Cantica Gaudia

Ordinary Time, Late Summer: Friday Compline

Confession: Lord of all holiness, when we approach your glory, we are conscious of our guilt, conscious of our people's guilt in a world where so many live in hardship. We feel that we are lost, helpless to act or change. You bring us the offer of hope, but we are afraid of it. You bring us the words of life, but our words are full of despair; our lips are unclean. Touch our lips with your holy fire, cleanse us and take away our guilt. Make our hearts ready to say, "Here I am, Lord, send me."

Canticle: All you works of God, bless your creator
Praise her and glorify her for ever.

Let the wide earth bless the creator
Let the arching heavens bless the creator
Let the whole body of God bless the creator
Praise her and glorify her for ever.

You returning daylight, bless your creator
Twilight and shadows, bless your creator
Embracing darkness, bless your creator
Praise her and glorify her for ever.

You creatures of God, bless your creator
Swift and cunning, violent and graceful, bless your creator
All who creep and soar and dance across the earth, bless your creator
Praise her and glorify her for ever.

Let all who live and grow and breathe
Bless our creator
Praise her and glorify her for ever.

Reading: God's call is mysterious; it comes in the darkness of faith. It is so fine, so subtle, that it is only with the deepest silence we can hear it. And yet nothing is so decisive and overpowering for an individual, nothing surer or stronger. God is always calling us! But there are decisive moments in this call, moments which leave a permanent mark on us. In these moments, the soul has understood that it must let itself be carried, that it must abandon itself to its Saviour, that alone it can do nothing, that God can do everything. And if it remains still and motionaless, as though bound in the faithfulness of God, it will quickly realize that things have changed, and that progress, though still painful, is in the right direction. What matters is to let God get on with it!

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: Be present, Spirit of God, within us, your dwelling place and home, that this house may be one where all darkness is penetrated by your light, all troubles calmed by your peace, all evil redeemed by your love, all pain transformed in your suffering, and all dying glorified in your risen life. Amen.

Going Forth:  The peace of God, the peace of God's people, the peace of Mary mild, the loving one, and of Christ, King of human hearts, God's own peace be upon each thing our eyes take in, be upon each thing our ears take in, be upon our bodies which come from the earth, be upon our souls which come from heaven, evermore and evermore. Amen.