First Vespers of Holy Name Day

                        Antiphon on Psalm 90 

                           for the First Vespers 

                                  of Holy Name Day

 I 

am 

the 

Alpha

and 

the 

Omega,   

the first and 

the last, says the Lord. 

The final day of 2015

    Antiphon on Psalm 46 +

His 

name 

shall be

called

Emmanuel. 

God with us. 

God for us.

God in us. 

Evening Prayer

Psalm 27:11

You speak

 in my heart 

& say “Seek

my face." 

Your face, 

Lord, will 

I seek. 

Dec 30th, the fifth day of Christmas

   Christmas antiphon 

            on the Te Deum 

Through-out the world the holy Church acclaims you

                

Evening Prayer

   Partial Christmas
   antiphon  on the Magnificat 

and 

we 

be-

held 

his 

glory 

all-

eluia

The commemoration of the slaughter of The Holy Innocents. (Transferred from yesterday.) With the angels scarcely gone, when our eyes were focused on the joy of this Birth, our attention is suddenly wrenched away and brutally focused on human evil. Here, right at the beginning of Christ’s life, death lies close at hand.

                                                               Psalm 2:13 

Happy 

are 

they 

who 

put 

their 

trust 

in 

him.

          Receive, we pray, into the arms of your mercy, 

                 all innocent victims…   Collect 

 

The 

daily 

news, 

whether 

it's from 

Rwanda 

20 years ago

or Syria today, 

is a grim reminder  

that fanatics & tyrants 

will do anything 

to hold onto power. 

They often target children,

 as Herod did, attempting to eliminate the next generation 

of people they regard as threats. The gift of free will can be  

a hard pill to swallow when we see the depths of human evil and the suffering it causes.… As we remember the Holy In-nocents we are called to recognize that they are still with us and are still in need of protection.”  - Kathleen Norris, thanks to Give Us This Day

Evening Prayer of St John the Evangelist

The 

light 

now  

shines 

in our 

darkness, 

uncreated, 

yet ever new.

Antiphon on the  Magnificat 

for the feast of John 

with a nod to St Augustine 

Saint John, apostle and evangelist (transferred from yesterday)

   John 13:35 

By this 

everyone 

will know 

that you  

are my 

disciples, 

if you 

have love 

for one 

another. 

John alone among the apostles is thought not to have died a martyr,'s death,  but to have lived to extreme old age, which is its own  kind of  martyrdom. He and his brother James,, sons of Zebedee ,along with Peter, formed Jesus'  inner circle.  John  and James, were so hotheaded that Jesus nicknamed them Boanerges, ”the sons of thunder.” Think of the road that took him from there to the soaring love and even gentleness revealed in this passage. Not an easy journey.

 Collect for the First 

 Sunday after Christmas 

Grant that 

this light, 

enkindled 

in our hearts, 

may shine 

forth in 

our lives  

The First Sunday after Christmas

                                             Promise -> fulfillment 

                                      Based on Canticle 16

In the tender 

compassion 

of our God, 

the dawn from 

on high has 

broken upon us, to shine 

on  those who 

dwell in darkness 

&in the shadow of death, and

to guide our feet into the way of peace

Evening Prayer

                                                Acts 7:57,58

…with 

a loud shout they rushed to-gether… 

and began to stone him, and the witnesses laid their cloaks 

at the feet of a young man named Saul…

The Second Day of Christmas, The Feast of St Stephen, the first Christian martyr (and Boxing Day in England)

                                                Psalm 28:11

Save your people, and bless your inheri-tance; shepherd them 

and carry them forever. 

Christmas night

                                                          I John 4:9 

                                           

          God’s 

          love 

          was 

          revealed 

          to us in this way…

Christmas Morning

                                              Psalm 85:8

I will listen 

to what the 

Lord God is 

saying, for 

he is speaking 

peace to his 

faithful people
and to those
who turn their hearts to him. 

      Merry Christmas, or at least the first day of it!  

Christmas eve

                                        Luke 2:6,7 and the 

                             Antiphon on the Magnificat 

…the time came for her to deliver her child. And  she gave birth to her firstborn son, and he shall be called 

Prince of Peace, alleluia. 

The morning of December 24th

                           Antiphon on Psalm 80

Stir 

up 

your 

strength, O Lord, 

and come to help us. 

Rocks and waters… 

are words of God 

and so are all [people]. 

We all flow from one 

fountain soul. All are

expressions of love.
   - John Muir 

The evening of the 23rd

        Tonight’s O Antiphon 

O Emmanuel, 

our King 

and Lawgiver, 

the Desire 

of all 

nations  

and heir 

Salvation: 

Come 

&  save us, 

O Lord, 

our God.     

The Morning of Wednesday, December 23rd

                Luke 1:42

Eliz-abeth ex-

claim-

 ed, “As soon as I heard your greeting, the child in my womb 

 leaped for joy. And blessed is she who 

  believed that there would be a fulfillment

       of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

Tuesday EP

                                                 Psalm 116:6

       
      Turn 

      again

      to 

      your 

      rest, 

      O my soul, 

      for the Lord has treated you well. 

Tonight’s O Antiphon :   O King of the nations

and their Desire, you are the cornerstone that makes us both one: Come and save the creatures whom you fashioned from clay.

Tuesday morning 12/22

    Psalm 67:1 

May God 

be merciful

to us and  

bless us,

show the 

light of his 

countenance

& come to us.  

Evening Prayer of St Tomas Day

                                                            Isaiah 43:10

   You are my 

   witnesses, 

   says the 

   Lord, and

   my servants 

   whom I 

   have chosen 

   so that you 

   may know 

   and believe…

                                       

                                        showing the scars of his wounds 

                          healed the wound of his disbelief… 

                     The disbelief of Thomas has done 

                  more for our faith than the faith of

             the other disciples.  -St Gregory the Great 604

The winter solstice: the shortest day (10 hours) and longest night of the year

                                                The O Antiphon 

  

 O Dayspring, Brightness of the Light eternal 

  and Sun of Righteousness: Come and enlighten 

  those who sit in darkness and the

  shadow of death.

The Feast of St Thomas Day the Apostle

   St Thomas Day 

  Antiphon on Psalm 23 

Though 

I walk 

through  

the valley 

of the 

shadow 

of death, 

I will fear 

no evil…  

Which is where our 

friend Thomas comes in and we have to move from perfectly rational doubt to too-good-to-be-true belief.  The again, we can insist on walking ourselves….