EVENING PRAYER

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love's sake. Amen.

(From Evening Prayer, Book of Common Prayer)

Just by happenstance, in the World Cycle of Prayer:

We pray for the people of United States.

SUNSET AND BIRDHOUSE

Each sunset is lovely
In its own way,
Except when the sky
Is all colored in gray.

The birdhouse collapsed
On three sides of four.
There it rests as a ruin
For me to abhor.

My neighbor says no
He will not take it down,
And there it still stands
Awaiting my frown.

My best view of sunset
The house must include,
And I sit here and ponder
Why neighbor's so rude.

AT THE CLOSE OF DAY

It is not ourselves that we proclaim; we proclaim ChristJesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants, for Jesus' sake.For the same God who said, "Out of darkness let lightshine," has caused his light to shine within us, to give thelight of revelation--the revelation of the glory of God in theface of Jesus Christ.
(2 Corinthians 4:5-6)

PRAYERS IN THE EARLY EVENING - BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER

In the Early Evening

O gracious light,
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!

Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of Life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.

A Reading

It is not ourselves that we proclaim; we proclaim Christ
Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants, for Jesus' sake.
For the same God who said, "Out of darkness let light
shine," has caused his light to shine within us, to give the
light of revelation--the revelation of the glory of God in the
face of Jesus Christ.     2 Corinthians 4:5-6

The Collect

Lord Jesus, stay with us, for evening is at hand and the day is
past; be our companion in the way, kindle our hearts, and
awaken hope, that we may know you as you are revealed in
Scripture and the breaking of bread. Grant this for the sake
of your love. Amen.

PHOS HILARON - O GRACIOUS LIGHT

O gracious light,
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!

Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of Life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.

(Prayer in the Early Evening - Book of Common Prayer)

Phos Hilaron (Φῶς Ἱλαρόν) is an ancient Christian hymn originally written in New Testament Greek. Often referred to by its Latin title Lumen Hilare it has been translated into English as O Gladsome Light. It is the earliest known Christian hymn recorded outside of the Bible that is still in use today. The hymn is part of vespers in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and also included in some modern Anglican and Lutheran liturgies.

The picture, taken with my phone camera last evening, is of a slender sliver of a waxing crescent moon and the planet Venus.  My hand is not steady enough to capture the true appearance of the sliver of moon as it really looked, but, along with the color of the clouds in the fading light, it was a magnificent sight.

SUNSET

Yesterday, the sky at sunset was so breathtakingly beautiful during my walk that it almost hurt; it was nearly too much.  I looked here and there at the colors and gasped in delight more than once.  On the way home, as I walked east, away from the sunset, I turned around several times to look westward and continued to look upward at the ever-changing panorama.  I didn't have a camera with me, as is usual when the sky is most splendid, which is probably all to the good because I attended to the beauty rather than to trying to capture the moment with the camera.  I wish so much to give expression to what I've seen through painting or a poem.  Painting is not an option, so I tried a poem but came up with only a brief, inadequate bit of what?  Doggerel?

Sunset splashes color on horizon low
And high sky.  Peachy pink, aqua-blue,
Smoky blue, gently bathe the eye till
A stab of blazing yellow-orange
Pierces sight.

The colors were lovelier than those in the photo.

SKY AT SUNSET

Ordinary (yet extraordinary) display at evening,
But for sometimes obscuring clouds,
Each sunset delights with colors gathered
From sky's broad palette.

Houses, trees obscure the view behind the house
Of fiery sun's swift plunge below earth's horizon,
Yet, hues and contrast enchant the eyes
As fast intake of breath reveals the wonder.

(June Butler - 5/25/2014)

O GRACIOUS LIGHT

O Gracious Light
Phos hilaron

O gracious Light,
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!
Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.

LIGHT OF THE WORLD

Light of the World
(Phos hilaron)

Light of the world in grace and beauty,
Mirror of God’s eternal face,
Transparent flame of love’s free duty,
You bring salvation to our race.
Now, as we see the lights of evening,
We raise our voice in hymns of praise;
Worthy are you of endless blessing,
Sun of our night, lamp of our days.

THE HEAVENS ARE TELLING THE GLORY OF GOD...

 

...and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.  (Psalm 19:1)

O gracious Light, pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven, O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!

Now as we come to the setting of the sun, and our eyes behold the vesper light, we sing thy praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Thou art worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices, O Son of God, O Giver of life, and to be glorified though all the worlds.

Phos hilaron (The Book of Common Prayer)

The picture shows the sunset yesterday. 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

 

Sorry for the late Valentine's Day greetings, but I just now took the picture of my valentine from Grandpère - three lovely camellias from the bush in our garden.  I confess I was more moved by the camellias from the garden than by flowers from a florist.  Our camellia bushes are covered with blooms, so why not have a few inside?

And for Valentine's Day lagniappe, the photo below shows the lovely sunset yesterday, which made me late for Ash Wednesday services, because I had to have a picture of the splendid sight. I think God does not mind that I was a few minutes late, because, after all, the sunset is God's gift.

 

AS WE COME TO THE SETTING OF THE SUN...

 

It's raining here, so we did not have a visible sunset.  The picture above is from another day. We have a houseguest, an organist, whom we have not met before, and he is cooking supper for us. What a delight.  He's making himself right at home in a lovely way.

