Cantica Gaudia

Ordinary Time, Fall: Sunday Compline

Confession:  You are the never-ceasing open gift of love;
We turn in upon ourselves.
Lord have mercy.

You live beyond all centers of power;
We enclose your grace.
Christ have mercy.

You rejoice in a multitude of names;
We try to pin you down.
Lord have mercy.

Canticle: As the hand moves over the harp and the strings speak,
So your Spirit speaks in my members and I speak by your love.
You transform what is foreign and bitter.
You are from the beginning and will be to the end.
Nothing will be your adversary
Nothing will resist you.
You, Lord, multiply your knowledge
You are zealous to make us know what you give us through your grace.
You give us praise for your name
And our spirits praise your holy Spirit.
A stream goes forth and becomes a long and broad river.
It flooded and broke and carried away the temple.
Ordinary people could not stop it,
Nor could those whose art is to halt the waters.
It spread over the face of the whole earth, filling everything,
And the thirsty of the earth drink and their thirst is relieved and quenched.
The drink comes from you, the Highest One.

Reading: All too often we bemoan our imperfections rather than embrace them as part of the process in which we are brought to God. Cherished emptiness gives God space in which to work. We are pure capacity for God. Let us not, then, take our littleness lightly. It is a wonderful grace. It is a gift to receive. At the same time, let us not get trapped in the confines of our littleness, but keep pushing on to claim our greatness. Remind yourself often, “I am pure capacity for God; I can be more."

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be your name,
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done
On earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
As we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
And deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
Now and for ever.  Amen.

Prayer: We seek your presence, O God, not because we have managed to see clearlu or been true in all things this day, not because we have succeeded in loving or in reverencing those around us, but because we want to see with clarity, because we long to be true, because we desire to love as we have been loved. Renew our inner sight, make fresh our longings to be true and grant us the grace of loving this night, that we may end this day restored to our deepest yearnings, that we may end this day as we intent to live tomorrow, as we intend to live tomorrow. Amen.

Going Forth: Bless to us, O God, the moon that is above us, the earth that is beneath us, the friends who are around us, your image deep within us. Amen.