Cantica Gaudia

Advent: Monday Evening Prayer

Opening: None of us lives and none of us dies for ourselves alone. Living or dying, we belong to the Lord.

Canticle: You, O Christ, are the One:
The might and goodness of fatherhood.
You are the One:
The wisdom and kindness of motherhood.
You, O Christ, are the One:
The light and grace of all blessed love;
You are Trinity; you are Unity.
You, O Christ, are the One:
The high sovereign goodness of all manner of things.
You are the One who makes us to love;
You are the One who makes us to long.
You, O Christ, are the One:
The endless fulfilling of all our true desires.

Psalm: The Lord turns rivers into desert
And springs of water into thirsty ground.
A fruitful land you make a salty waste
Because of the wickedness of those who live in it.
You turn desert into standing pools
And dry land into springs of water.
There you settle the hungry,
And they build there a city to live in.
They sow fields and plant vineyards,
Which yield them a bountiful harvest.
You bless them, and their numbers increase,
And you permit no decrease of their herds.
When they are weakened and brought low,
Through stress of misfortune and sorrow,
You pour contempt on their princely oppressors,
Whom you send astray in the trackless desert.
But the poor you lift out of misery
And increase their families like flocks of sheep.
The upright see it and are glad,
But the wicked are put to silence.
Let those who are wise ponder these things
And consider the Lord’s unfailing love.

Antiphon: O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High,
reaching from one end to the other mightily,
and sweetly ordering all things:

Come and teach us the way of prudence

Reading: This year I do not want
the dark to leave me.
I need its wrap
of silent stillness,
its cloak
of long lasting embrace.
Too much light
has pulled me away
from the chamber
of gestation.
Let the dawns
come late,
let the sunsets
arrive early,
let the evenings
extend themselves
while I lean into
the abyss of my being.
Let me lie in the cave
of my soul,
for too much light
blinds me,
steals the source
of revelation.
Let me seek solace
in the empty places
of winter's passage,
those vast dark nights
that never fail to shelter me.

The Lord’s Prayer:

Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,
Source of all that is and that shall be,
Father and Mother of us all,
Loving God, in whom is heaven

The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom
Sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.

For you reign in the glory of the power that is love,
Now and for ever.  Amen.

Prayer: Spirit of comfort and longing,
Enfold my fear,
Unclothe me of my pride,
Unweave my thoughts,
Uncomplicated my heart,
And give me surrender:
That I may tell my wounds,
Lay down my work,
And greet the dark.

Collect: Creator God, from whose womb the sea burst forth: be with us now as we seek your grace to give birth to a new creation filled with justice and peace, harmony and concord, unity and love for all; in the name of your Child whom we await, Jesus Christ our Redeemer. Amen.

Going Forth:  May God, who sent us the light of the world and who has given us the light of this day, grant that we may come to know the lightness of being which allowed Mary to say, "Yes." Amen.