THE BODY & BLOOD OF CHRIST
Evening Prayer I
GREETING
O God, feed us with the bread of your word. Let us eat and be filled at your table.
May we taste your sweetness, O God. Fill us with the bread that gives life.
DOXOLOGY
PSALM 34:1–11
Drink in the richness of God, enjoy the strength of the Lord.
I will never stop thanking God,
with constant words of praise.
My soul will boast of God;
the poor will hear me and be glad.
Join me in praising the Lord,
together tell of God’s name.
I asked and the Lord responded,
freed me from all my fears.
Turn to God, be bright with joy;
you shall never be let down.
I begged and God heard,
took my burdens from me.
God’s angel defends the faithful,
guards them on every side.
Drink in the richness of God,
enjoy the strength of the Lord.
Live in awe of God, you saints:
you will want for nothing.
Even if lions go hungry,
those seeking God are fed.
WISDOM 16:20–21,26;17:1a
You give us food to satisfy our deepest hunger.
You hand-fed your people
with food for angels,
heaven’s bread:
ready to eat,
richly satisfying,
pleasing to every taste.
Eating this bread,
they tasted your sweetness,
the perfect meal
for their deepest hunger and hope.
The children you love
will learn this, Lord:
it is your word,
not the bounty of fruits,
that feeds and preserves
your faithful ones.
Great are your judgments,
beyond calculation!
READING
1 Corinthians 10:16 – 17
The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
CANTICLE OF MARY
God satisfies the thirsty, and fills the hungry with good things.
I acclaim the greatness of the Lord,
I delight in God my savior,
who regarded my humble state.
Truly from this day on all ages
will call me blest.
For God, wonderful in power,
has used that strength for me.
Holy the name of the Lord!
Whose mercy embraces the faithful,
one generation to the next.
The mighty arm of God
scatters the proud in their conceit,
Pulls tyrants from their thrones,
and raises up the humble.
The Lord fills the starving
and lets the rich go hungry.
God rescues lowly Israel,
recalling the promise of mercy,
the promise made to our ancestors,
to Abraham’s heirs forever.
INTERCESSIONS
Jesus, you are our living bread. In your love for us you give us the gift of your Body and your Blood. You feed us at your table and sustain us on our journey. Hear us now as we pray.
Jesus, living bread, your people die from lack of food:
~ Send them food to satisfy their need.
Jesus, living bread, your people walk in the darkness of discouragement:
~ Let the bread of your word bring them light and strength.
Jesus, living bread, your people feel the divisiveness of prejudice and discrimination:
~ Open our hearts to welcome all people as brothers and sisters.
Jesus, living bread, your people experience violence in their midst:
~ Strengthen us to be advocates of nonviolence and ministers of justice and peace.
Jesus, living bread, your people suffer the pain of joblessness:
~ Help us to create a society in which all who seek employment may secure work with just remuneration.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Prayer
God of life, you gave us Jesus to be our food and drink. May we who share in the one bread and drink of the one cup strive for unity of mind and heart in sharing whatever we have. May divisions cease, and may enemies seek reconciliation. May the stranger and the outcast be welcomed at our feast. This we ask in the name of Jesus, our living bread. Amen.
BLESSING
May we be filled with longing for you, O Christ. Amen.
May we be filled with thankfulness. Amen.
May we be filled with the joy of those who share in your banquet. Amen.