Hildegard of Bingen, Mystic and Scholar, 1179

The Collect:

Rite I:
God of all times and seasons: Give us grace that we, after the example of thy servant Hildegard, may both know and make known the joy and jubilation of being part of thy creation, and show forth thy glory in the world; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Rite II:
God of all times and seasons: Give us grace that we, after the example of your servant Hildegard, may both know and make known the joy and jubilation of being part of your creation, and show forth your glory in the world; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Lesson: Ecclesiasticus 43:1-12

¹     The pride of the higher realms is the clear vault of the sky,
          as glorious to behold as the sight of the heavens.
²     The sun, when it appears, proclaims as it rises
          what a marvellous instrument it is, the work of the Most High.
³     At noon it parches the land,
           and who can withstand its burning heat?
⁴     A man tending[a] a furnace works in burning heat,
           but three times as hot is the sun scorching the mountains;
       it breathes out fiery vapours,
           and its bright rays blind the eyes.
⁵     Great is the Lord who made it;
           at his orders it hurries on its course.

⁶     It is the moon that marks the changing seasons,
          governing the times, their everlasting sign.
⁷     From the moon comes the sign for festal days,
          a light that wanes when it completes its course.
⁸     The new moon, as its name suggests, renews itself;[c]
           how marvellous it is in this change,
       a beacon to the hosts on high,
           shining in the vault of the heavens!

⁹     The glory of the stars is the beauty of heaven,
          a glittering array in the heights of the Lord.
¹⁰   On the orders of the Holy One they stand in their appointed places;
          they never relax in their watches.
¹¹    Look at the rainbow, and praise him who made it;
          it is exceedingly beautiful in its brightness.
¹²    It encircles the sky with its glorious arc;
          the hands of the Most High have stretched it out.

Psalm: Psalm 104:25-34

²⁵ O Lord, how manifold are your works! *
       in wisdom you have made them all;
       the earth is full of your creatures.
²⁶ Yonder is the great and wide sea
   with its living things too many to number, *
       creatures both small and great.
²⁷ There move the ships,
   and there is that Leviathan, *
       which you have made for the sport of it.
²⁸ All of them look to you *
       to give them their food in due season.
²⁹ You give it to them; they gather it; *
       you open your hand, and they are filled with good things.
³⁰ You hide your face, and they are terrified; *
       you take away their breath,
       and they die and return to their dust.
³¹ You send forth your Spirit, and they are created; *
       and so you renew the face of the earth.
³² May the glory of the Lord endure for ever; *
       may the Lord rejoice in all his works.
³³ He looks at the earth and it trembles; *
       he touches the mountains and they smoke.
³⁴ I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; *
       I will praise my God while I have my being.

Gospel: John 3:16-21

¹⁶ ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

¹⁷ ‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. ¹⁹And this is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. ²¹But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.’

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