FEASTS OF HOLY WOMEN AND MEN
Evening Prayer I
Greeting
Sing out a song of praise, O children of God.
Let our voices join the choir of saints singing, Holy, Holy!
Worthy is the Christ who was slain.
Holy and blessed are those who follow the Lamb, Alleluia!
Doxology
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now,
and ever shall be world without end. Amen.
Psalm 145
Saints in glory sing to our God who saves.
I will exalt you, God my king,
for ever bless your name.
I will bless you every day,
for ever praise your name.
Great is the Lord, highly to be praised,
great beyond our reach.
Age to age proclaims your works,
recounts your mighty deeds.
I ponder your splendor and glory
and all your wonderful works.
They reveal your fearful power,
I tell of your great deeds.
They recall your ample goodness,
joyfully sing your justice.
Gracious and merciful is the Lord,
slow to anger, full of love.
The Lord is good in every way,
merciful to every creature.
Let your works praise you, Lord,
your faithful ones bless you.
Let them proclaim your glorious reign,
let them tell of your might.
Let them make known to all
your might and glorious reign.
Your dominion lasts for ever,
your rule for all generations!
The Lord is faithful in every word
and gracious in every work.
The Lord supports the fallen,
raises those bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you,
you give them food in due time.
You open wide your hand
to feed all living things.
The Lord is just in every way,
loving in every deed.
The Lord is near to those who call,
who cry out from their hearts.
God grants them their desires,
hears their cry and saves them.
Those who love God are kept alive;
the wicked, the Lord destroys.
I will sing the Lord’s praise,
let all flesh bless God’s Name,
holy, both now and for ever.
Daniel 3: 52–57
Come, to our aid, O saints of God. Come to meet us on our journey.
Blest are you, God of our ancestors,
praised and lifted above all for ever!
Blest your holy name, full of wonder,
praised and lifted above all for ever!
Blest are you in your temple of glory,
acclaimed and honored for ever.
Blest are you who see the depths
from the cherubim throne,
praised and lifted above all for ever!
Blest are you enthroned in majesty,
praised and lifted above all for ever!
Blest are you beyond the stars,
acclaimed and honored for ever!
All you creatures, bless our God,
acclaimed and exalted for ever!
Reading
Revelation 7: 9–10
After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, singing, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
Canticle of Mary
Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving be to our God! Alleluia! Alleluia!
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
God of all nations and peoples, holy ones of every age have given you the offering of their lives. We, too, long to live in the way of holiness and justice. Join our love with theirs, as we place our prayers before you. Holy martyrs of God:
~ Intercede for all who are enduring persecution for the sake of the gospel.
Holy virgins of God:
~ Intercede for all who suffer from sexual exploitation or bodily attack.
Holy confessors of God:
~ Intercede for all who are called to profess their faith through teaching or writing.
Holy women of God:
~ Intercede for all women seeking the fullness of dignity and equality in church and society.
Holy men of God:
~ Intercede for all men seeking to live and serve as Jesus did.
Holy prophets of God:
~ Intercede for all who are called to challenge unjust structures of political and economic life.
Holy women of mercy:
~ Intercede for all sisters and associates of Mercy that we may be vibrant witnesses to the compassion and love of God.
The Lord’s Prayer
Prayer
Gracious God, it is right and fitting to praise you. You have blessed us with models of holiness showing us the way of discipleship. Through their intercession bring all your people together in peace and unity. This we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Blessing
Praise to our God who saves. Amen. Honor to our God who saves. Amen. Glory to our God who saves. Amen.
Morning Prayer
Greeting
Sing out a song of praise, O children of God.
Let our voices join the choir of saints singing, Holy, Holy!
Worthy is the Christ who was slain.
Holy and blessed are those who follow the Lamb, Alleluia!
Doxology
Psalm 113
Servants of God, praise, praise the God of all peoples and nations.
Servants of God, praise,
praise the name of the Lord.
Bless the Lord’s name
now and always.
Praise the Lord’s name
here and in every place,
from east to west.
The Lord towers above nations,
God’s glory shines over the heavens.
Who compares to our God?
Who is enthroned so high?
The Lord bends down
to see heaven and earth,
to raise the weak from the dust
and lift the poor from the mire,
to seat them with princes
in the company of their leaders.
The childless, no longer alone,
rejoice now in many children.
Hallelujah!
Revelation 19: 1–7
God will bless all believers, the small and the great.
Alleluia!
Salvation, glory and power to God!
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Right and sure, the judgments of God!
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Alleluia!
Praise our God, you faithful servants!
Alleluia, Alleluia!
In awe praise God, you small and great!
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Alleluia!
The Lord God almighty rules!
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Be glad, rejoice, give glory to God!
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Alleluia!
The wedding feast of the Lamb begins.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
The bride is radiant, clothed in glory.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reading
Revelation 7:14b – 17
These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
Canticle of Zechariah
These are they who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb.
Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
who shepherds the people
and sets them free.
God raises from David’s house
a child with power to save. --
--Through the holy prophets
God promised in ages past
to save us from enemy hands,
from the grip of all who hate us.
