Oremus for Saturday, December 3, 2022

Francis Xavier
Francis was born at the castle of Xavier in Spanish Navarre in 1506. He was educated in Paris and, with Ignatius of Loyola, became one of the group of seven who took vows as the first members of the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits. Since preaching the gospel overseas was an integral part of the Jesuit vocation, Francis sailed for Goa, on the west coast of India, in 1541. He travelled all over the East Indies, evangelising and establishing the Church in Ceylon, Malacca, Malaya and notably in Japan, where he left behind two thousand converts. He was on his way to China when he died on board ship in December 1552. ^EH

Antiphon https://tinyurl.com/p478xrzb

To you, I lift up my soul, O my God.
In you, I have trusted; let me not be put to shame.
Nor let my enemies exult over me;
and let none who hope in you be put to shame. Psalm 25

Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are open,
all desires, known,
and from whom no secrets are hid:
Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Music: https://tinyurl.com/ycn4djk5

O Lord, open my lips.
And my mouth will declare your praise.
Make haste, O God, to deliver me;
make haste to help me, O Lord.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Praise to you, O Christ, Alleluia!

HYMN: attr. Francis Xavier; trans. Edward Caswall
Tune: St Francis Xavier https://tinyurl.com/ycpsffxd

1 My God, I love thee; not because
I hope for heaven thereby,
nor yet because who love thee not
are lost eternally.

2 Thou, O my Jesus, thou didst me
upon the cross embrace;
for me didst bear the nails and spear,
and manifold disgrace;

3 And griefs and torments numberless,
and sweat of agony;
yea, death itself — and all for me
who was thine enemy.

4 Then why, O blessèd Jesu Christ,
should I not love thee well?
Not for the sake of winning heaven,
nor of escaping hell;

5 Not from the hope of gaining aught,
not seeking a reward;
but as thyself hast lovèd me,
O ever-loving Lord.

6 So would I love thee, dearest Lord,
and in thy praise will sing;
solely because thou art my God,
and my most loving King.

PSALMS

Psalm 18
(Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/yx7qz95s)
1  I will love thee, O Lord, my strength;
the Lord is my stony rock, and my defence *
 my Saviour, my God, and my might, in whom I will trust,
my buckler, the horn also of my salvation, and my refuge.
2  I will call upon the Lord, which is worthy to be praised *
 so shall I be safe from mine enemies.
3  The sorrows of death compassed me *
 and the overflowings of ungodliness made me afraid.
4  The pains of hell came about me *
 the snares of death overtook me.
5  In my trouble I will call upon the Lord *
 and complain unto my God.
6  So shall he hear my voice out of his holy temple *
 and my complaint shall come before him,
it shall enter even into his ears.
7  The earth trembled and quaked *
 the very foundations also of the hills shook,
and were removed, because he was wroth.
8  There went a smoke out in his presence *
 and a consuming fire out of his mouth,
so that coals were kindled at it.
9  He bowed the heavens also, and came down *
 and it was dark under his feet.
10  He rode upon the cherubims, and did fly *
 he came flying upon the wings of the wind.
11  He made darkness his secret place *
 his pavilion round about him with dark water,
and thick clouds to cover him.
12  At the brightness of his presence his clouds removed *
 hail-stones, and coals of fire.
13  The Lord also thundered out of heaven,
and the Highest gave his thunder *
 hail-stones, and coals of fire.
14  He sent out his arrows, and scattered them *
 he cast forth lightnings, and destroyed them.
15  The springs of waters were seen,
and the foundations of the round world were discovered,
at thy chiding, O Lord *
 at the blasting of the breath of thy displeasure.
16  He shall send down from on high to fetch me *
 and shall take me out of many waters.
17  He shall deliver me from my strongest enemy,
and from them which hate me *
 for they are too mighty for me.
18  They prevented me in the day of my trouble *
 but the Lord was my upholder.
19  He brought me forth also into a place of liberty *
 he brought me forth, even because he had a favour unto me.
20  The Lord shall reward me after my righteous dealing *
 according to the cleanness of my hands shall he recompense me.
21  Because I have kept the ways of the Lord *
 and have not forsaken my God, as the wicked doth.
22  For I have an eye unto all his laws *
 and will not cast out his commandments from me.
23  I was also uncorrupt before him *
 and eschewed mine own wickedness.
24  Therefore shall the Lord reward me after my righteous dealing *
 and according unto the cleanness of my hands in his eye-sight.
25  With the holy thou shalt be holy *
 and with a perfect man thou shalt be perfect.
26  With the clean thou shalt be clean *
 and with the froward thou shalt learn frowardness.
27  For thou shalt save the people that are in adversity *
 and shalt bring down the high looks of the proud.
28  Thou also shalt light my candle *
 the Lord my God shall make my darkness to be light.
29  For in thee I shall discomfit an host of men *
 and with the help of my God I shall leap over the wall.
30  The way of God is an undefiled way *
 the word of the Lord also is tried in the fire;
he is the defender of all them that put their trust in him.
31  For who is God, but the Lord *
 or who hath any strength, except our God?
32  It is God, that girdeth me with strength of war *
 and maketh my way perfect.
33  He maketh my feet like harts’ feet *
 and setteth me up on high.
34  He teacheth mine hands to fight *
 and mine arms shall break even a bow of steel.
35  Thou hast given me the defence of thy salvation *
 thy right hand also shall hold me up,
and thy loving correction shall make me great.
36  Thou shalt make room enough under me for to go *
 that my footsteps shall not slide.
37  I will follow upon mine enemies, and overtake them *
 neither will I turn again till I have destroyed them.
38  I will smite them, that they shall not be able to stand *
 but fall under my feet.
39  Thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle *
 thou shalt throw down mine enemies under me.
40  Thou hast made mine enemies also to turn their backs upon me *
 and I shall destroy them that hate me.
41  They shall cry, but there shall be none to help them *
 yea, even unto the Lord shall they cry, but he shall not hear them.
42  I will beat them as small as the dust before the wind *
 I will cast them out as the clay in the streets.
43  Thou shalt deliver me from the strivings of the people *
 and thou shalt make me the head of the heathen.
44  A people whom I have not known *
 shall serve me.
45  As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me *
 but the strange children shall dissemble with me.
46  The strange children shall fail *
 and be afraid out of their prisons.
47  The Lord liveth, and blessed be my strong helper *
 and praised be the God of my salvation.
48  Even the God that seeth that I be avenged *
 and subdueth the people unto me.
49  It is he that delivereth me from my cruel enemies,
and setteth me up above mine adversaries *
 thou shalt rid me from the wicked man.
50  For this cause will I give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the Gentiles *
 and sing praises unto thy Name.
51  Great prosperity giveth he unto his King *
 and sheweth loving-kindness unto David his Anointed,
and unto his seed for evermore.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son :
and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be :
world without end. Amen.

