All: We pray to the Lord.
Reader: Agnes is recognised as a saint in the East & West & across different denominations. Let us pray that the things that unite us may clearly outweigh the things that divide us. ….. pause ……
Cantors: With St Agnes & all the saints,
All: We pray to the Lord.
Reader: We pray for people who have died today, for those who will die tonight & 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: Almighty, ever-living God, you choose what is weak in the world to shame what is strong. Grant that as we celebrate the martyrdom of Saint Agnes, we may follow her example of faith & courage in adversity. 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: God the Father who creates us, God the Son who redeems us, God the Spirit who sanctifies us, bless & deepen us now & evermore. Amen
For a few moments at the conclusion of our prayer, let us reflect on our day as we listen to some meditative music.
(Volutes d’ete Tr1)