All Hallows Evening Prayer for Wednesday Evening (May 19, 2021)
Evening Prayer
The Service of Light
Jesus Christ is the light of the world.
A light no darkness can extinguish.
Open this link in a new tab to hear David von Kampen’s choral arrangement of “Joyous Light of Glory.”
Joyous light of glory of the immortal Father:
Heavenly, holy, blessed Jesus Christ,
We have come to the setting of the Sun
And we look to the evening light.
We sing to God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy of being praised
with pure voices forever.
O Son of God, O Giver of life,
The universe proclaims your glory,
your glory, your glory.
Thanksgiving
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Blessed are you, O Lord Redeemer God,
You destroyed the bonds of death
and from the darkness of the tomb
drew forth the light of the world.
Led through the waters of death.
we become the children of light
singing our Alleluia
and dancing to the music of new life.
Pour out your Spirit upon us
that dreams and visions bring us
ever closer to the kingdom
of Jesus Christ our Risen Savior.
Through him and in the Holy Spirit
all glory be to you, Almighty Father,
this night and for ever and ever.
Amen.
Psalm 141 is sung and incense may be burned.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Peter Inwood’s setting of Psalm 141, “O Lord, Let My Prayer Rise Before You Like Incense.”
O Lord, let my prayer rise before you like incense,
my hands like an evening offering.
1. Lord, I am calling:
hasten to help me.
Listen to me as I cry to you.
Let my prayer rise before you like incense,
my hands like an evening offering.
O Lord, let my prayer rise before you like incense,
my hands like an evening offering.
2. Lord, set a guard at my mouth,
keep watch at the gate of my lips.
Let my heart not turn to things that are wrong,
to sharing the evil deeds done by the sinful.
No, I will never taste their delights.
O Lord, let my prayer rise before you like incense,
my hands like an evening offering.
3. The good may reprove me,
in kindness chastise me,
but the wicked shall never anoint my head.
Ev’ry day I counter their malice with prayer.
O Lord, let my prayer rise before you like incense,
my hands like an evening offering.
4 To you, Lord, my God, my eyes are turned:
in you I take refuge;
do not forsake me.
Keep me from the traps they have set for me,
from the snares of those who do evil.
O Lord, let my prayer rise before you like incense,
my hands like an evening offering.
5 Praise to the Father, praise to the Son,
all praise to the life-giving Spirit.
As it was, is now and shall always be
for ages unending. Amen.
O Lord, let my prayer rise before you as incense,
my hands like an evening offering.
Silence is kept.
Let the incense of our repentant prayer ascend before you, O Lord, and let your loving kindness descend upon us, that with purified minds we may sing your praises with the Church on earth and the whole heavenly host, and may glorify you forever and ever. Amen.
The Psalms
Open this link in a new tab to hear J. David Moore's choral arrangement of Isaac Watts' metrical version of Psalm 23, "My Shepherd Will Supply My Need."
My Shepherd will supply my need;
Jehovah is His Name:
In pastures fresh He makes me feed,
Beside the living stream.
He brings my wandering spirit back
When I forsake His ways,
And leads me, for His mercy’s sake,
In paths of truth and grace.
When I walk through the shades of death
Thy presence is my stay;
One word of thy supporting breath
Drives all my fears away.
Thy hand, in sight of all my foes,
Does still my table spread;
My cup with blessings overflows,
Thy oil anoints my head.
The sure provisions of my God
Attend me all my days;
O may Thy house be my abode,
And all my work be praise.
There would I find a settled rest,
While others go and come;
No more a stranger, or a guest,
But like a child at home.
Silence is kept.
O God, our sovereign and shepherd,
who brought again your Son Jesus Christ
from the valley of death,
comfort us with your protecting presence
and your angels of goodness and love,
that we also may come home
and dwell with him in your house for ever.
Amen.
The Proclamation of the Word
The Reading
Matthew 6: 5-15 Concerning Prayer
“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“Pray then in this way:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not bring us into temptation.
but rescue us from evil.
For the kingdom and the power
and the glory are yours forever. Amen.
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Silence is kept
May your word live in us
and bear much fruit to your glory.
The Homily
When we first become a Christian, we may receive all kinds of advice from well-meaning people on how we should pray. Or we may receive no advice at all. Blessed is the new Christian who receives the right kind of guidance on prayer. I have learned about praying mostly from books, from trial and error, and from two women who invited me to join their intercessory prayer group. I am still learning.
