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O Divine Wisdom, come upon us, sustain us with your loving arms, move us with your breath of life, pour upon us your light, your warmth and your power. Open our ears and hearts to receive your word.

Invocation

O Divine Wisdom, come upon us, sustain us with your loving arms, move us with your breath of life, pour upon us your light, your warmth and your power. Open our ears and hearts to receive your word.

 

Song: Nada Te Turbe

 

Responsive Psalm 27

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh—

my adversaries and foes—they shall stumble and fall.

Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear;

though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident.

One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the Lord

    all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple
.

For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble;

he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock.

Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me,

and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;

I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me!

Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!” Your face, Lord, do I seek.


 

Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger,

    you who have been my help.

Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation!

If my father and mother forsake me,

    the Lord will take me up.

Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path

    because of my enemies.

Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,

    for false witnesses have risen against me, and they are breathing out violence.

I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord;

    be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

Glory be 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.

Scriptures: 1 Samuel 25:18- 31

18 Abigail acted quickly. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on donkeys. 19 Then she told her servants, “Go on ahead; I’ll follow you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.

20 As she came riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, there were David and his men descending toward her, and she met them. 21 David had just said, “It’s been useless—all my watching over this fellow’s property in the wilderness so that nothing of his was missing. He has paid me back evil for good. 22 May God deal with David, be it ever so severely, if by morning I leave alive one male of all who belong to him!”

23 When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed down before David with her face to the ground. 24 She fell at his feet and said: “Pardon your servant, my lord, and let me speak to you; hear what your servant has to say. 25 Please pay no attention, my lord, to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name—his name means Fool, and folly goes with him. And as for me, your servant, I did not see the men my lord sent. 26 And now, my lord, as surely as the Lord your God lives and as you live, since the Lord has kept you from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hands, may your enemies and all who are intent on harming my lord be like Nabal. 27 And let this gift, which your servant has brought to my lord, be given to the men who follow you.

28 “Please forgive your servant’s presumption. The Lord your God will certainly make a lasting dynasty for my lord, because you fight the Lord’s battles, and no wrongdoing will be found in you as long as you live. 29 Even though someone is pursuing you to take your life, the life of my lord will be bound securely in the bundle of the living by the Lord your God, but the lives of your enemies he will hurl away as from the pocket of a sling. 30 When the Lord has fulfilled for my lord every good thing he promised concerning him and has appointed him ruler over Israel, 31 my lord will not have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself. And when the Lord your God has brought my lord success, remember your servant.”

Reflection – by Rev. Dora Arce Valentin – Cuba

Prayers of Intercession

God of justice and peace, we lament with all women around the world impacted by armed conflict and war, many unnamed or silenced.

We pray with all women as they work tirelessly for systematic change to eliminate gender inequality and all forms of violence against women and girls.

We pray with women who are attacked because of their work of promoting human rights, preventing conflict, and ensuring peace.

Response:   Merciful God, Make us your instruments of change.

We pray with women peacebuilders who are excluded from peace processes and whose contributions to conflict prevention and peacebuilding are often under-utilized or under-valued. Like Abigail, they recognize the patriarchal structures, and are strategically courageous in preventing conflict. 

We pray for a spirit of respect for human dignity and an end to impunity.

Response:   Merciful God, Make us your instruments of change.

 

For all women who face violence, injustice, poverty and ill health. May they know hope in the face of adversity and pain, and receive help and healing in their struggles. Let us pray to God.

 

Response: Merciful God, Make us your instruments of change.

 

For migrants and domestic workers who lack opportunities for a decent wages; for those trafficked into sex slavery- violated and commoditized bodies; for child labourers and soldiers, deprived of a dignified childhood; for every poor family unable to enjoy the basic necessities of life. Let us pray to God.

 

Response: Merciful God, Make us your instruments of change.

 

Lord’s Prayer in our many languages…

 

Blessing

 

La bendición de Dios de Sara, Agar y Abraham

La bendición del Hijo que de María nació

La bendición del Santo Espíritu de amor

Que vela por nosotros cual madre por sus hijos, descienda sobre ustedes. Amen

 

The blessing of the God of Agar, Sarah and Abraham,

The blessing of Christ Jesus, the son of Mary

The blessing of the Holy Spirit, who in love is brooding over us as a mother over her children, be with is all forever. Amen