Vespers
Vespers Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 47 : 1
Chapter 47
| 1 | Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph! |
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
Vespers Gospel
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint Mark the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Mark 6 : 30 - 34
Chapter 6
| 30 | Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. |
| 31 | And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. |
| 32 | So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves. |
| 33 | But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to Him. |
| 34 | And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things. |
And Glory be to God forever.
Matins
Matins Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 47 : 6 - 7
Chapter 47
| 6 | Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! |
| 7 | For God is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with understanding. |
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
Matins Gospel
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint Mark the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Mark 8 : 22 - 26
Chapter 8
| 22 | Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. |
| 23 | So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything. |
| 24 | And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking." |
| 25 | Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly. |
| 26 | Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town." |
And Glory be to God forever.
Liturgy Gospel
Paulines Epistle
Paul, the servant of our Lord Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, appointed to the Gospel of God.
A reading from the Epistle of our teacher Paul to the Romans .
May his blessings be upon us.
Amen.
Romans 8 : 2 - 5
Chapter 8
| 2 | For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. |
| 3 | For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, |
| 4 | that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. |
| 5 | For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. |
The grace of God the Father be with you all.
Amen.
Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle 1 of St. John .
May his blessing be upon us.
Amen.
1 John 5 : 9 - 13
Chapter 5
| 9 | If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. |
| 10 | He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. |
| 11 | And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. |
| 12 | He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. |
| 13 | These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. |
Do not love the world or the things in the world.
The world passes away, and its desires; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
Amen.
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of our fathers the apostles, may their blessings be with us.
Acts 9 : 23 - 31
Chapter 9
| 23 | Now after many days were past, the Jews plotted to kill him. |
| 24 | But their plot became known to Saul. And they watched the gates day and night, to kill him. |
| 25 | Then the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall in a large basket. |
| 26 | And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. |
| 27 | But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. |
| 28 | So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out. |
| 29 | And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him. |
| 30 | When the brethren found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus. |
| 31 | Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied. |
The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty, and be confirmed, in the holy Church of God.
Amen.
Divine Psalm
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint John the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet, and the Good King.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 28 : 9,8
Chapter 28
| 9 | Save Your people, And bless Your inheritance; Shepherd them also, And bear them up forever. |
| 8 | The LORD is their strength, And He is the saving refuge of His anointed. |
Hallelujah.
Divine Gospel
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
John 16 : 15 - 23
Chapter 16
| 15 | All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you. |
| 16 | "A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father." |
| 17 | Then some of His disciples said among themselves, "What is this that He says to us, "A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me'; and, "because I go to the Father'?" |
| 18 | They said therefore, "What is this that He says, "A little while'? We do not know what He is saying." |
| 19 | Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, "Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, "A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me'? |
| 20 | Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. |
| 21 | A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. |
| 22 | Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you. |
| 23 | "And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. |
And Glory be to God forever.
When the Spirit is alive in people, they wake up from their mechanical thinking and enter the realm of co-creative power. (Sunday)
I believe all of history has been the age of the Spirit. Creation just keeps unfolding. (Monday)
The Holy Spirit shows up as the central and healing power of absolute newness and healing in our relationship with everything else. (Tuesday)
The work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is to reveal to us the truth of our being so that the way of our being can match it. —Wm. Paul Young (Wednesday)
We continually experience the Holy Spirit as both a divine counterpart to whom we call, and a divine presence in which we call—as the space we live in. —Jürgen Moltmann (Thursday)
The goal of the spiritual life is to allow the Spirit of Christ to influence all our activity, prayer as well as service. Our role in this process is to provide conditions in our lives to enable us to live in tune with [Christ’s] Spirit. —Richard Hauser (Friday)
Practice: Litany of the Holy Spirit
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Comforter and Helper to be with you forever, the Spirit of Truth. . . . You know this Spirit, for it abides with you and will be in you. —John 14:16-17
Many years ago, during a hermitage stay in Arizona, I had a particularly strong sense of the Holy Spirit, the One who is fully available to all of us “if we but knew the gift of God” (John 4:10). I slowly composed this prayer litany—imagining many names and movements of the Spirit—to awaken and strengthen this Presence within us.
Pure Gift of God
Indwelling Presence
Promise of the Father
Life of Jesus
Pledge and Guarantee
Defense Attorney
Inner Anointing
Homing Device
Stable Witness
Peacemaker
Always Already Awareness
Compassionate Observer
God Compass
Inner Breath
Mutual Yearning
Hidden Love of God
Implanted Hope
Seething Desire
Fire of Life and Love
Truth Speaker
Flowing Stream
Wind of Change
Descending Dove
Cloud of Unknowing
Uncreated Grace
Filled Emptiness
Deepest Level of Our Longing
Sacred Wounding
Holy Healing
Will of God
Great Compassion
Inherent Victory
You who pray in us, through us, with us, for us, and in spite of us.
Amen, Alleluia!
What names for the divine Comforter and Helper would you add? What would it feel like to receive the gift of this intimate companionship?
References:
Adapted from Richard Rohr, The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See (The Crossroad Publishing Company: 2009), 168-169.
For Further Study:
Cynthia Bourgeault, Richard Rohr, Wm. Paul Young, Trinity: The Soul of Creation (Center for Action and Contemplation: 2017), MP4 download.