Cantica Gaudia

Season of Lent: Thursday Evening Prayer

Opening: Bless the Lord who forgives our sins. God's mercy endures forever.

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.
To Abraham and his children for ever.

Psalm: Lord, you have searched me out and known me;
You know my sitting down and my rising up; you discern my thoughts from afar.
You trace my journeys and my resting places
And are acquainted with all my ways.
Indeed there is not a word on my lips,
But you, O Lord, know it altogether.
You press upon me behind and before
And lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is so high that I cannot attain to it.
Where can I go then from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I climb up to heaven, you are there;
If I make the grave my bed, you are there also.
If I take the wings of the morning
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there your hand will lead me
And your right hand hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely darkness will cover me,
And the light around me turn to night,”
Darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as day;
Darkness and light to you are both alike.
For you yourself created my inmost parts;
You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I will thank you because I am marvelously made;
Your works are wonderful, and I know it well.
My body was not hidden from you
While I was being made in secret and woven in the depths of the eath.
Your eyes beheld my limbs, yet unfinished in the womb; all of them were written in your book;
They were fashioned day by day, when as yet there was none of them.
How deep I find your thoughts, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
If I were to count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
To count them all, my life span would need to be like yours.

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: Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past.
 See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland.
The wild animals honor me,
    the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
    the people I formed for myself
    that they may proclaim my praise.

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: We pray to the Lord for courage to give up things
and to give ourselves to him this Lent.

Give your Church the courage
to give up its preoccupation with itself
and to give more time to your mission in the world.

Lord, meet us in the silence,
give us strength and hear our prayer.

Give your world the courage
to give up war, bitterness and hatred,
and to seek peace.

Lord, meet us in the silence,
give us strength and hear our prayer.

Give us the courage to give up quarrels, strife and jealousy
in our families, neighbourhoods and communities.

Lord, meet us in the silence,
give us strength and hear our prayer.

Give us the courage
to give up our selfishness as we live for others,
and to give time, care and comfort to the sick.

Lord, meet us in the silence,
give us strength and hear our prayer.

Give us the courage to give up our fear of death
and to rejoice with those who have died in faith.

Lord, meet us in the silence,
give us strength and hear our prayer,
here and in eternity. Amen.

Collect: God of the hungry, make us hunger and thirst for the right, till our thirst for justice has been satisfied, and hunger has gone from the earth. Amen.

Blessing:  Comfort and strengthen us, Lord Jesus, to be your companion and do your work, wherever we are.