Lord, hear my voice when I call to you.
My heart has prompted me to seek your face;
I seek it Lord; do not hide from me, alleluia.
Have mercy on us O God, Father almighty,
God of hosts, noble God,
Lord of the world, unutterable God,
Creator of the elements, invisible God.
Heavenly Father, you who abide in heaven,
Have mercy on us.
Lord, be with us this day,
Within us to purify us;
Above us to draw us up;
Beneath us to sustain us;
Before us to lead us;
Behind us to restrain us;
Around us to protect us.
St Patrick
Psalm 73.21-28
21 When my heart became embittered
and I was pierced to the quick,
22 I was but foolish and ignorant;
I was like a brute beast in your presence.
23 Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
24 You will guide me with your counsel
and afterwards receive me with glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing upon earth that I desire
in comparison with you.
26 Though my flesh and my heart fail me,
God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever.
27 Truly, those who forsake you will perish;
you will put to silence the faithless who betray you.
28 But it is good for me to draw near to God;
in the Lord God have I made my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.
All Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.
Reading
1 Thessalonians 4.13-18
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord for ever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.
At the end:
O Lord, you have given us your word for a light to shine upon our path; grant us so to
meditate on that word, and to follow its teaching, that we may find in it the light that shines
more and more until the perfect day; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint Jerome
Reflection
The Song of Zechariah – Benedictus - Luke 1.68–79
Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel:
For he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour:
Born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old that he would save us from our enemies:
From the hands of all that hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our forebears:
And to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
To set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship him without fear:
Holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.
You my child shall be called the prophet of the Most High:
For you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.
To give his people knowledge of salvation:
By the forgiveness of all their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God:
The dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death:
And to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory to the Father and to the Son:
And to the Holy Spirit;
As it was in the beginning, is now:
And shall be for ever.
Amen.
Prayers
The Collect of the day
God our redeemer,
you have delivered us from the power of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of your Son:
grant, that as by his death he has recalled us to life,
so by his continual presence in us he may raise us
to eternal joy;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
All Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Rejoicing in God’s new creation,
let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Almighty God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
to me the least of saints,
to me allow that I may keep even the smallest door,
the farthest, darkest, coldest door,
the door that is least used, the stiffest door.
If only it be in Your house, O God,
that I can see Your glory even afar,
and hear Your voice,
and know that I am with You, O God. Amen
St Columba
The Blessing and Conclusion
The peace of God,
which passes all understanding,
keep your hearts and minds
in the knowledge and love of God,
and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord;
and the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always.
Amen.
May the risen Christ give us his peace.
Alleluia. Amen.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.