Cantica Gaudia

Season of Easter: Friday Evening Prayer

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

Canticle:  Lord, you now have set your servant free
To go in peace as you have promised;
For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior,
Whom you have prepared for all the world to see:
A Light to enlighten the nations,
And the glory of your people Israel.

Psalm: Your rightness gleams in all action
Your goodness seeps into every hidden place
For those who call you in their heart’s truth
You are there in the calling
And you fulfill all those who embrace your power
You hear their cries and they are saved

In your love you preserve those who love you
But in your distance you are the abandonment of those who abandon you

My mouth shall ever speak these words of praise for you
And all flesh shall be the blessing of your unsayable name
Everywhere and always

Glory to God, who made us, who bears our pain, and who loves us;
As it once was, is, and ever shall be.  Amen.

Reading: All day long a little burro labors, sometimes with heavy loads on her back and sometimes just with worries about things that bother only burros.  And worries, we know, can be more exhausting than physical labor.

Once in a while a kind monk comes to her stable and brings a pear, but more than that, he looks into the burro’s eyes and touches her ears.  And for a few seconds the burro is free and even seems to laugh, because love does that.  Love frees.

The Lord’s Prayer: Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
And the power and the glory,

For ever and ever.  Amen.

Prayer: We praise you and we bless you, our risen Lord Jesus, King of glory,
for in your resurrection the power of love breaks open the earth and frees life from death.
As the angel rolled away the stone from the prison of the tomb, so release those imprisoned by life’s misfortunes. To you, Lord Jesus, whose life brings surprises beyond our wildest expectations, be honour and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

Collect: Lord, we long to be your people in this world where other powers claim our allegiance. You have stamped your image on us. Guide us by your light that we might see clearly who we are and what it means to give ourselves to you. Amen.

Going Forth: May Christ guide and strengthen us today and throughout our journey.