Today’s homily is the first in a series of homilies about prayer. In this series I plan to examine the nature of prayer, the obstacles to prayer, Jesus’ teachings about prayer, his practice of prayer, the apostles’ teaching about prayer, and various forms of prayer.
Prayer at its heart is a conversation with God. It is not a one-sided conversation. We listen as well as talk. There may be silences—the kind of silences that a parent and a child or two friends enjoy just sitting together.
It is God’s grace, God himself working invisibly in us, that gives us the desire to seek God in prayer and enable us to converse with him. We have no natural inclination or ability to do so. We are born with our God setting in the off position. God switches it to on. Yes, we are all born with a God setting and switching it on may be standard operating procedure for God.
God created us in his image and desires communion with his creation, the sharing of intimate thoughts and feelings with us. The Bible tells us that God walked in the garden of Eden in the cool of the day and these words suggest that God from the very beginning sought communion with his handiwork.
If you have listened to a radio, you may be familiar with how static, crackling or hissing noises, can interfere with the radio broadcast to which you are listening, keeping you from hearing it clearly.
If radio is too old-fashioned for you, you may be familiar with how a poor internet connection, insufficient bandwidth, limited hard disk space, and a dirty hard disk can not only slow down your computer but also interfere in other ways with what you are doing.
Both illustrate how worldly preoccupations and sin can interfere with prayer, with our communion with God. These preoccupations and our rebelliousness can keep us from hearing God.
Now God is capable of drowning out the static and any other interference. God is not restricted by the poor connection, the narrow bandwidth, and the slow computer. But God choses not to do so.
For one reason God might scare us witless. He knows our limitations.
Rather God desires that we bring our wills into alignment with his will by our own volition. Through his grace God enables us to do so.
Prayer is one of the ways that we align our will with God’s will. When we first begin praying, we likely to go to God with a laundry list of requests and petitions, things that we want God to do for us. When we do not get the response from God that we want, we are apt to conclude that prayer does not “work” or God does not answer prayer.
But God is not a jinn in a lamp. We rub the lamp, the jinn appears in a cloud of smoke, and grants our wish. We are the master of the lamp and the jinn must obey us. God is the sovereign creator of the universe. He is under no obligation to show us any favor or goodwill.
Nor is God the god or spirit of a wishing well. We throw a coin or some other offering into the well and then make a wish. If we are lucky or the god or spirit at whose well we are making a wish is so inclined or a combination of the two, our wish will be granted. This is the nature of prayer in some cultures. If we have shown great devotion to the god or spirit or the offering pleases them, they will reward us and grant our wish.
The Old Testament has intimations of what adherents of the prosperity gospel interpret as a quid pro quo relationship between God and the people of Israel, but Jesus paints a different picture of our relationship to God. The Old Testament must be understood in the light of his teaching. A quid pro quo relationship is a favor for favor relationship. You do me a favor and I will reciprocate. God covenants with the people of Israel to take them as his people and to protect and prosper them in the promised land on the condition they are faithful to him as their only god.
Prosperity gospel adherents interpret this covenant with the people of Israel to mean that God will reward their faith with material prosperity and good health. The greater their faith, the greater the rewards. If prayers are not answered, it is attributed to a lack of faith. People are encouraged to show their faith by giving money donations to their pastor. Prosperity gospel adherents will take Jesus’s words out of context and twist his words to support their beliefs. This is not, however, what Jesus teaches.
Jesus teaches that it is the nature of God to be a benevolent God, a generous God. He sends rain to the evil as well as to the good. He shows his grace, his favor and goodwill, to all his creatures. Our response rightly is one of praise and thanksgiving and obedience. God will provide for our needs as he provides for all his creatures. Our purpose in life is to seek God’s kingdom, to do God’s will. God’s kingdom is manifest in Jesus and his teaching and his example. When we seek God’s kingdom, we recognized Jesus’ lordship over our lives. We keep his words. We walk in his ways. We do what we see Jesus doing as he did what he saw God doing.
Through prayer we align ourselves with God’s will. Jesus not only taught his disciples to pray,” Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” but he himself, when he was faced with suffering and death, also prayed that God’s will be done.
Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. Then he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.” And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.” Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, “So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; [Or into temptation] the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again he went away for the second time and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” Again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.” Mathhew 26: 36-46
Jesus tells his disciples not to accumulate earthly wealth and possessions but heavenly treasures, which will endure for all eternity. One such treasure is obeying God in this life, showing our love for the Son and the Father who sent him by obeying his commandments.
Obedience to God will not earn us any special merits with God. It is what is expected of one of his servants. We obey God out of our love for him, out of our love for Jesus. We do not obey God out of the expectation that we will receive some kind of reward from him for our obedience.
“Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’? Would you not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink’? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!’” Luke 17:7-10
How do we know what is God’s will? We first turn to what Jesus taught and did. We then look at what the apostles and the prophets taught, the apostles and prophets of the Bible, not the self-proclaimed apostles and prophets of today. We look at their teaching through the lens of Jesus’ teaching and example. Of one thing we can be certain: it is God’s will that we obey Jesus and follow his teaching and example. In the homily for this coming Saturday, we will look at how God answers prayer and in the homily for this coming Sunday, the Feast of Pentecost, the role of the Holy Spirit in prayer.
Silence is kept.
The Gospel Canticle
Open this link in a new tab to hear Chaz Bower’s choral arrangement of “My Soul Proclaims Your Greatness, Lord.”
My soul proclaims your greatness, Lord;
I sing my Savior’s praise!
You looked upon my lowliness,
and I am full of grace.
Now ev’ry land and ev’ry age
this blessing shall proclaim—
great wonders you have done for me,
and holy is your name.
To all who live in holy fear
Your mercy ever flows.
With mighty arm you dash the proud,
Their scheming hearts expose.
The ruthless you have cast aside,
the lowly throned instead;
the hungry filled with all good things,
the rich sent off unfed.
To Israel, your servant blest,
your help is ever sure;
the promise to our parents made
their children will secure.
Sing glory to the Holy One,
give honor to the Word,
and praise the Pow’r of the Most High,
one God, by all adored,
on God, by all adored.
Intercessions
Let us complete our evening prayer to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For peace from on high and our salvation, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For the welfare of all churches and for the unity of the human family, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For (name), our bishop, and (name), our pastor, and for all ministers of the Gospel, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For our nation, its government, and for all who serve and protect us, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For this city (town, university, monastery…). For every city and community, and for all those living in them, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For the good earth which God has given us and for the wisdom and will to conserve it, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For the safety of travelers, the recovery of the sick, the care of the destitute and the release of prisoners, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For an angel of peace to guide and protect us, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For a peaceful evening and a night free from sin, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For a Christian end to our lives and for all who have fallen asleep in Christ, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
In the communion of the Holy Spirit (and of all the saints), let us commend ourselves and one another to the living God through Christ our Lord.
To you, O Lord.
Free Prayer
In silent or spontaneous prayer all bring before God the concerns of the day.
The Collect
O God,
you withdraw from our sight
that you may be known by our love:
help us to enter the cloud where you are hidden,
and to surrender all our certainty
to the darkness of faith
in Jesus Christ. Amen
The Lord's Prayer
And now, as our Saviour has taught us,
we are bold to say,
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.
Dismissal
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Silence is kept
May your word live in us
and bear much fruit to your glory.
The Homily
"Your Will Be Done...."
When we first become a Christian, we may receive all kinds of advice from well-meaning people on how we should pray. Or we may receive no advice at all. Blessed is the new Christian who receives the right kind of guidance on prayer. I have learned about praying mostly from books, from trial and error, and from two women who invited me to join their intercessory prayer group. I am still learning.
Today’s homily is the first in a series of homilies about prayer. In this series I plan to examine the nature of prayer, the obstacles to prayer, Jesus’ teachings about prayer, his practice of prayer, the apostles’ teaching about prayer, and various forms of prayer.
Prayer at its heart is a conversation with God. It is not a one-sided conversation. We listen as well as talk. There may be silences—the kind of silences that a parent and a child or two friends enjoy just sitting together.
It is God’s grace, God himself working invisibly in us, that gives us the desire to seek God in prayer and enable us to converse with him. We have no natural inclination or ability to do so. We are born with our God setting in the off position. God switches it to on. Yes, we are all born with a God setting and switching it on may be standard operating procedure for God.
