Scholastica
Much less is known about Scholastica than her famous brother, St Benedict. She too was born at Nursia, central Italy, around the year 480. At an early age she chose to consecrate herself to God, but probably continued to live at home. Only after Benedict moved to Monte Cassino did she settle at Plombariola nearby, joining or maybe founding a nunnery under his direction. As abbess she sought to follow his Rule, and met him each year at a house near his monastery where they would praise God together and discuss spiritual matters. She died in about the year 543. Benedict had a vision of her soul rising up to heaven and, collecting her body, he had her buried in the tomb prepared for himself. Scholastica soon became a figure for veneration by all nuns who followed Benedict’s Rule. EH
Antiphon https://tinyurl.com/2p892t8n
Your merciful love, O God,
we have received in the midst of your temple.
Your praise, O God, like your name,
reaches the ends of the earth;
your right hand is filled with saving justice. Psalm 48
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: John Keble
Tune: Franconia https://tinyurl.com/2p8nne62
1 Blest are the pure in heart,
for they shall see our God;
the secret of the Lord is theirs,
their soul is Christ’s abode.
2 The Lord, who left the heavens
our life and peace to bring,
to dwell in lowliness with men,
their pattern and their King;
3 Still to the lowly soul
he doth himself impart,
and for his dwelling and his throne
chooseth the pure in heart.
4 Lord, we thy presence seek;
may ours this blessing be;
give us a pure and lowly heart,
a temple meet for thee.
PSALMS
Psalm 53 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/y6wzcn8t)
1 The foolish body hath said in his heart *
There is no God.
2 Corrupt are they, and become abominable in their wickedness *
there is none that doeth good.
3 God looked down from heaven upon the children of men *
to see if there were any, that would understand, and seek after God.
4 But they are all gone out of the way,
they are altogether become abominable *
there is also none that doeth good, no not one.
5 Are not they without understanding that work wickedness *
eating up my people as if they would eat bread?
they have not called upon God.
6 They were afraid where no fear was *
for God hath broken the bones of him that besieged thee;
thou hast put them to confusion, because God hath despised them.
7 O that the salvation were given unto Israel out of Sion *
O that the Lord would deliver his people out of captivity!
8 Then should Jacob rejoice *
and Israel should be right glad.
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 54 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/y73kppwg)
1 Save me, O God, for thy Name’s sake *
and avenge me in thy strength.
2 Hear my prayer, O God *
and hearken unto the words of my mouth.
3 For strangers are risen up against me *
and tyrants, which have not God before their eyes, seek after my soul.
4 Behold, God is my helper *
the Lord is with them that uphold my soul.
5 He shall reward evil unto mine enemies *
destroy thou them in thy truth.
6 An offering of a free heart will I give thee,
and praise thy Name, O Lord *
because it is so comfortable.
7 For he hath delivered me out of all my trouble *
and mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies.
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 55 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/yb9gqlve)
1 Hear my prayer, O God *
and hide not thyself from my petition.
2 Take heed unto me, and hear me *
how I mourn in my prayer, and am vexed.
3 The enemy crieth so, and the ungodly cometh on so fast *
for they are minded to do me some mischief;
so maliciously are they set against me.
4 My heart is disquieted within me *
and the fear of death is fallen upon me.
5 Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me *
and an horrible dread hath overwhelmed me.
6 And I said, O that I had wings like a dove *
for then would I flee away, and be at rest.
7 Lo, then would I get me away far off *
and remain in the wilderness.
8 I would make haste to escape *
because of the stormy wind and tempest.
9 Destroy their tongues, O Lord, and divide them *
for I have spied unrighteousness and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go about within the walls thereof *
mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it.
11 Wickedness is therein *
deceit and guile go not out of their streets.
12 For it is not an open enemy, that hath done me this dishonour *
for then I could have borne it.
13 Neither was it mine adversary, that did magnify himself against me *
for then peradventure I would have hid myself from him.
14 But it was even thou, my companion *
my guide, and mine own familiar friend.
15 We took sweet counsel together *
and walked in the house of God as friends.
16 Let death come hastily upon them,
and let them go down quick into hell *
for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.
17 As for me, I will call upon God *
and the Lord shall save me.
18 In the evening, and morning, and at noon-day
will I pray, and that instantly *
and he shall hear my voice.
19 It is he that hath delivered my soul in peace
from the battle that was against me *
for there were many with me.
20 Yea, even God, that endureth for ever,
shall hear me, and bring them down *
for they will not turn, nor fear God.
21 He laid his hands upon such as be at peace with him *
and he brake his covenant.
22 The words of his mouth were softer than butter,
having war in his heart *
his words were smoother than oil, and yet be they very swords.
23 O cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall nourish thee *
and shall not suffer the righteous to fall for ever.
24 And as for them *
thou, O God, shalt bring them into the pit of destruction.
25 The blood-thirsty and deceitful men
shall not live out half their days *
nevertheless, my trust shall be in thee, O Lord.
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 53 (Jason Silver: https://tinyurl.com/5du7btts)
Fools say in their heart, ”˜There is no God.”
They are corrupt, and they do terrible deeds;
There is no one who does good.
God looks down from heaven on humankind
To see if there are any on earth who are wise,
Any who seek after God.
They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse;
There is none who do good,
No, not one.
Have they no knowledge, these evil ones,
Who consume my people like
Like they eat bread,
And do not call upon the Lord?
Fools say in their heart, ”˜There is no God.”
They are corrupt, and they do terrible deeds;
There is no one who does good.
God looks down from heaven on humankind
To see if there are any on earth who are wise,
Any who seek after God.
There they shall be in great fear, as has not been seen before.
God will scatter their bones, put them to shame,
God has rejected them. They pray that deliverance comes
It comes for Israel, it comes from Zion!
When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,
Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.
When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,
Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.
Psalm 54 (Plainsong: http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm-54-1.mp3)
1 Save me, O God, by your Name; *
in your might, defend my cause.
2 Hear my prayer, O God; *
give ear to the words of my mouth.
3 For the arrogant have risen up against me,
and the ruthless have sought my life, *
those who have no regard for God.
4 Behold, God is my helper; *
it is the Lord who sustains my life.
5 Render evil to those who spy on me; *
in your faithfulness, destroy them.
6 I will offer you a freewill sacrifice *
and praise your Name, O LORD, for it is good.
7 For you have rescued me from every trouble, *
and my eye has seen the ruin of my foes.
| 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.
Psalm 55 (Plainsong: https://tinyurl.com/jdshas8c)
2 O God, listen to my prayer,
do not hide from my pleading,
3 attend to me and reply;
with my cares, I cannot rest.
4 I tremble at the shouts of the foe,
at the cries of the wicked;
for they bring down evil upon me.
They assail me with fury.
5 My heart is stricken within me,
death’s terror is on me,
6 trembling and fear fall upon me
and horror overwhelms me.
7 O that I had wings like a dove
to fly away and be at rest.
8 So I would escape far away
and take refuge in the desert.
9 I would hasten to find a shelter
from the raging wind,
from the destructive storm, O Lord,
10 and from their plotting tongues.
For I can see nothing
but violence and strife in the city.
11 Night and day they patrol
high on the city walls.
It is full of wickedness and evil;
12 it is full of sin.
Its streets are never free
from tyranny and deceit.
13 If this had been done by an enemy
I could bear his taunts.
If a rival had risen against me,
I could hide from him.
14 But it is you, my own companion,
my intimate friend!
15 (How close was the friendship between us.)
We talked together in harmony
in the house of God.
16 May death fall suddenly upon them!
Let them go to the grave;
for wickedness dwells in their homes
and deep in their hearts.
17 As for me, I will cry to God
and the Lord will save me.
18 Evening, morning and at noon
I will cry and lament.
19 He will deliver my soul in peace
in the attack against me;
for those who fight me are many,
18c but he hears my voice.
20 God will hear and will humble them,
the eternal judge;
for they will not amend their ways.
They have no fear of God.
21 The traitor has turned against his friends;
he has broken his word.
22 His speech is softer than butter,
but war is in his heart,
His words are smoother than oil,
but they are naked swords.
23 Entrust your cares to the Lord
and he will support you.
He will never allow
the just man to stumble.
24 But you, O God, will bring them down
to the pit of death.
Deceitful and bloodthirsty men
shall not live half their days.
O Lord, I will trust in you.
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
God our helper, hear our prayer
and uphold your church in times of testing.
Deliver us from evil,
so that from the rising of the sun to its setting
we may offer you our sacrifice of praise;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. BCW
THE WORD OF GOD
Reading: Nehemiah 9:16-25
But our ancestors acted arrogantly.
They were stubborn and wouldn’t obey your commandments.
They refused to obey,
and didn’t remember the wonders that you accomplished in their midst.
They acted arrogantly and decided to return to their slavery in Egypt.
But you are a God ready to forgive, merciful and compassionate,
very patient, and truly faithful.
You didn’t forsake them.
Even when they had cast an image of a calf for themselves,
saying, “This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,”
and holding you in great contempt,
you, in your great mercy, didn’t abandon them in the wilderness.
The column of cloud continued to guide them on their journey during the day,
and the column of lightning lit their path during the night.
You gave your good spirit to teach them.
You didn’t withhold your manna from them,
and you gave them water for their thirst.
You kept them alive for forty years—
they lacked nothing in the wilderness!
Their clothes didn’t wear out,
and their feet didn’t swell.
You gave them kingdoms and peoples,
and assigned to them every side.
They took possession of the land of King Sihon of Heshbon
and the land of King Og of Bashan.
You multiplied their descendants as the stars of heaven.
You brought them into the land that you had told their ancestors to enter and possess.
So the descendants went in and possessed the land.
Before them, you subdued the Canaanites who inhabited the land.
You also handed over to them their kings and the neighboring peoples,
to do with as they wished.
They captured fortified cities and productive land,
and took possession of houses filled with all kinds of good things,
excavated cisterns, vineyards, olive orchards, and a great many fruit trees.
They ate until they were satisfied and grew fat,
and delighted themselves in your great goodness.
HYMN: John Stocker
Tune: Mercy https://tinyurl.com/bdhmhfw3
1 Gracious Spirit, dove divine,
let thy light within me shine;
all my guilty fears remove,
fill me full of heav’n and love.
2 Speak thy pard’ning grace to me,
set the burdened sinner free;
lead me to the Lamb of God,
wash me in his precious blood.
3 Life and peace to me impart;
seal salvation on my heart;
breathe thyself into my breast,
earnest of immortal rest.
4 Let me never from thee stray,
keep me in the narrow way;
fill my soul with joy divine,
keep me, Lord, forever thine.
Reading: Philemon 8-16
Therefore, though I have enough confidence in Christ to command you to do the right thing, I would rather appeal to you through love. I, Paul—an old man, and now also a prisoner for Christ Jesus— appeal to you for my child Onesimus. I became his father in the faith during my time in prison. He was useless to you before, but now he is useful to both of us. I’m sending him back to you, which is like sending you my own heart. I considered keeping him with me so that he might serve me in your place during my time in prison because of the gospel. However, I didn’t want to do anything without your consent so that your act of kindness would occur willingly and not under pressure. Maybe this is the reason that Onesimus was separated from you for a while so that you might have him back forever— no longer as a slave but more than a slave—that is, as a dearly loved brother. He is especially a dearly loved brother to me. How much more can he become a brother to you, personally and spiritually in the Lord!
HYMN: John L Bell ©
Tune: Ae fond kiss https://tinyurl.com/cj42xney
1 Who would ever have believed it?
Who could ever have conceived it?
Who dared trace God’s hand behind it
When a servant came among us?
2 We despised Him, we disowned Him,
Though He clearly hurt and suffered:
We, believing He was worthless,
Never looked on Him with favor.
3 Though our sins let Him be wounded,
Though our cruelty left Him beaten,
Yet, through how and why He suffered,
God revealed our hope of healing.
4 We, like sheep despite our wisdom,
All had wandered from God’s purpose;
And our due in pain and anger
God let fall on one among us.
Reading: John 7:37-39
On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and shouted,
“All who are thirsty should come to me!
All who believe in me should drink!
As the scriptures said concerning me,
Rivers of living water will flow out from within him.”
Jesus said this concerning the Spirit. Those who believed in him would soon receive the Spirit, but they hadn’t experienced the Spirit yet since Jesus hadn’t yet been glorified.
CANTICLE Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55)
(Setting in Lutheran Service Book: https://tinyurl.com/ybb7ajjj)
Refrain:
My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior;
my soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior.
1. For he has regarded
the lowliness of his handmaiden.
For behold, from this day
all generations will call me blessed.
For the Mighty One has done great things to me,
and holy is his name;
And his mercy is on those who fear him
from generation to generation. Refrain
2. He has shown strength with his arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones
and has exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent empty away.
He has helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy
as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever.
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. Refrain
THE PRAYERS BCW
Loving God, as the rising sun chases away the night, so you have scattered the
power of death in the rising of Jesus Christ, and you bring us all blessings in him.
Especially we thank you for
the community of faith in our church . . .
those with whom we work or share common concerns . . .
the diversity of your children . . .
indications of your love at work in the world . . .
those who work for reconciliation. . . .
Mighty God, with the dawn of your love you reveal your victory over all that would
destroy or harm, and you brighten the lives of all who need you.
Especially we pray for
families suffering separation . . .
people different from ourselves . . .
those isolated by sickness or sorrow . . .
the victims of violence or warfare . . .
the church in the Pacific region. . . .
(Plainsong Mode 2: https://tinyurl.com/yctqq8cf)DL
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 God,
who gave such grace to your servant Scholastica
that she served you with singleness of heart
and loved you above all things:
help us to forsake all that holds us back from following Christ
and to grow into his likeness from glory to glory;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. EH, 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
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BCW Book of Common Worship, Presbyterian Church U.S.A., 1993.
DL © Daniel Lawson; used with permission.
EH Exciting Holiness Edited by Brother Tristam SSF, © European Province of the Society of Saint Francis, 1997
The three main scripture readings are © 2011 Common English Bible.
The traditional language psalms are from The Book of Common Prayer (1662). The modern language version of Psalms 54 is from the The Book of Common Prayer (1979) and is sung by Ryland Angel. Psalm 53 is a contemporary version by Jason Silver. Psalm 55 is from the Grail Psalter and is from the Manual Hopper YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMQKvgC9Wjw
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 © 2023 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.
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