Cantica Gaudia

Ordinary Time, Late Summer: Wednesday Evening Prayer

Opening: Holy God, holy and strange, holy and intimate, have mercy on us.

Canticle: Sing out, my soul,
Sing of the holiness of God:
Who has delighted in a woman,
Lifted up the poor,
Satisfied the hungry,
Given voice to the silent,
Grounded the oppressor,
Blessed the full-bellied with emptiness,
And with the gift of tears
Those who have never wept;
Who has desired the darkness of the womb
And inhabited our flesh.
Sing of the longing of God,
Sing out, my soul.

Psalm: Unless the Lord builds the house
Its builders will have labored in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city
Those who keep watch will stay awake in vain.
In vain you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil
For those whom the Lord loves are given sleep.

Glory to God, Source of all being, Eternal Word, and Holy Spirit:
As it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be always.  Amen.

Reading: He said to his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you -- you of little faith! And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

The Lord’s Prayer

Creator of all,
Alive in all things and greater than all things,
Your naming be held holy.
Your vision of our goodness be made manifest throughout the universe,
And your desires for us brought to fulfillment.
Give us that which is essential for our growth and work.
Offer forgiveness and healing to us as we forgive and heal those around us.
Protect us from unnecessary suffering and wasteful pain.
For all that is beautiful, strong and glorious has its roots in you
and expresses your will and your nature, which we share in, unendingly.  Amen.

Prayer: Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work or watch or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ, give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love's sake. Amen.

Collect: Grant us, O God, to trust in you with all our heart; for as you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so you never forsake those who make their boast in your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Going Forth: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen.