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Maundy Thursday Virtual Vigil 2021

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Maundy Thursday Virtual Vigil 2021 Maundy Thursday Virtual Vigil 2021 There is a part of the soul that stirs at night, in the dark and soundless times of day, when our defenses are down and our daylight distractions no longer serve to protect us from ourselves. It's then, in the still of life, when we least expect it, that questions emerge from the damp murkiness of our inner underworld...These questions do not call for the discovery of data; they call for the contemplation of possibility. Joan Chittister TONIGHT’S VIRTUAL VIGIL Zoom Link: http://bit.ly/ASCandSTGLCMaundyThursdayVigil2021 Zoom Password: 04012021 This handout is listed in chronological order. Tonight, we begin in the virtual chapel at 9pm Pacific Time. At every hour, from 9pm to 6am on Good Friday, we will do a scripture reading, poem, or reflection. At every hour at the 15 minute mark, we will listen or sing along to a Taizé hymn. At every hour at the 30 minute mark, we will recite either an Traditional or an Anglican rosary, as stated in this bulletin. Please feel free to bring your prayer beads and other prayer resources to the virtual chapel. Additional prayers are at the end of this handout. It’s a long night. Grab some tea or snacks if you need sustenance. This event is hosted by members of All Saints Pasadena, Saint George La Canada, and students of Bexley Seabury seminary. A Prayer for the Evening In the quiet of this place, in the dark of the night, we wait and we watch. In the stillness of the soul and from its fathomless depths, the senses of our hearts are awake to you. For Fresh soundings of life, for new showings of light, we search in the silence of your Spirit, O God. 9:00 pm Matthew 26:31-46 Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: “‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.” “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same. Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Pause Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!” 9:15pm We will listen and sing and pray to hymns sung in the style of Taizé in the virtual chapel. The worship tradition of Taizé began shortly after WWII in the French countryside, at a monastic community called Taizé. It was born out of the tears and blood of the war and grew in the sunlight of reconciliation and ecumenical unity. It is a quiet service of meditation, reflection, readings, and music. The experience finds its true meaning in the active participation of all assembled by focusing and deepening our faith through the power of prayer. Everyone is encouraged to participate as the Spirit moves them, whether that be in song, prayer, or silent meditation. Though the format of the liturgy that developed in Taizé is primarily for the worship of God, it is also meant to quiet the soul. The quietness does not happen immediately, but gradually throughout the night. The repetition in the words of the music and the repetition of the periods of silence make room for deep quiet to grow in our hearts. In that stillness, we can be at peace and feel the presence of God. Please join us in song and silent prayer. My Soul Yearns for You My soul yearns for you in the night, O God. My spirit within my longs for you. 9:30pm We will say the Anglican rosary together in the virtual chapel. Please see the “Anglican Rosary” handout. 10:00 pm Prayer to End the Death Penalty By Sister Helen Prejean You let your rain fall on the just and the unjust. Expand and deepen our hearts so that we may love as You love, even those among us who have caused the greatest pain by taking life. For there is in our land a great cry for vengeance as we fill up death row and kill the killers in the name of justice, in the name of peace. Jesus, our brother, you suffered execution at the hands of the state but you did not let hatred overcome you Help us to reach out to victims of violence so that our enduring love may help them heal. Holy Spirit of God, You strengthen us in the struggle for justice, Help us to work tirelessly for the abolition of state-sanctioned death and to renew our society in its very heart so that violence will be no more. Amen. 10:15pm Stay With Me Stay with me, remain here with me. Watch and Pray. 10:30pm We will say the traditional rosary together in the virtual chapel. Please see the “Traditional Rosary” handout. It will be prayed in English and Spanish. We start with the Joyful Mysteries. 11:00pm From “Beauty: The Invisible Embrace” By John O’Donohue Human identity is complex. Nothing is ever given simply or immediately. Even the simplest act of perception has many layers…Time and memory often reveal things later that were staring us in the eye, but we never noticed them. The quest for the truth of things is never ending. To be human is to be ambivalent. Every experience is open to countless readings and interpretations. We never see a thing completely. In sure anticipation, our eyes have always already altered what awaits our gaze.The search for truth is difficult and uncomfortable. Because the mystery is too much for us, we may opt to settle for the surface of things. Comfort becomes more important than true presence. This is precisely why we need to hear the discerning voice. Somewhere in every heart there is a discerning voice. This voice distrusts the status quo. It sounds out the falsity in things and encourages dissent from the images things tend to assume. It underlines the secret crevices where the surface has become strained. It advises distance and opens up a new perspective through which the concealed meaning of a situation might emerge…Its intention is to keep the heart clean and clear. This voice is an inner whisper not obvious or known to others outside..Yet much depends on that small voice. The truth of its whisper marks the line between honor and egoism, kindness and chaos. In extreme situations, which have been emptied of all shelter and tenderness, that small voice whispers from somewhere beyond and encourages the heart to hold out for dignity, respect, beauty and love. That whisper brings forgotten nobility into an arena where violence has traduced everything. This faithful voice can illuminate the dark lands of despair. It becomes both the sign and presence of a transcendence that no force or horror can extinguish. Each day in the world, in the prisons, hospitals and killing fields, against all the odds, this still, small voice continues to echo the beauty of the human being. In haunted places this voice carries the light of beauty like a magical lantern to transform desolation, to remind us that regardless of what may be wrenched from us, there is a dignity and hope that we do not have to lose. This voice brings us directly into contact with the inalienable presence of beauty in the soul. 11:15pm Salvatore Mundi Salvatore mundi salva nos. (Savior of the world, save us) 11:30pm We will say the Anglican rosary together in the virtual chapel. Please see the “Anglican Rosary” handout. 12:00am Midnight From “The Four Loves” By CS Lewis There is no safe investment. To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal.
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