begin

appears 5 times in 5 song(s)

begin

appears 5 times in 5 song(s)
14

Blessing of baptismal water

O God, who by invisible power
accomplish a wondrous effect through sacramental signs
and who in many ways have prepared water, your creation,
to show forth the grace of Baptism;
O God, whose Spirit, in the first moments of the world’s creation,
hovered over the waters,
so that the very substance of water
would even then take to itself the power to sanctify;
O God, who by the outpouring of the flood
foreshadowed regeneration,
so that from the mystery of one and the same element of water
would come an end to vice and a beginning of virtue;
O God, who caused the children of Abraham
to pass dry shod through the Red Sea,
so that the chosen people, set free from slavery to Pharaoh,
would prefigure the people of the baptized;
O God,
whose Son, baptised by John in the waters of the Jordan,
was anointed with the Holy Spirit,
and as he hung | upon the Cross,
gave forth from his side | blood and water,
and, after his Resurrection, commanded his disciples:
“Go forth, teach all nations, teach all nations,
look now, we pray, upon the face of your Church
and graciously unseal for her the fountain of Baptism.
May this water receive by the Holy Spirit
the grace of your Only Begotten Son,
so that human nature, created in your image,
and washed clean through the sacrament of Baptism
from all the squalor of the life of old,
may be found worthy to rise to the life of newborn children
through water and the Holy Spirit.
May the power of the Holy Spirit,
O Lord, we pray,
come down through your Son
into the fullness of this font,
so that, all who have been buried with Christ
by Baptism into his death
Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
19

Hymn for Lauds of Advent until 16 December

A voice resounds from heaven,
it echoes in the night;
let dreams and anguish flee,
the light of Christ shines forth.
The heart awakes from slumber
no longer troubled by evil;
a new star is shining
in the darkness of the world.
Behold the Lamb of God,
the price of our ransom;
with living faith we implore
his forgiveness and peace.
When at the end of time
Christ comes in his glory,
may his grace release us
from his fearsome judgement.
Praise be to Christ the Lord,
to the Father and the Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now and ever shall be. Amen.
54

Behold, I’m coming soon

Behold, I’m coming soon,
bringing with me the reward
to be given to each one according to his deeds.
I am the Alpha and the Omega,
I’m the First and the Last,
I’m the First and the Last,
the beginning and the end.
Happy are those, those who wash their robes
that they may have the right to the tree of life.
I am
the root and the offspring of David,
the star shining in the morning.
Happy are those, those who wash their robes
that they may have the right to the tree of life.
92

There is a time for everything

There is a time for everything,
every action has its moment under heaven.
A time for being born, a time for dying,
a time for sowing, a time for reaping;
a time for killing, a time for healing,
a time for destruction, a time for rebuilding.
A time to throw stones away, a time to gather them,
a time to embrace, a time to refuse.
A time for searching, a time for losing,
a time for keeping, a time for giving:
a time for tearing, a time for mending,
a time for speaking, a time for silence.
A time for loving, a time for hating,
a time for war, a time for peace.
What does a man gain from all his efforts?
What does he profit from all his labour?
What God has done to the son of man
is truly beautiful and comes at the right time.
He has placed in man's heart the sense of eternity,
but man cannot see the whole of God’s plan.
I know there is no happiness for man,
but to enjoy the fruits of his labour;
what he eats and drinks in his life,
is nothing but a gift from the Lord.
Nothing can be added, nothing taken away,
from what the Father had already ordained
at the beginning of time.
202

Thus speaks the Amen

Thus speaks the Amen,
the faithful and trustworthy witness,
the beginning
of the creation of God.
“I know your behaviour:
you are neither hot nor cold.
I wish you were either hot or cold,
and not lukewarm,
because I am going to vomit you from my mouth. “
Thus speaks the Amen…
"You say: 'I am rich, I lack nothing'
and you do not realise that you are wretched,
you deserve compassion,
you are poor, blind and naked.
I advise you to buy from me
pure gold tested by the fire,
and white garments
and ointment for your eyes
that you may see."
Thus speaks the Amen…
"Those that I love, I correct;
then be zealous
and repent,
listen to my voice,
listen to my voice.
Behold: I stand at the door and knock,
if anyone hears my voice
and opens the door to me,
I will enter into his house
and I will eat with him
and he with me."
Thus speaks the Amen…