Phos hilaron  

O gracious Light, 
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven, 
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed! 
Now as we come to the setting of the sun, 
and our eyes behold the vesper light, 
we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 
You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices, 
O Son of God, O Giver of life, and to be glorified through all the worlds.

For Peace Among the Nations

Almighty God our heavenly Father, guide the nations of the world into the way of justice and truth, and establish among them that peace which is the fruit of righteousness, that they may become the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

EVENING PRAYER AND SUNSET

At times, even what I think of as a rather ordinary sunset turns out to be lovely on second look.  With sunsets, the only way to have a second look is to take a photograph, because the sky view changes within seconds.  The picture was taken earlier in the week.

That this evening may be holy, good, and peaceful,
We entreat you, O Lord.

That your holy angels may lead us in paths of peace and goodwill,
We entreat you, O Lord.

That we may be pardoned and forgiven for our sins and offenses,
We entreat you, O Lord.

That there may be peace to your Church and to the whole world,
We entreat you, O Lord.

That we may depart this life in your faith and fear,
and not be condemned before the great judgment seat of Christ,
We entreat you, O Lord.

That we may be bound together by your Holy Spirit
in the communion of all your saints,
entrusting one another and all our life to Christ,
We entreat you, O Lord.

(Evening Prayer - Book of Common Prayer)

OUR ISAAC

The rains of Isaac

The rains came after we thought Hurricane Isaac was over.  As you probably know Isaac was a huge storm, as was the eye, which passed directly over us, after which the wind came up again.  Then followed the rains, and the rains, and the rains.

The aftermath of Isaac

We were fortunate that downed limbs were the worst of the damage we suffered from the hurricane, but Grandpère had a huge clean-up job facing him. As you see from the little pile of limbs in the rain picture, he had already started to pick up before the rain stopped him. My son came later and was a big help to GP. You may wonder why I didn't help. I have a bad back. I know that's the common excuse lazy people use for not working, but, in my case, the excuse happens to be true. I'd have lasted about 10 minutes and paid for the short effort for a long time thereafter.

Piles of limbs waiting to be picked up

The city has not yet got around to picking up the piles of limbs along the curb.  One day...

Where the crepe myrtles were

Apropos of nothing to do with Isaac, GP cut down two crepe myrtle trees which were planted directly over the sewer line, whose roots growing into the pipe had probably caused our plumbing problem last year. The plumbers told us the trees should go, and, at first, Grandpère would not hear of taking down the trees, but he finally came around, and he and a neighbor cut them down last week.  The trees were not flourishing because their roots were blocked by the pipe, so they were no great loss.  The space along the driveway has a clean look now which I rather like.  The next step is to get a plumber with a camera to go in and examine the inside of the pipe to see if it is compromised, which it probably is, so we may be looking at a large repair bill.

This morning the weather was gorgeous...a delightful 65°F.  The day is still fine, but the temperature is already up to 81°F.  Still it was lovely to feel, if only briefly, a touch of fall in the air.

Tail end of a gorgeous sunset

The photo of the sunset was taken before Isaac. I was walking during the high point of the breathtaking beauty of the sunset, but I had no camera with me. By the time I reached home the sun had nearly set, so the photo above was the best I could do. I should carry my camera on my walk.

A SPLENDID PANORAMA

Yesterday, as I walked still in daylight, the waxing gibbous moon was already high in the sky. The gorgeous sky was pastel blue and the clouds pastel pink from the sun lowering in the west. Then, seemingly in a few seconds, the clouds turned bright orange and the sky a brilliant aqua. The clouds further east became smoky blue. What a splendid and ever-changing panorama. Oh did I ever want a camera to catch the colors and shapes! But perhaps the better thing was to embrace the moments for what they were at that time and place and not try to hold on to them except in my memories.

"The heavens are telling the glory of God;
   and the firmament proclaims his handiwork."  (Psalm 19)

"PATIENT TRUST" - PIERRE TEILHARD DE CHARDIN

Patient Trust

Above all, trust in the slow work of God.
We are quite naturally impatient with everything
to reach the end without delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient with being on the way to something
unknown, something new.
And yet it is the law of all progress
that it is made by passing through
some stages of instability -
and that it may take a very long time,
And so I think it is with you.
Your ideas mature gradually – let them grow,
Let them shape themselves, without undue haste.
as though you could be today what time,
(that is to say, grace and circumstances
acting on your own good will)
will make of you tomorrow.
Only God could say what this new spirit
gradually forming within you will be.
Give Our Lord the benefit of believing
that His hand is leading you,
and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself
in suspense and incomplete.

~Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J.

Thanks to David@Montreal for sending me the wise and beautiful poem.

"THE SETTING SUN"

From IT at The Friends of Jake:

Last Thanksgiving, BP and I joined Mom and Dad at Bodega Bay, along the northern coast of California, for a tranquil holiday get away. I took this photo at sunset. It was beautiful, and peaceful, and I treasure those days as a lovely memory of my Dad. It was the last time I saw him. This weekend we will inter his ashes, and I'll be slowly getting back to regular blogging. Thanks again for your love and support.

Please leave messages of sympathy and support at The Friends of Jake. Thank you.