Cantica Gaudia

Season of Lent: Saturday Evening Prayer

Opening: The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Canticle: Glorify the Lord, all you works of the Lord,
Praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
In the firmament of her power, glorify the Lord,
Praise her and highly exalt her for ever.

Let the earth glorify the Lord
Praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
Glorify the Lord, O mountains and hills, and all that grows upon the earth,
Praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Glorify the Lord, O springs of water, seas, and streams,
O whales and all that move in the waters. 
All birds of the air, glorify the Lord,
Praise her and highly exalt her for ever.

Glorify the Lord, O beasts of the wild,
And all you flocks and herds.
O men and women everywhere, glorify the Lord,
Praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Psalm: Who can rest in your tent?
Who can stand on your mountain?

The one who walks upright
Does what is good
Utters true words of the heart
And does not deceive with the tongue
Who does no harm to a neighbor
And never reproaches others
Who sees crookedness for what it is
And honors the truth that flows from you
Whose word is firm even in difficulty
Who gives asking nothing in return
And does not seek advantage
At the expense of the innocent

The one who lives this way
Will never be shaken

Glory to God, our Creator, to God’s most Holy Word, and to the Spirit, indwelling; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.

Reading: To learn the scriptures is easy,
To live them, hard.
The search for the Real
Is no simple matter.

Deep in my looking,
The last words vanished.
Joyous and silent,
The waking that met me there.

The Lord’s Prayer: Seed and source,
Far in the distance and in our souls,
You are holy and make us whole.
May we perceive your divine will
That loved us into being
Help us to join your creative force
And let it prosper here.
Give us what we need to survive,
And release us from our transgressions
As we release others from theirs.
Keep us away from paths of destruction
And from those who would ruin what you have made,
For you are the matrix of life, love and wisdom,
Now and forever.  Amen.

Prayer: Lord, mold us and form us into the kind of people you want us to be. Be patient with us when we fall short of what love demands of us. And give us patience with ourselves. Catch us in the arms of your grace. Amen.

Collect: O God, you made us for yourself, and against your longing there is no defence. Mark us with your love, and release in us a passion for your justice in our disfigured world; that we may turn from our guilt and face you, our heart's desire. Amen.

Blessing:  The Spirit's blessing be ours, wind and fire, joy and wisdom, comforting and disturbing. Amen.