Kirkepiscatoid

(Photo of a wonderful sunset out by my place)

I was reading Canticle 12, "A Song of Creation" not long ago, and got to thinking about all the wonderful gifts of creation in my own backyard, out in the country.

So I re-wrote it to include some elements of northeast Missouri...here it is....

A Song of Creation (Northeast Missouri style)
Benedicite, omnia opera Domini 

Song of the Three Young Men, 35-65

One or more sections of this Canticle may be used. Whatever the 
selection, it begins with the Invocation and concludes with the Doxology.

Invocation

Glorify the Lord, all you works of the Lord, * 

praise him and highly exalt him for ever. 

In the firmament of his power, glorify the Lord, * 

praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

I The Cosmic Order

Glorify the Lord, you angels and all powers of the Lord, * 

O sun and moon and bodies above the heavens. 

Stars of the sky, Orion and Scorpio, Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, glorify the Lord, * 

praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Glorify the Lord, every drizzle and gully-washer, * 

all blustery winds and hundred degree heat. 

Frigid winter and Humid summer, glorify the Lord, * 

praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Glorify the Lord, wet chill and dry cold, * 

Fog and haze and flakes of snow.

Frost and cold, ice and sleet, glorify the Lord, * 

praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Glorify the Lord, O nights and days, * 

O starlit light and gloomy dark. 

Tornadoes and thunderstorms, glorify the Lord, * 

praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

II The Earth and its Creatures

Let the oak-hickory woods glorify the Lord, * 

praise him and highly exalt him for ever. 

Glorify the Lord, O rolling green hills, 
Poison ivy and ragweed, green annoyances of earth, * 
 praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Glorify the Lord, O lakes and creeks and rivers, * 

O catfish and bass that move in the waters. 

Hawks, vultures and swallows, glorify the Lord, * 

praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Glorify the Lord, O creatures of the wild, * 

and pastures full of flocks and herds.

O country and city folks everywhere, glorify the Lord, * 

praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

III The People of God

Let the people of Northeast Missouri glorify the Lord, * 

praise him and highly exalt him for ever. 


Glorify the Lord, O laypeople and clergy of the Lord, * 

praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Glorify the Lord, O spirits and souls of the righteous, * 

praise him and highly exalt him for ever. 

You that listen with the ear of your heart, glorify the Lord, * 

praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Doxology

Let us glorify the Lord: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; * 

praise him and highly exalt him for ever. 


In the firmament of his power, glorify the Lord, * 

praise him and highly exalt him for ever.