Psalm 18
(Plainsong: http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm%2018%20Duckett.mp3)
2 I love you, Lord, my strength,
3 my rock, my fortress, my savior.
My God is the rock where I take refuge;
my shield, my mighty help, my stronghold.
4 The Lord is worthy of all praise,
when I call I am saved from my foes.
5 The waves of death rose about me;
the torrents of destruction assailed me;
6 the snares of the grave entangled me;
the traps of death confronted me.
7 In my anguish I called to the Lord;
I cried to God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came to his ears.
8 Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the mountains were shaken to their base:
they reeled at his terrible anger.
9 Smoke came forth from his nostrils
and scorching fire from his mouth:
coals were set ablaze by its heat.
10 He lowered the heavens and came down,
a black cloud under his feet.
11 He came enthroned on the cherubim,
he flew on the wings of the wind.
12 He made the darkness his covering,
the dark waters of the clouds, his tent.
13 A brightness shone out before him
with hailstones and flashes of fire.
14 The Lord thundered in the heavens;
The Most High let his voice be heard.
15 He shot his arrows, scattered the foe,
flashed his lightnings and put them to flight.
16 The bed of the ocean was revealed;
the foundations of the world were laid bare
at the thunder of your threat, O Lord,
at the blast of the breath of your anger.
17 From on high he reached down and seized me;
he drew me forth from the mighty waters.
.18 he snatched me from my powerful foe,
from my enemies whose strength I could not match.
19 They assailed me in the day of my misfortune,
but the Lord was my support.
20 He brought me forth into freedom,
he saved me because he loved me.
21 He rewarded me because I was just,
repaid me, for my hands were clean,
22 for I have kept the way of the Lord,
and have not fallen away from my God.
23 For his judgments are all before me:
I have never neglected his commands.
24 I have always been upright before him;
I have kept myself from guilt.
25 He repaid me because I was just
and my hands were clean in his eyes.
26 You are loving with those who love you:
you show yourself perfect with the perfect.
27 With the sincere you show yourself sincere,
but the cunning you outdo in cunning.
28 For you save a humble people
but humble the eyes that are proud.
29 You, O Lord, are my lamp,
my God who lightens my darkness.
30 With you I can break through any barrier,
with my God I can scale any wall.
31 As for God, his ways are perfect;
the word of the Lord, purest gold.
He indeed is the shield
of all who make him their refuge.
32 For who is God but the Lord?
Who is a rock but our God?
33 the God who girds me with strength
and makes the path safe before me.
34 My feet you make swift as the deer’s;
you have made me stand firm on the heights.
35 You have trained my hands for battle
and my hands to bend the heavy bow.
36 You gave me your saving shield;
you upheld me, trained me with care.
37 You gave me freedom for my steps;
my feet have never slipped.
38 I pursued and overtook my foes,
never turning back till they were slain.
39 I smote them so they could not rise;
they fell beneath my feet.
40 You girded me with strength for battle;
you made my enemies fall beneath me,
41 you made my foes take flight;
those who hated me I destroyed.
42 They cried, but there was no one to save them;
they cried to the Lord, but in vain.
43 I crushed them fine as dust before the wind;
trod them down like dirt in the streets.
44 You saved me from the feuds of the people
and put me at the head of the nations.
People unknown to me served me:
45 when they heard of me they obeyed me.
Foreign nations came to me cringing:
46 foreign nations faded away.
They came trembling out of their strongholds.
47 Long life to the Lord, my rock!
Praised be the God who saves me,
48 the God who gives me redress
and subdues people under me.
49 You saved me from my furious foes.
You set me above my assailants.
You saved me from violent men,
50 so I will praise you, Lord, among the nations:
I will sing a psalm to your name.
51 He has given great victories to his king
and shown his love for his anointed,
for David and his sons for ever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son 
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be :
world without end. Amen.

