Entering into Silence
Leader
As we come together now, let us settle into stillness.
(Pause)
Slowly, ever so slowly, we center our minds and our hearts.
(Pause)
Let your cares and your weariness fall away.
(Pause)
Enter deeply into silence.
(Pause)
We are one with the universe.
(Pause)
We are one with the sun and the stars.
(Pause)
We are one with the One who is Mystery,
who created the heavens and the earth.
(Pause)
We are one with the One who is Mystery,
who created you and me.
(Pause)
O marvelous mystery!
I am one with the One who is Mystery,
the One who created me,
and loves me,
and whose Spirit lives in me.
(Pause)
Listen now to a song about the One who is Mystery,
and let its music sing in your heart.
Song "Mystery" [by Miriam Therese Winter, © Medical Mission Sisters, 1987]
Listen to the song from WomanSong (available on cassette), or have a soloist or the choir sing it.
Silent Reflection
Leader
O the depth
of the riches
and the wisdom
and the knowledge of God!
How incomprehensible Her judgements!
How mysterious Her ways!
All
Who can know the mind of God?
Who could ever be Her counselor? (Rm 11:33-34)
Silent Prayer
Leader
From the heart of the whirlwind,
God speaks:
Reader
"Where were you when I laid
the foundations
of the earth?
Tell me, where were you?
(Pause)
Who decided its dimensions?
Who laid its cornerstone,
when all the morning stars sang,
and all God's children
shouted for joy?
(Pause)
Who set the sea
behind closed doors,
when its waters poured forth
from the womb?
Who clothed it
in a cloud of mist
and swaddled it in darkness?
Who set the bounds
it could not cross,
restraining it behind a wall?" (Job 38:1-11)
(Pause)
Leader
O the depth
of the riches
and the wisdom
and the knowledge of God!
How incomprehensible Her judgements!
How mysterious Her ways!
All
Who can know the mind of God?
Who could ever be Her counselor?
Silent Prayer
Reader
"Have you ever been in charge
of morning?
Have you ever had to summon
the dawn,
command it to cling
to the edges of earth
and shake the wicked
from its fold?
(Pause)
Have you ever been to the source
of the sea,
or walked in the silence
of the deep?
(Pause)
Have you ever seen
the deep, deep dark?
Have the gates of death
been shown to you?
Can you find your way
to the dwelling of light,
trace the pathway
to its home?" (Job 38:12-21)
(Pause)
Leader
O the depth
of the riches
and the wisdom
and the knowledge of God!
How incomprehensible Her judgements!
How mysterious Her ways!
All
Who can know the mind of God?
Who could ever be Her counselor?
Silent Prayer
Reader
"Have you any idea
of earth's expanse?
Have you been to the storehouse
of hail and snow?
(Pause)
Who unleashes thunder?
Who tells lightning
when to flash
and fling its sparks
upon the land?
Who carves a channel
for the rain
to drench the desert's
barren wastes,
causing the grass to grow?
(Pause)
Who is father to the rain?
Who is mother to the dew?
Who has given birth to frost,
or carried ice within her womb?" (Job 38:22-30)
(Pause)
Leader
O the depth
of the riches
and the wisdom
and the knowledge of God!
How incomprehensible Her judgements!
How mysterious Her ways!
All
Who can know the mind of God?
Who could ever be Her counselor?
Silent Prayer
Reader
"Can you restrain the Pleiades
or loose Orion's bonds?
Season after season,
can you guide the morning star?
(Pause)
Have you grasped the laws
of the heavens?
Can you make them rule the earth?
Can your voice carry
up to the clouds?
Who will answer when you call?
(Pause)
Does the hawk take wing
because of you,
the eagle soar
at your command?
How can you justify yourself?
Is your arm as strong as mine?" (Job 38:31-38; 39:26; 40:8-9)
(Pause)
Leader
O the depth
of the riches
and the wisdom
and the knowledge of God!
How incomprehensible Her judgements!
How mysterious Her ways!
All
Who can know the mind of God?
Who could ever be Her counselor?
Silent Prayer Reflection / Sharing
Sit in a comfortable silence and reflect on the Mystery that is God.
(Silent Reflection)
Call to mind one compelling way in which the Mystery has been revealed to you in your life, and yet still remains a Mystery.
(Silent Reflection)
Share with one another a way in which God-as-mystery has been made manifest to you. Speak from your heart. If the assembly is small enough, remain together, otherwise share in groups of three.
All Sing "Mystery"
Prayer Reflection
Leader I am:
All Alpha.
Leader I am:
All Omega.
Leader I am:
All the Beginning.
Leader I am:
All the End.
Leader I am:
All the Way.
Leader I am:
All the Truth.
Leader I am:
All Everlasting Life.
Leader I am:
All the Gate.
Leader I am:
All the Vine.
Leader I am:
All Living Water.
Leader I am:
All the Bread of Life.
Leader I am:
All the Light of the World.
Leader I am:
All Who was.
Leader I am:
All Who will be.
Leader I am
All Who I am.
Leader I am for you
All Who I will be for you.
Leader I am:
All Alpha.
Leader I am:
All Omega.
Leader I am:
All the Beginning.
Leader I am:
All the End.
Leader I am the rays of the rising sun,
All snow on the Mountains of the Moon,
Leader the far-flung canopy of stars,
All the shadows of late afternoon.
Leader I am the Wisdom of the sage.
All I am the Refuge of all who weep.
Leader I am the Mother of all who live.
All I am the Promises I keep.
Leader I am the One who sits with sorrow.
All I am the One who feels your pain.
Leader I am the Hope of your tomorrow.
All I am the One who will remain.
Leader With Me,
All you will know compassion.
Leader Through Me,
All you will comprehend.
Leader In Me,
All you will not falter.
All I am within you, without end.
Benediction
Leader
May you (we) live the Mystery,
and love the Mystery,
and be caught up and held secure in the Mystery,
whose wisdom exceeds all human knowledge,
whose ways surpass all understanding,
whose blessing fulfills our every hope,
now and forever.
All
Amen.