Week Four
Wednesday Evening
GREETINGS AND DOXOLOGY
PSALM 139
O God, you search me and know me. You loved me before I was born.
You search me, Lord, and know me.
Wherever I sit or stand,
you read my inmost thoughts;
whenever I walk or rest,
you know where I have been.
Before a word slips from my tongue,
Lord, you know what I will say.
You close in on me,
pressing your hand upon me.
All this overwhelms me ---
too much to understand!
Where can I hide from you?
How can I escape your presence?
I scale the heavens, you are there!
I plunge to the depths, you are there!
If I fly toward the dawn,
or settle across the sea,
even there you take hold of me,
your right hand directs me.
If I think night will hide me
and darkness give me cover,
I find darkness is not dark.
For your night shines like day,
darkness and light are one.
You created every part of me,
knitting me in my mother’s womb.
For such handiwork, I praise you.
Awesome this great wonder!
I see it so clearly!
You watched every bone
taking shape in secret,
forming in the hidden depths.
You saw my body grow
according to your design.
You recorded all my days
before they ever began.
How deep are your thoughts!
How vast their sum!
like countless grains of sand,
well beyond my grasp.
Lord, destroy the wicked,
save me from killers.
They plot evil schemes,
they blaspheme against you.
How I hate those who hate you!
How I detest those who defy you!
I hate with a deadly hate
these enemies of mine.
Search my heart, probe me, God!
Test and judge my thoughts.
Look! do I follow crooked paths?
Lead me along your ancient way.
READING: Romans 5:1-5
Since we are justified by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have obtained access to this
grace in which we stand; and we boast in our
hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only
that, but we boast in our sufferings, knowing
that suffering produces endurance, and endurance
produces character, and character produces
hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because
God’s love has been poured into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit that has been given
to us.
CANTICLE OF MARY
We sing to you with psalms and inspired songs, telling of your wonders.
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
Knowing the love that God has for us encourages us to hand over our anxieties and to ask for what we need:
~ God of hope, hear our prayer!
~ For all the church leaders, that they may persevere in bringing Christ into the world, let us pray:
~ For our elected officials, that they may accept and fulfill the moral responsibilities placed upon them, let us pray:
~ For all the underprivileged in the world, that they may find solace and strength in the knowledge of God’s presence, let us pray:
~ For those who struggle to preserve life, that the Giver of all life may be their strength, let us pray:
~ For all our deceased, that while we grieve, we may rejoice in their new life with Christ, let us pray:
~ For the women in the process of incorporation, that they experience the support and encouragement they need to become firmly rooted in Mercy life:
THE LORD’S PRAYER
PRAYER
God, you know our needs and desires before
we are able to form the words. Read our hearts,
then, and grant us what we most need to walk
in health and holiness before you. As you are
generous with us, may we be open-handed with
all those whose needs are greater than our own.
We ask this in the name of Jesus who fed and
healed us. Amen.
BLESSING
May the Spirit of God find a home in us. Amen
May the Spirit of God animate us. Amen
May the Spirit of God create new hearts in us. Amen