PRAYER

Praise to you, God of our salvation.
You come to our help and set us free.
May your strength be our shield
and your word, our lamp,
that we may serve you with pure hearts
and find deliverance in Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen. ^BCW

THE WORD OF GOD

Reading: Isaiah 40:1-11

Reading: Jude 17-25

But you, dear friends, remember the words spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, “In the end time scoffers will come living according to their own ungodly desires.” These people create divisions. Since they don’t have the Spirit, they are worldly.

But you, dear friends: build each other up on the foundation of your most holy faith, pray in the Holy Spirit, keep each other in the love of God, wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will give you eternal life. Have mercy on those who doubt. Save some by snatching them from the fire. Fearing God, have mercy on some, hating even the clothing contaminated by their sinful urges.

Reading: Matthew 23:1-12

Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and his disciples, “The legal experts and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat. Therefore, you must take care to do everything they say. But don’t do what they do. For they tie together heavy packs that are impossible to carry. They put them on the shoulders of others, but are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. Everything they do, they do to be noticed by others. They make extra-wide prayer bands for their arms and long tassels for their clothes. They love to sit in places of honor at banquets and in the synagogues. They love to be greeted with honor in the markets and to be addressed as ‘Rabbi.’

“But you shouldn’t be called Rabbi, because you have one teacher, and all of you are brothers and sisters. Don’t call anybody on earth your father, because you have one Father, who is heavenly. Don’t be called teacher, because Christ is your one teacher. But the one who is greatest among you will be your servant. All who lift themselves up will be brought low. But all who make themselves low will be lifted up.”

CANTICLE Philippians 2:6-11
(Chant by John Michael Talbot: https://tinyurl.com/y8ljx8y7)

Though he was in the form of God,
Jesus did not deem equality with God
something to be grasped at.
Rather, he emptied himself
and took the form of a slave,
being born in the likeness of men.
He was known to be of human estate
and it was thus that he humbled himself,
obediently accepting even death,
death on a cross!
Because of this,
God highly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
above every other name,  
So that at Jesus’ name
every knee must bend
in the heavens, on the earth,
and under the earth,
and every tongue proclaim
to the glory of God the Father:  
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

THE PRAYERS ^CGP

We are an anxious people, a waiting people, God.
We long for a new and powerful encounter with you.
We wait in bondage through no fault of our own,
entangled by distant forces of evil,
by anger and greed we did not create;
saddened by the waste and foolishness of our time.
We come to drink of your power, to be set free!
And we wait in bondage because of our own sin.
Lead us beyond advertisements
which entice us to have much,
that we might be open to receive much:
to have time for personal relationships,
to give thanks for creation,
to allow your coming into our lives anew.
And so we wait and wait,
remembering your promise, O Promise-Fulfilling God.
And we rejoice that you are more faithful than are we:
that you tug us again into hoping,
and nudge us into life in your Spirit.
We wait, then, as generations have waited,
for the Christ who came among us, is among us,
and will come among us. Amen.

Setting by Eric Wyse:²

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your Name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread;
and forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.

Merciful and gracious God,
you raise up men and women
to proclaim the good news
to those who have not heard it;
we praise you for Francis Xavier
and the work he did in Asia;
give us wisdom and love
to commend the faith to others;
through Jesus Christ our Redeemer. Amen. ^{FATS, alt.}

Music: https://tinyurl.com/y9efvwm5
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen. 2 Cor. 13:14

---

^BCW Book of Common Worship, Presbyterian Church U.S.A., 1993.

^EH Exciting Holiness, Ed. Brother Tristram SSF © European Province of the Society of Saint Francis, 1997

^CGP Celebrating God’s Presence, United Church of Canada

^FATS For All the Saints, © The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, 2014

2 Eric Wyse, Lord’s Prayer, ©; audio from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_a40ME7aVk

The three main scripture readings are © 2011 Common English Bible

The traditional psalm texts are from The Book of Common Prayer (1662). The contemporary psalm text is from The Grail Psalms and is from the Manual Hopper YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/manualhopper/featured

Musical links are usually either to artists’ albums posted on Spotify or to recordings made available at smallchurchmusic.com. Audio stripped from YouTube videos is footnoted accordingly above.

Compilation © 2022 Stephen T. Benner. All links worked at the time they were created, but I cannot accept responsibility for their content or any damage resulting from their use. The linked content is under the control of the respective content creators and is subject to change at any time. Any copyright texts included in this compilation are provided for non-commercial purposes related to study or worship. Please contact the respective copyright holders for permission to use the texts in other contexts.