Week Four
Monday Evening
Greeting and Doxology
PSALM 40
Your maternal love surrounds us. Your sure and tender care protects us always.
I waited and waited for God.
At long last God bent down
to hear my complaint,
and pulled me from the grave
out of the swamp,
and gave me a steady stride
on rock-solid ground.
God taught me a new song,
a hymn of praise.
Seeing all this,
many will be moved
to trust in the Lord.
Happy are they who trust in God,
not seduced by idols
nor won over by lies.
You do so many wonders.
You show your care for us,
Lord my God:
You are beyond compare.
Were I to name them all,
no one could keep track.
You did not seek offerings
or ask for sacrifices;
but you drilled ears
for me to hear.
“Yes,” I said, “I will come
to live by your written word.”
I want to do what pleases you;
your teaching is in my heart.
I celebrate your justice
before all the assembly;
I do not hold back the story.
Lord, you know this is true.
I did not hide in my heart
your acts of rescue;
I boldly declare to all
your truth and care, your faithful love.
Your maternal love
surrounds me, Lord.
Your sure and tender care
protects me always.
Countless evils surround me,
more than the hairs on my head;
My sins overwhelm me,
so many I can hardly see,
My courage fails me.
Please, Lord, rescue me;
hurry, Lord, help me.
Stop my killers, shame them,
wipe out my bitter enemies.
Let those who jeer at me,
“Too bad for you!”
be rewarded with shame.
But let all who seek you
and count on your strength
Sing and dance and cheer
“Glory to God!”
Though I am weak and poor
God cares for me.
My help, my savior,
my God, act now!
READING Isaiah 49: 14-16a
Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me.”
Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child in her womb?
Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.
See I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands.
CANTICLE OF MARY
May our hearts overflow with love for one another as we rejoice in your love for us.
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 might 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
Grateful for your creative love, O God, we pray for those who bear life. Confident of your care for them, we pray
~ Protect them in your love
For women who bring forth their children in uncertainty—for refugees and for the homeless, we pray:
For women who are dismayed to find themselves pregnant, we pray:
For women who lack the resources to care for their children, we pray:
For women whose children have disappeared, we pray:
For women who watch their children suffer and die, we pray:
For women who generously embrace the experience of motherhood, we pray:
THE LORD’S PRAYER
PRAYER
Your maternal love surrounds us, O God, nurturing and sustaining our lives. Inspired by your gentle care, may we offer our support and encouragement to those whom you have called to nurture new life. Give them strength and courage, patience and joy, as they tend these most vulnerable members of Christ’s body. We offer this prayer through the intercession of Mary who bore your Son Jesus to our world. 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.