The Lord favored our ancestors
recalling the sacred covenant,
the pledge to our ancestor Abraham,
to free us from our enemies,
so we might worship without fear
and be holy and just all our days.
And you child, will be called
Prophet of the Most High,
for you will come to prepare
a pathway for the Lord
by teaching the people salvation
through forgiveness of their sin.
Out of God’s deepest mercy
a dawn will come from on high,
light for those shadowed by death,
a guide for our feet on the way to peace.
Intercessions
Holy God, people of every nation on earth have offered you their lives in service. Age after age your glory has been revealed through their deeds of justice and mercy. May we learn how to serve you through the witness of their lives, and may we be strengthened by the power of their intercession. In trust we pray.
Saints of Asia, intercede for us:
~ That the seed of faith planted in your land may bring forth a rich harvest.
Saints of Africa, intercede for us:
~ That the gifts of your peoples may enrich the faith of the whole church.
Saints of Eastern Europe, intercede for us:
~ That the witness of your faith in the midst of persecution may strengthen us in times of trial.
Saints of Western Europe, intercede for us:
~ That we may treasure the heritage
of Christian tradition passed on to us by your peoples.
Saints of the Eastern churches, intercede for us:
~ That the gift of your reverence for the holy may inspire us to devotion and mindfulness.
Saints of North America, intercede for us:
~ That we may learn from you how to stand before the world as witnesses to God’s love.
Saints of Central and South America, intercede for us:
~ That we may learn from you how to walk with the poor.
Saints of the Pacific Rim, intercede for us:
~ That we may learn from you to celebrate our union with one another in Christ.
The Lord’s Prayer
Prayer
Gracious God, it is right and fitting to praise you. You have blessed us with models of holiness showing us the way of discipleship. Through their intercession bring all your people together in peace and unity. This we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Blessing
Praise to our God who saves. Amen. Honor to our God who saves. Amen. Glory to our God who saves. Amen.
Evening Prayer II
Greeting
Sing out a song of praise, O children of God.
Let our voices join the choir of saints singing, Holy, Holy!
Worthy is the Christ who was slain.
Holy and blessed are those who follow the Lamb, Alleluia!
Doxology
Psalm 86
Every nation you formed will come to worship and honor your name.
Hear me, Lord, and act,
I am poor and helpless.
You are my God,
watch over me,
for I am loyal to you.
Save me, your servant,
for I trust you.
Each waking hour
I beg your mercy, Lord.
Bring joy to me, your servant,
I offer myself to you.
You are good and forgiving,
loyal to all who call on you.
Hear my prayer, O Lord,
answer my cry for help.
In my despair I plead,
knowing you will act.
No god can match you, Lord,
you outdo all others.
Every nation you formed
will come to worship
and honor your name.
You are mighty
and work great wonders.
You alone are God!
Mark your path, Lord,
that I may follow your truth.
Make my one desire
to revere your name.
With all I am, I thank you, God,
and honor your name for ever.
Your love for me is great,
it saves me from the grave.
The proud rise against me,
brutal gangs seek my life,
with no thought of you.
But you are Lord of mercy and care,
a God slow to anger,
full of loyalty and love.
Turn to me, pity me,
strengthen your daughter’s child,
rescue your servant.
Show me a sign of your love
to shock and disgrace my enemy.
Bring help and comfort, Lord.
Colossians 1: 12–20
Everything was created through Christ and for Christ.
Give thanks to the Father,
who made us fit
for the holy community of light
and rescued us from darkness,
bringing us into the realm
of his beloved Son
who redeemed us,
forgiving our sins.
Christ is an image
of the God we cannot see.
Christ is firstborn in all creation.
Through Christ the universe was made,
things seen and unseen,
thrones, authorities, forces, powers.
Everything was created
through Christ and for Christ.
Before anything came to be, Christ was,
and the universe is held together by Christ.
Christ is also head of the body, the church,
its beginning as firstborn from the dead
to become in all things first.
For by God’s good pleasure
Christ encompasses
the full measure of power,
reconciling creation with its source
and making peace by the blood of the cross.
Reading
2 Samuel 22:17 – 20
God reached from on high and took me and drew me out of mighty waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me; for they were too mighty for me. They came upon me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my stay. He brought me out into a broad place and delivered me, because he delighted in me.
Canticle of Mary
The Holy One has taken delight in me.
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
Holy God, you are our stay in times of trouble. Draw near to us now, as you drew near to your saints. Be with us as we pray.
For all mothers and fathers teaching their children the way of your truth:
~ May they be strengthened in their efforts to live a Christian family life.
For all women religious seeking to live in the pattern of Jesus:
~ May they be filled with the power of your Spirit.
For all brothers, priests and bishops dedicating their lives to service:
~ May their words and actions reveal the face of your mercy.
For all lay ministers offering their gifts for the building up of Christ’s body:
~ May they be empowered to embrace their baptismal call to mission.
For all persons discerning a call to religious life:
~ May they be invited to “come and see” and be supported in their journey.
For all Sisters of Mercy throughout the world:
~ May we draw inspiration and courage from the lives of our departed sisters.
The Lord’s Prayer
Prayer and Blessing as in Mornin