Cantica Gaudia

Ordinary Time, Late Summer: Tuesday Compline

Confession: O God, you have searched us out and known us, and all that we are is open to you. We confess that we have sinned: we have used our power to dominate and our weakness to manipulate; we have evaded responsibility and failed to confront evil; we have denied dignity to ourselves and to those around us, and have fallen into despair.

We turn to you, O God; we renounce evil; we claim your love; we choose to be made whole.

Canticle: Praise to our God,
Our help in ages past,
Who has nourished us, body and spirit,
And raised up in every generation
Saints and workers for justice
Who gave us the ground we stand on
And planted the seeds of change.

Praise to our God,
Our hope for years to come,
Who makes us dream generous dreams
Of a harvest shared,
Of sufferings ended,
Of the time when all shall be included
In one great feast of life.

Praise to our God
Who daily offers us
This present moment
To renounce despair,
To leave behind our fear,
And choose that community of freedom
Where those who are poor come first,
But all who kneel and open their hands
Shall be unfailingly fed.

Reading: When the shadows fall upon hill and glen, and the bird-music is mute, when the silken dark is a friend, and the river sings to the star, ask yourself, brother, ask yourself, sister, the question you alone have power to answer. "O King and Saviour of men, what is your gift to me? And do I use it to your pleasing?"

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: Godde, keep me always greening

Keep me rooted in the dark, keep me turning into light

Keep me well and deeply watered, keep me bending with the winds

Keep me growing beyond fences, keep me leafing, budding, blooming

Keep me fruiting, keep me yielding, ever blessing everything

Keep me healing, calm and able, keep me still as stillness calls

Keep me always greening, Godde.

Going Forth: Blessing, light and glory surround us, and scatter the darkness of the long and lonely night. Amen.