Cantica Gaudia

Season of Lent: Saturday Morning Prayer

Opening:  The Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before him.

Canticle: I will take you from among all nations;
And gather you from all lands to bring you home.
I will sprinkle clean water upon you;
And purify you from false gods and uncleanness.
A new heart I will give you
And a new spirit put within you.
I will take the stone heart from your chest
And give you a heart of flesh.
I will help you walk in my laws
And cherish my commandments and do them.
You shall be my people,
And I will be your God.

Psalm: For God alone my soul in silence waits;
From him comes my salvation.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold , so that I shall not be greatly shaken.
How long will you assail me to crush me, all of you together,
As if you were a leaning fence, a toppling wall?
They seek only to bring me down from my place of honor;
Lies are their chief delight.
They bless with their lips,
But in their hearts they curse.
For God alone my soul in silence waits;
Truly, my hope is in him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold, so that I shall not be shaken.
In God is my safety and my honor;
God is my strong rock and my refuge.
Put your trust in him always, O people,
Pour out your hearts before him, for God is our refuge.

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: Lord God, mercy is in your hands, pour
me a little.  And tenderness too.  My
need is great.  Beauty walks so freely
and with such gentleness.  Impatience puts
a halter on my face and I run away over
the green fields wanting your voice, your
tenderness, but having to do with only
the sweet grasses of the fields against
my body.  When I first found you I was
filled with light, now the darkness grows
and it is filled with crooked things, bitter
and weak, each one bearing my name.

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, open to us today the sea of your mercy and water us with full streams from the riches of your grace and springs of your kindness. Make us children of quietness and heirs of peace: kindle in us the fire of your love; sow in us your fear; strengthen our weakness by your power and bind us close to you and each other. Amen. 

Collect: O God, you took upon you the yoke of humanity and the burden of love, and did not find it easy: let us learn from you to share the weight of all this aching world, that our souls may be light, and our hearts rested, as together we are carried by you in Jesus Christ. Amen.

Blessing: May God bless us,
that in us may be found love and humility,
obedience and thanksgiving,
discipline, gentleness and peace.