Cantica Gaudia

Advent: Sunday Evening Prayer

Opening: Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; let the whole earth tremble before God.

Canticle: Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem.

A voice cries out: In the wilderness
Prepare the way of the Holy One;
Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Every valley shall be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill made low.

The uneven ground shall become level,
And the rough places a plain.

Then the glory of the Holy One shall be revealed,
And all people shall see it together,
For the mouth of the Holy One has spoken.

Psalm: Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless God’s holy Name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all God’s benefits.
The Holy One forgives all your sins
And heals all your infirmities
God redeems your life from the grave
And crowns you with mercy and loving-kindness.
The Lord satisfies you with good things,
And your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.

Antiphon: O Emmanuel, our King and our lawgiver,
the hope of the nations and their Saviour:

Come and save us, O Lord our God.

Reading: Just sit there right now. Don't do a thing. Just rest.

For your separation from God is the hardest work in this world.

Let me bring you trays of food and something that you like to drink. You can use my soft words as a cushion for your head.

The Lord’s Prayer:

Seed and source,
Far in the distance and in our souls,
You are holy and make us whole.
May we perceive your divine will
That loved us into being
Help us to join your creative force
And let it prosper here.
Give us what we need to survive,
And release us from our transgressions
As we release others from theirs.
Keep us away from paths of destruction
And from those who would ruin what you have made,
For you are the matrix of life, love and wisdom,
Now and forever.  Amen.

Prayer: God of the watching ones, give us your benediction.

God of the waiting ones, give us your good word for our souls.

God of the watching ones, the waiting ones, the slow and suffering ones, give us your benediction, your good word for our souls, that we might rest.

God of the watching ones, the waiting ones, the slow and suffering ones, and of the angels in heaven, and of the child in the womb, give us your benediction, your good word for our souls, that we might rest and rise in the kindness of your company. Amen.

Collect: Loving creator of all, watch over us this night and keep us in the light of your presence. May our praise continually blend with the song of all creation, until we come to those eternal joys which you promise in your love, through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

Going Forth: Glory to God, whose power working in us, can do infinitely more than we ask or imagine, glory to God from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.