Cantica Gaudia

Season of Lent: Monday Noonday Prayer

Opening:  God of our journey,
as we walk with you on your path of obedience,
sustain us on our way and lead us to your glory;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm: Out of the depths I call to you
Listen to my voice
Be attentive to my supplicating voice

If you tallied errors
Who would survive the count?
But you forgive, you forbear everything
And this is the wonder and the dread

You are my heart’s hope, my daily hope
And my ears long to hear your words
My heart waits quiet in hope for you
More than they who watch for sunrise
Hope for a new morning

Let those who question and struggle
Wait quiet like this for you
For with you there is durable kindness
And wholeness in abundance
And you will loose all our bindings
Surely

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

Reading:  "The elixir, you understand, is the substance by which nature renews itself. All things below the circle of the moon are subject to change and to decay. If there were no countervailing principle in nature, all the world would be completely corrupted within a few generations. It isn't: we struggle on, constantly beset by sin and death, but constantly striving for love and life -- and sometimes we even find them, for a while. So it has to exist, the elixir. A ferment in the corruption, capable of turning base metals into noble ones, of healing and renewing life. Should we expect it to be easy to find?"

The Lord’s Prayer: Abba our God,
Whom the heavens disclose,
May your name be held holy,
Your authority come.
May your longing be fulfilled
As in heaven, so on earth.
Give us today the bread of tomorrow,
And cancel our debts
As we have already forgiven our debtors.
Do not draw us in
To sinful enticement,
But set us free
From the grip of evil;
For authority and power and glory
Are yours alone, for ever.  Amen.

Prayer:  O God of many names,
lover of all peoples;
we pray for peace
in our hearts and homes
in our nations and our world;
the peace of your will,
the peace of our need.

Dear Christ, our friend and our guide,
pioneer through the shadow of death,
passing through darkness to make it light,
be our companion that we may fear no evil,
and bring us to life and to glory.

O God of peace and justice,
of holiness and love;
knit us together in mind and flesh,
in feeling and in spirit,
and make us one,
ready for that great day;
the fulfillment of all our hopes,
and the glory of Jesus Christ.

Keep us in the spirit of joy and simplicity and mercy.
Bless us and those you have entrusted to us,
in and through Jesus Christ our Savior.  Amen.

Blessing: May the vision of God's love and mercy give us strength for our journey.