Prayer Cycle / Birthing the Holy / Day 4
Day 4: Our Lady of Silence & Our Lady of the Underworld
Video, Audio and Written Guides for Morning and Evening Prayer
Morning Prayer: Our Lady of Silence
OPENING PRAYER
Holy Mary, Lady of Silence, we come to you in quiet this day. Be with us in our time of silence as we let go of words and chatter. Journey with us into the space of deep listening and stillness that we may pause, rest, and discover the magic to be found within the still point of the heart.
OPENING SONG: In the Silence
FIRST READING: Thomas Merton
Let me seek, then, the gift of silence, and poverty, and solitude, where everything I touch is turned into prayer: where the sky is my prayer, the birds are my prayer, the wind in the trees is my prayer, for God is in all.
SUNG PSALM OPENING
O Wisdom, open my lips and my mouth will declare your praise. (Repeat)
PSALM 46
God is our refuge and our strength
a haven in times of trouble.
Therefore, we can be calm though the earth shakes,
though the nations change, and though the sea rises.
Our trust is in the Holy One
who is making the heavens and the earth
Who is with us in the midst of the city
and in our own hearts.
See the miracles that are a part of our lives!
and the longings for peace and justice in our hearts
and the way we can make our lives abundant
in nearly any circumstance.
God whispers to us, “Be still and know that I am God.
I am with you to the ends of the universe,
and through all time.”
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 this morning, let us treasure with Mary the deep mysteries revealed to her.
SECOND READING: The Gospel According to Luke (2:16-20 -NRSV)
So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
SILENT CONTEMPLATION
PRAYERS OF CONCERN
We offer prayers now for all that is on our hearts.
Holy one, by your silent presence at the cross, you bore witness to dignity and courage in the face of unspeakable pain. For those who silently watch and wait for death to come, for illness to pass, for grief to ease, we ask for your strength and pray for your peace as they bear witness to love’s thread which can never be broken.
SUNG RESPONSE
Our Lady of Silence, be our guide. Creator God, empower us.
O Mary, cathedral of silence, when all around was noise and glorifying words, you remained quiet, pondering within the meaning of the special child you had birthed. In your wisdom you remain present to mystery as pregnant with the possibility of new life. This creates space within us for wondering, waiting, and opening to what you long to birth in and through us.
SUNG RESPONSE
Our Lady of Silence, be our guide. Creator God, empower us.
Our Lady of Silence, you remind us that silence and prayer are faithful ways to respond when all around us seems to be spinning out of control. In the face of war and violence, we join you in quiet vigil. We offer fervent prayers for peace and an end to senseless destruction. We ask for those who are fleeing to find safe shelter. We plead with you to give wisdom to our political leaders as they seek to avert an escalation of violence. We sit in silence with you, Mother of all, wellspring of wisdom and compassion.
SUNG RESPONSE
Our Lady of Silence, be our guide. Creator God, empower us.
Please add the prayers you are longing to express.
SUNG RESPONSE
Our Lady of Silence, be our guide. Creator God, empower us.
CLOSING SONG: Our Lady of Silence
CLOSING BLESSING
Holy Mary, keeper of silence,
make a resting place for our busy minds,
soothe our restless hearts,
help us to release our desire
to produce, to do, to achieve.
Slow us down; kindle a love
for stillness within us.
Dwell a while in the sanctuary
of our hearts, keeping vigil,
sitting in silent wonder
at the holy whispers we start to hear in the quiet.
Rest with us in the great mystery
of things, letting go of our need
for answers, leading us more
deeply into the questions.
Sustain us in this daily practice
of seeking stillness,
of making space for the ocean of quiet
to carry us on its waves ever deeper
into the heart of the holy hush.
SUNG AMEN
Credits
All songs and texts used with permission
Opening Prayer written by Christine Valters Paintner, arranged by Melinda Thomas
Opening Song: In the Silence by John Coleman from the album Monk in the World: Songs for Contemplative Living
First Reading from Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude. Farrar, Straus & Giroux 1958 (92).
Sung Psalm Opening and Doxology by Richard Bruxvoort Colligan from the album Monk in the World: Songs for Contemplative Living
Interpretation of Psalm 46 by Rev. Christine Robinson
Second Reading from The Gospel According to Luke (2:16-20 -NRSV)
Prayers of Concern written by Valerie Allen
SUNG RESPONSE based on Litany of Mary by Laura Ash. Adapted & recorded by Simon de Voil and Alexa Sunshine Rose
Closing Song: Our Lady of Silence by Richard Bruxvoort Colligan from the album Birthing the Holy: Singing with Mary and the Sacred Feminine
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: Our Lady of the Underworld
OPENING PRAYER
Mary, Lady of the Underworld, we come to you in awe of the cycle of creation and destruction. Death giving rise to life. Life descending to death. Give us strength to endure our underworld journeys and rediscover our own power and wholeness. Ignite within us your fierce love that every oppressed person should be nourished, cherished and welcome, so we may act for justice out of the witness of expansive love.
OPENING SONG: Black Madonna
SUNG PSALM OPENING
O Wisdom, open my lips and my mouth will declare your praise. (Repeat)
PSALM 102
O God, hear my prayer
and let my cry come to you.
I drift through dull and cloudy days
My bones are turned to ash.
My heart is closed down.
I’m not taking care of myself.
I feel like a vulture in the wilderness
An owl in the ruins, a lone pigeon on a roof.
I lie awake in the night
with voices that revile me.
I feel far from You—
Have you lifted me up, thrown me away?
O God, you endure forever.
You come in your appointed time.
You rebuild nations, point the homeless to shelter,
hear the groan of the captive
and help the dying be at peace.
You laid the foundations of the earth at the beginning—
the stars and the galaxies are the work of your hands.
They will go to chaos, but you will endure
You will change them like worn clothes.
For You are beyond time and space and matter and energy
And with you, I am saved.
SUNG DOXOLOGY
Glory to the Maker, Lover, and Keeper; as ago, in this breath, and will be ever. Amen, Amen.
READING OF THE NIGHT: Marion Woodman and Elinor Dickinson
[T]he Goddess who gives life is the Goddess who takes life away. That fact allows for no sentimentality. In feminine thinking, we hold the paradox beyond the contradictions. She is the flux of life in which creation gives place to destruction, destruction in the service to life gives place to creation.
SILENT CONTEMPLATION
CLOSING SONG: I am Here
CLOSING BLESSING
Mary of the Underworld,
like the story of Persephone
you too made your descent
to dwell a while in the darkness.
You offer yourself as guide,
as comforter, as bearer of wisdom.
You know the dark night journey intimately,
you have borne the tremendous weight of loss,
have known grief’s heaviness.
You do not flinch or look away
but gaze with us into the radiant dark.
Madonna of Blackness,
be with us as we navigate the nights.
Help us to experience your fierce and tender love,
hold us steady as we descend.
Sustain us as our securities are stripped away
until we come to know our foundation in you.
Embrace us in the dark womb of transformation.
We ask you to bless this time
so it may deepen our compassion
and allow us to also be guides
for the descent of others.
SUNG AMEN
Credits
All songs and texts used with permission
Opening Prayer written by Christine Valters Paintner, arranged by Melinda Thomas
Opening Song: Black Madonna by Soyinka Rahim 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 102 by Rev. Christine Robinson
Reading of the Night from Marion Woodman and Elinor Dickinson, Dancing in the Flames: The Dark Goddess in the Transformation of Consciousness. Shambala (1997), 7.
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
Closing Song: I am Here by Deírdre Ni Chennéide from the album The Soul’s Slow Ripening: Songs for Celtic Seekers
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.
