A reading from the Book of Job(38:1,16-21; 42:1-6)
Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:
‘Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep? Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness? Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? Declare, if you know all this.
‘Where is the way to the dwelling of light, and where is the place of darkness, that you may take it to its territory and that you may discern the paths to its home? Surely you know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great!
Then Job answered the Lord:
‘I know that you can do all things,
and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
“Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?”
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
“Hear, and I will speak;
I will question you, and you declare to me.”
I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees you;
therefore I despise myself,
and repent in dust and ashes.’
FromThe Divine Milieuby Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
When my hour comes, O God,
grant that I may recognize you
under the species of each alien or hostile force
that seems bent upon
destroying or uprooting me.
When the signs of age begin to mark my body
(and still more when they touch my mind);
when the ill that is to diminish me or carry me off
strikes from without or is born within me;
when the painful moment comes
in which I suddenly awaken
to the fact that I am ill or growing old;
and above all at that last moment
when I feel I am losing hold of myself
and am absolutely passive within the hands
of the great unknown forces that have formed me;
in all those dark moments, O God,
grant that I may understand that it is you
(provided only my faith is strong enough)
who are painfully parting the fibers of my being
in order to penetrate to the very marrow
of my substance and bear me away within yourself.
Teach me to know my death
as an act of communion with you.
Musical Selection(Jared Fortune)
Out of the whirlwind God can speak When we’re searching For what this pain all means Though we’re uncertain of God’s schemes May we not curse him But instead to see he’s
Keeping promises to never leave Or forsake us, Lord, make us believe Forgive our unbelief You keep your promises to never leave Or forsake us, Lord, make us believe He answers unbelief
Were you there at the start? Have you walked in the deep? Did you establish the stars? Did you close in the sea?
Can you enlighten the heart? Is the sky in your reach? Did you put light in the dark? Are you equal with me?
Prayer
O God,
who alone can bestow life after death,
deliver your servants from all their,
that they, who believed in the resurrection of your Christ,
may be joined with you in glory on the last day.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,