Week Two
Friday Evening
Greeting and Doxology
PSALM 116:1-9, 12-14, 17-19
I raise the cup of freedom as I call on God’s name!
I am filled with love,
for the Lord hears me;
the Lord bends to my voice
whenever I call.
Death had me in its grip,
the grave’s trap was set,
grief held me fast.
I cried out for God,
“Please, Lord, rescue me!”
Kind and faithful is the Lord,
gentle is our God.
The Lord shelters the poor,
raises me from the dust.
Rest once more, my heart,
for you know the Lord’s love.
God rescues me from death,
wiping my tears,
steadying my feet.
i walk with the Lord
in this land of the living.
What gift can ever repay
God’s gift to me?
I raise the cup of freedom
as I call on God;s name!
I fulfill my vows to you, Lord,
standing before your assembly,
in the court of your house,
within the heart of Jerusalem.
Hallelujah!
READING: 1 Corinthians 2:6-10a
Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. But we speak God’s wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, is the very thing that has been prepared for them who love God.” These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit.
CANTICLE OF MARY
No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what you have prepared for those who love you.
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 for ever.
INTERCESSIONS
Gracious God, you are gift to us, beyond all hope and expectation. With awe and appreciation, we express our gratitude to you.
We pray in gratitude for practical gifts of time and talent:
~May we use these blessings wisely for the well-being of others and for our own growth.
We pray in gratitude for loving gifts of family and friends:
~May these blessings empower us to reach out to others in care and forgiveness.
We pray in gratitude for natural gifts of sound and silence:
~May these blessings foster in us a spirit of contemplation and an attitude of reverence.
We pray in gratitude for spontaneous gifts of creativity and inspiration:
~May we treasure these blessings as moments of divine life.
We pray in gratitude for treasured gifts of health and happiness:
~May these blessings help us grow in wholeness and holiness.
PRAYER
Gracious God, at the close of this day, we remember all the graces with which you sustain and nurture us. You have called us, not to bestow gifts, but to bestow ourselves freely, relying with unhesitating confidence on our providence. May we live in this spirit of generosity, gladly sharing the goodness with which you have blessed us. We ask this in the name of Jesus who poured out his life for us. Amen.
BLESSING
May God’s blessing be upon us. Amen
May God’s light lead us in the way of Righteousness. Amen.
May our lives be patterned on Christ Jesus. Amen.