Prayer Cycle / Birthing the Holy / Day 3
Day 3: Star of the Sea & Vessel of Grace
Video, Audio and Written Guides for Morning and Evening Prayer
Morning Prayer: Star of the Sea
OPENING PRAYER
Stella Maris, Mary, Star of the Sea, we look to the night sky to see your brilliance shining upon the world. Be with us as a guiding light and safe harbour on our journey of surrender and trust. Show us the way to the Self which knows its true direction as we dive beneath the surface to explore our magnificent depths.
OPENING SONG: Stella Maris
FIRST READING: Bernard of Clairvaux
[She] is that splendid and wondrous star suspended as by necessity over the great wide sea, radiant with merit and brilliant in example. O you, whoever you are, who feel that in the tidal wave of this world you are nearer to being tossed about among the squalls and gales than treading on dry land, you do not want to founder in the tempest, do not avert your eyes from the brightness of this star. . . . In dangers, in hardships, in every doubt, think of Mary, call out to Mary. Keep her in your mouth, keep her in your heart. . . . With your hand in hers you will never stumble.
SUNG PSALM OPENING
O Grace, open my lips and my mouth will declare your praise. (Repeat)
PSALM 123
I gaze at the starry skies
Drawn to every tiny light.
Drawn to what I know of each one’s unfathomable distance,
Astounding size, profound age.
I look to this big picture to help me imagine You.
The intricate patterns bind us.
Have mercy on your tiny servant.
Who watches for you in the watches of the night.
SUNG DOXOLOGY
Glory to the Maker, Lover, and Keeper; as ago, in this breath, and will be ever. Amen, Amen.
As we open our hearts to scripture today, let us become like the magi, following the star to encounter Mary and her child.
SECOND READING: The Gospel According to Matthew (2:9-11 -NRSV)
When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
SILENT CONTEMPLATION
PRAYERS OF CONCERN
We offer prayers now for all that is on our hearts.
O Creator of the Cosmos, thank you that you have placed a Star in the sky who remains a constant presence, ready to guide us no matter how perilous our journey, if only we look up. Forgive us when we focus on the waves and the force of the wind. Help us know that Stella Maris is there to help us navigate the storms that life brings.
SUNG RESPONSE
Star of the Sea, be our guide. Creator God, empower us.
Star of the Sea, may we remember that you care for all in peril at sea, including the other- than -human. We ask you to protect our fin and feathered relations, guard the coral reefs and all marine eco-systems. Forgive our pollution of your living waters. Stella Maris, Star of the Sea, we place this cause in your hands.
SUNG RESPONSE
Star of the Sea, be our guide. Creator God, empower us.
Stella Maris, we thank you that in you we have a way of finding our true north. Thank you that our deepest joy can be found by being true to who we are. Forgive us when we live lives that are not congruent with our true selves. Give us the courage to launch out into the deep, knowing you are there to guide us home. Stella Maris, Star of the Sea, we place this cause in your hands.
SUNG RESPONSE
Star of the Sea, be our guide. Creator God, empower us.
Please add the prayers you are longing to express.
SUNG RESPONSE
Star of the Sea, be our guide. Creator God, empower us.
CLOSING SONG: Deep Peace
CLOSING BLESSING
Holy Mary, Star of the Sea,
you are the brilliant light
that guides us through turbulent waves.
Our lives so often feel unmoored,
tossed about by a storm
gathering force from wind and water.
Help us to soften our grip and trust
that you are there to steer
us in a holy direction.
Sustain us in all our moments
of fear and doubt.
Let us see your shimmering presence
as a compass in the sky.
Connect us to the star
within each of our hearts
that illuminates the way forward
and carries us all back home
once again.
SUNG AMEN
Credits
All songs and texts used with permission
Opening Prayer written by Christine Valters Paintner, arranged by Melinda Thomas
Opening Song: Stella Maris by Gina Salā on the album Birthing the Holy: Singing with Mary and the Sacred Feminine
First Reading from Bernard of Clairvaux, Homilies in Praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary, (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1993), 30.