God created us in his image and desires communion with his creation, the sharing of intimate thoughts and feelings with us. The Bible tells us that God walked in the garden of Eden in the cool of the day and these words suggest that God from the very beginning sought communion with his handiwork.
If you have listened to a radio, you may be familiar with how static, crackling or hissing noises, can interfere with the radio broadcast to which you are listening, keeping you from hearing it clearly.
If radio is too old-fashioned for you, you may be familiar with how a poor internet connection, insufficient bandwidth, limited hard disk space, and a dirty hard disk can not only slow down your computer but also interfere in other ways with what you are doing.
Both illustrate how worldly preoccupations and sin can interfere with prayer, with our communion with God. These preoccupations and our rebelliousness can keep us from hearing God.
Now God is capable of drowning out the static and any other interference. God is not restricted by the poor connection, the narrow bandwidth, and the slow computer. But God choses not to do so.
For one reason God might scare us witless. He knows our limitations.
Rather God desires that we bring our wills into alignment with his will by our own volition. Through his grace God enables us to do so.
Prayer is one of the ways that we align our will with God’s will. When we first begin praying, we likely to go to God with a laundry list of requests and petitions, things that we want God to do for us. When we do not get the response from God that we want, we are apt to conclude that prayer does not “work” or God does not answer prayer.
But God is not a jinn in a lamp. We rub the lamp, the jinn appears in a cloud of smoke, and grants our wish. We are the master of the lamp and the jinn must obey us. God is the sovereign creator of the universe. He is under no obligation to show us any favor or goodwill.
Nor is God the god or spirit of a wishing well. We throw a coin or some other offering into the well and then make a wish. If we are lucky or the god or spirit at whose well we are making a wish is so inclined or a combination of the two, our wish will be granted. This is the nature of prayer in some cultures. If we have shown great devotion to the god or spirit or the offering pleases them, they will reward us and grant our wish.
The Old Testament has intimations of what adherents of the prosperity gospel interpret as a quid pro quo relationship between God and the people of Israel, but Jesus paints a different picture of our relationship to God. The Old Testament must be understood in the light of his teaching. A quid pro quo relationship is a favor for favor relationship. You do me a favor and I will reciprocate. God covenants with the people of Israel to take them as his people and to protect and prosper them in the promised land on the condition they are faithful to him as their only god.
Prosperity gospel adherents interpret this covenant with the people of Israel to mean that God will reward their faith with material prosperity and good health. The greater their faith, the greater the rewards. If prayers are not answered, it is attributed to a lack of faith. People are encouraged to show their faith by giving money donations to their pastor. Prosperity gospel adherents will take Jesus’s words out of context and twist his words to support their beliefs. This is not, however, what Jesus teaches.
Jesus teaches that it is the nature of God to be a benevolent God, a generous God. He sends rain to the evil as well as to the good. He shows his grace, his favor and goodwill, to all his creatures. Our response rightly is one of praise and thanksgiving and obedience. God will provide for our needs as he provides for all his creatures. Our purpose in life is to seek God’s kingdom, to do God’s will. God’s kingdom is manifest in Jesus and his teaching and his example. When we seek God’s kingdom, we recognized Jesus’ lordship over our lives. We keep his words. We walk in his ways. We do what we see Jesus doing as he did what he saw God doing.
Through prayer we align ourselves with God’s will. Jesus not only taught his disciples to pray,” Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” but he himself, when he was faced with suffering and death, also prayed that God’s will be done.
Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. Then he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.” And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.” Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, “So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; [Or into temptation] the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again he went away for the second time and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” Again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.” Mathhew 26: 36-46
Jesus tells his disciples not to accumulate earthly wealth and possessions but heavenly treasures, which will endure for all eternity. One such treasure is obeying God in this life, showing our love for the Son and the Father who sent him by obeying his commandments.
Obedience to God will not earn us any special merits with God. It is what is expected of one of his servants. We obey God out of our love for him, out of our love for Jesus. We do not obey God out of the expectation that we will receive some kind of reward from him for our obedience.
“Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’? Would you not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink’? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!’” Luke 17:7-10
How do we know what is God’s will? We first turn to what Jesus taught and did. We then look at what the apostles and the prophets taught, the apostles and prophets of the Bible, not the self-proclaimed apostles and prophets of today. We look at their teaching through the lens of Jesus’ teaching and example. Of one thing we can be certain: it is God’s will that we obey Jesus and follow his teaching and example. In the homily for this coming Saturday, we will look at how God answers prayer and in the homily for this coming Sunday, the Feast of Pentecost, the role of the Holy Spirit in prayer.
