Cantica Gaudia

Ordinary Time, Late Summer: Saturday Compline

Confession: God of all mercy, we confess that we have sinned against you, opposing your will in our lives.  We have denied your goodness in each other, in ourselves, and in the world you have created.  We repent of the evil that enslaves us, the evil we have done, and the evil done on our behalf.  Forgive, restore, and strengthen us through our Savior Jesus Christ, that we may abide in your love and serve only your will.  Amen.

Holy God, have mercy on us.  Forgive us all our sins through the grace of Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, keep us in eternal life.  Amen.

Canticle: Christ revealed our frailty and our falling,
Our trespasses and our humiliations.
Christ also revealed his blessed power,
His blessed wisdom and love.
He protects us as tenderly and as sweetly  when we are in greatest need,
He raises us in spirit and turns everything to glory and joy without ending.
God is the ground and the substance, the very essence of nature;
God is the true father and mother of natures.
We are all bound to God by nature,
And we are all bound to God by grace.
And this grace is for all the world,
Because it is our precious mother, Christ.
For this fair nature was prepared by Christ for the honor and nobility of all,
And for the joy and bliss of salvation.

Reading: What kind of God would he be if he did not hear the bangles ring on an ant's wrist as they move the earth in their sweet dance?

And what kind of God would be be if a leaf's prayer was not as precious to creation as the prayer his own son sang from the glorious depths of his soul -- for us.

And what kind of a God would he be if the vote of millions in this world could sway him to change the divine law of love, that speaks so clearly with compassion's elegant tongue, saying, eternally saying:

All are forgiven -- morever, dears, no one has ever been guilty.

The Lord’s Prayer

Holy One,
We honor your name.
Let the world know your justice
Here as everywhere.
Give us the food we need
For both the body and the soul.
Forgive us the wrongs we do
As we forgive the wrongs of others.
Keep us safe from the evil
At large or of our own making.
We trust you for you made us and
We are yours, now and always.  Amen.

Prayer: Be present, O merciful God, and protect us through the hours of this night, so that we who are wearied by the changes and chances of this life may rest in your eternal changelessness, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Going Forth: O God of love and mercy, grant us, with all your people, rest and peace.