Sung Psalm Opening and Doxology by Richard Bruxvoort Colligan from the album Monk in the World: Songs for Contemplative Living
Interpretation of Psalm 123 by Rev. Christine Robinson
Second Reading: The Gospel According to Matthew (2:9-11 -NRSV)
Prayers of Concern written by Polly Paton-Brown
SUNG RESPONSE based on Litany of Mary by Laura Ash. Adapted & recorded by Simon de Voil and Alexa Sunshine Rose
Closing Song: Deep Peace by Sara Thomsen from the album The Soul’s Slow Ripening: Songs for Celtic Seekers
Closing Blessing: written by Christine Valters Paintner from Birthing the Holy: Wisdom from Mary to Nurture Creativity and Renewal used with permission from Ave Maria Press
Please note: All of the songs and prayer responses are published on CDs in the Abbey of the Arts collection. In addition, these songs & responses have accompanying gesture prayers and/or dances created by Betsey Beckman that can be found on the corresponding DVD (each album has a DVD companion). Audio and video recordings of the Prayer Cycles are available at AbbeyoftheArts.com.
Evening Prayer: Vessel of Grace
OPENING PRAYER
Mary, Vessel of Grace, we enter this time of prayer as a sanctuary space of the heart. Hold us in your loving embrace as we let go of our need to control and open to the movements of grace. Let this time be one of alchemy where we nurture what is within and transform our gifts into gold for the world, becoming beings more capable of compassion.
OPENING SONG: If in Your Heart
SUNG PSALM OPENING
O Grace, open my lips and my mouth will declare your praise. (Repeat)
PSALM 71
In You, Holy One, do I take refuge
Let me never be ashamed.
Deliver me in love and set me free.
Lean your ear to me and help me.
Be my strong rock,
a home to keep me safe.
Deliver me, O God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the clutches of the foolish and oppressive.
You are my hope, Holy One –
I have been sustained by your love since I was born.
I am grown now, and strong in the eyes of the world
But you are my refuge and my strength.
You have shown me great adversities—
and You have restored my life.
You strengthen me more and more
you enfold and comfort me.
Now that I am old and grey, do not forsake me.
“till I make known your love to this generation, and your power to all
who come.”
I will sing your praise all my days
and show forth my joy to those around me.
SUNG DOXOLOGY
Glory to the Maker, Lover, and Keeper; as ago, in this breath, and will be ever. Amen, Amen.
READING OF THE NIGHT: 2 Corinthians 4:7 (NRSV)
But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.
SILENT CONTEMPLATION
CLOSING SONG: O Sun
CLOSING BLESSING
Mary you are a sacred vessel of grace
holding the alchemical energy of transformation.
You invite us to enter this holy container,
to lay down everything leaden we carry
and allow it to be turned to gold.
You are the holding place, the threshold;
be with us as we commit to staying here,
to not flee the discomfort,
to not numb ourselves.
Give us steadiness and endurance
to trust in the darkness of the womb,
the space of incubation and gestation,
to wait patiently as new life grows,
as slow transformation unfolds.
Help us to feel held here
by your love and power,
a witness to our inner journeys.
SUNG AMEN
Credits
All songs and texts used with permission
Opening Prayer written by Christine Valters Paintner, arranged by Melinda Thomas
Opening Song: If in Your Heart by Ana Hernández from the album Birthing the Holy: Singing with Mary and the Sacred Feminine
Psalm Opening and Doxology by Richard Bruxvoort Colligan from the album Monk in the World: Songs for Contemplative Living
Interpretation of Psalm 71 by Rev. Christine Robinson
Reading of the Night from 2 Corinthians 4:7, NRSV
Closing Song: O Sun by Peter Mayer on the album Earth, Our Original Monastery: Singing Our Way to the Sacred
Closing Poem by Christine Valters Paintner from Birthing the Holy: Wisdom from Mary to Nurture Creativity and Renewal used with permission from Ave Maria Press
Please note: All of the songs and prayer responses are published on CDs in the Abbey of the Arts collection. In addition, these songs & responses have accompanying gesture prayers and/or dances created by Betsey Beckman that can be found on the corresponding DVD (each album has a DVD companion). Audio and video recordings of the Prayer Cycles are available at AbbeyoftheArts.com.
