Cantica Gaudia

Ordinary Time, Late Summer: Thursday Morning Prayer

Opening: Why spend money on that which is not bread, and your labor on that with does not satisfy? God says, Listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Alleluia.

Canticle: Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you.
For behold, darkness covers the land;
deep gloom enshrouds the peoples.
But over you the Lord will rise,
and God's glory will appear upon you.
Nations will stream to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawning.
Your gates will always be open;
by day or night they will never be shut.
They will call you, The City of the Lord,
The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Violence will no more be heard in your land,
ruin and destruction within your borders.
You will call your walls, Salvation,
and all your portals, Praise.
The sun will no more be your light by day;
by night you will not need the brightness of the moon.
The Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.

Psalm: O Lord, you are my portion and my cup;
It is you who uphold my lot.
My boundaries enclose a pleasant land;
Indeed, I have a goodly heritage.
I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
My heart teaches me, night after night.
I have set the Lord always before me;
Because God is at my right hand I shall not fall.
My heart, therefore, is glad, and my spirit rejoices;
My body also shall rest in hope.
For you will not abandon me to the grave,
Nor let your holy one see the Pit.
You will show me the path of life;
In your presence there is fullness of joy, and in your right hand are pleasures for evermore.

Glory be to God, who made us, who bears our pain, and who loves us
As it was in the beginning, is now and will be always.  Amen.

Reading: The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

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: O God, you promise a world
Where those who now weep shall laugh;
Those who are hungry shall feast;
Those who are poor now, and excluded,
Shall have your kingdom for their own.
I want this world too.
I renounce despair.
I will act for change.
I choose to be included
In your great feast of life.  Amen.

Collect: God our creator, you have made us one with this earth, to tend it and to bring forth fruit; may we so respect and cherish all that has life from you, that we may share in the labor of all creation to give birth to your hidden glory, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Going Forth: May the God who shakes heaven and earth, whom death could not contain, who lives to disturb and heal us, bless us with the power to go forth and proclaim the gospel. Amen.