Silence is kept.
The Gospel Canticle
Open this link in a new tab to hear Chaz Bower’s choral arrangement of “My Soul Proclaims Your Greatness, Lord.”
My soul proclaims your greatness, Lord;
I sing my Savior’s praise!
You looked upon my lowliness,
and I am full of grace.
Now ev’ry land and ev’ry age
this blessing shall proclaim—
great wonders you have done for me,
and holy is your name.
To all who live in holy fear
Your mercy ever flows.
With mighty arm you dash the proud,
Their scheming hearts expose.
The ruthless you have cast aside,
the lowly throned instead;
the hungry filled with all good things,
the rich sent off unfed.
To Israel, your servant blest,
your help is ever sure;
the promise to our parents made
their children will secure.
Sing glory to the Holy One,
give honor to the Word,
and praise the Pow’r of the Most High,
one God, by all adored,
on God, by all adored.
Intercessions
Let us complete our evening prayer to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For peace from on high and our salvation, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For the welfare of all churches and for the unity of the human family, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For (name), our bishop, and (name), our pastor, and for all ministers of the Gospel, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For our nation, its government, and for all who serve and protect us, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For this city (town, university, monastery…). For every city and community, and for all those living in them, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For the good earth which God has given us and for the wisdom and will to conserve it, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For the safety of travelers, the recovery of the sick, the care of the destitute and the release of prisoners, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For an angel of peace to guide and protect us, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For a peaceful evening and a night free from sin, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For a Christian end to our lives and for all who have fallen asleep in Christ, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
In the communion of the Holy Spirit (and of all the saints), let us commend ourselves and one another to the living God through Christ our Lord.
To you, O Lord.
Free Prayer
In silent or spontaneous prayer all bring before God the concerns of the day.
The Collect
O God,
you withdraw from our sight
that you may be known by our love:
help us to enter the cloud where you are hidden,
and to surrender all our certainty
to the darkness of faith
in Jesus Christ. Amen
The Lord's Prayer
And now, as our Saviour has taught us,
we are bold to say,
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.
Dismissal
1 Jesu, lover of my soul,
let me to thy bosom fly,
while the nearer waters roll,
while the tempest still is high:
hide me, O my Saviour, hide,
till the storm of life is past;
safe into the haven guide,
O receive my soul at last.
2 Other refuge have I none,
hangs my helpless soul on thee;
leave, ah, leave me not alone,
still support and comfort me.
All my trust on thee is stayed,
all my help from thee I bring;
cover my defenceless head
with the shadow of thy wing.
hangs my helpless soul on thee;
leave, ah, leave me not alone,
still support and comfort me.
All my trust on thee is stayed,
all my help from thee I bring;
cover my defenceless head
with the shadow of thy wing.
[instrumental interlude]
3 Thou, O Christ, art all I want;
more than all in thee I find;
raise the fallen, cheer the faint,
heal the sick, and lead the blind.
Just and holy is thy name,
I am all unrighteousness;
false and full of sin I am,
thou art full of truth and grace.
4 Plenteous grace with thee is found,
grace to cover all my sin;
let the healing streams abound,
make and keep me pure within.
Thou of life the fountain art:
freely let me take of thee,
spring thou up within my heart,
rise to all eternity.
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us praise the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Elaine Hagenberg’s setting of the traditional Irish blessing, “You Do Not Walk Alone.”
May you see God's light on the path ahead
when the road you walk is dark.
May you always hear
even in your hour of sorrow
the gentle singing of the lark.
When times are hard
may hardness never turn your heart to stone.
May you always remember when the shadows fall–
You do not walk alone.
May you see God's light on the path ahead
when the road you walk is dark.
May you always hear
even in your hour of sorrow
the gentle singing of the lark.
When times are hard
may hardness never turn your heart to stone.
May you always remember when the shadows fall–
You do not walk alone.
You do not walk alone.
May you see God's light on the path ahead
when the road you walk is dark.
May you always hear
even in your hour of sorrow
the gentle singing of the lark.
When times are hard
may hardness never turn your heart to stone.
May you always remember when the shadows fall–
You do not walk alone.
May you always remember when the shadows fall–
You do not walk alone.
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