MICAH 6.8

		MONDAY OF HOLY WEEK—THE FIRST ANOINTING A PREPARED MEDITATION DESIGNED TO BE USED AS A PRAYER AND A BEAD. YOU MAY, HOWEVER, CHOOSE TO USE THE FOLLOWING IN WHATEVER MANNER IS MEANINGFUL FOR YOU.
		CROSS	Gracious God, the hope of all in need, pour your Spirit upon us, that we may be instruments of your justice and compassion, a light to the nations, and a living promise of your new heaven and new earth. Amen.
		INVITATORY	God of steadfast love, light of the blind and liberator of the oppressed, we see your holy purpose in the tender compassion of your Beloved and Anointed One, who calls us into new and living friendship with you. May we, who take shelter in the shadow of your wings, be filled with the grace of your tender caring; may we, who stumble in selfish darkness, see your glory in the light of your self-giving. We ask this that we may follow Jesus. Amen.
		CRUCIFORM	Faithful Mother, Loving Midwife, as you delivered the Hebrews safely out of the long labor of slavery, so, morning by morning, you draw us forth into the new day. Surround us with a cloud of witnesses, and sustain us by your powerful word, that, in the night of loneliness and fear, we, being weary, may not lost heart but push toward the joy that is to come, laboring with Christ to give birth to your promised Kin-Dom. Amen.
		WEEK I	Isaiah 42:1-9 “Here is my Servant, whom I uphold my chosen one, in whom I delight! I have endowed you with my Spirit that you may bring true justice to the nations. You do not cry out or raise your voice, or make yourself heard in the street. So gentle that you do not break a bruised reed, or quench a wavering flame, faithfully you will bring forth true justice. You will neither waver nor be crushed until justice is established on earth, for the islands await your teaching! Thus says God Most High, who created the heavens and spread them out, who gave shape to the earth and what it produces, who gave life to its peoples and spirit to its inhabitants: I, the Holy, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One, have called you to serve the cause of right; I have taken you by the hand, and I watch over you. I have appointed you to be a covenant people, a light to the nations: To open the eyes of the blind, to free captives from prison, and those who sit in darkness from the dungeon. I am God Most High! This is my Name! I will not yield my glory to another god or my praise to idols! See how former predictions have come true. And now I declare new things! Before they spring forth, I tell them to you.”
		CRUCIFORM	Faithful Mother, Loving Midwife, as you delivered the Hebrews safely out of the long labor of slavery, so, morning by morning, you draw us forth into the new day. Surround us with a cloud of witnesses, and sustain us by your powerful word, that, in the night of loneliness and fear, we, being weary, may not lost heart but push toward the joy that is to come, laboring with Christ to give birth to your promised Kin-Dom. Amen.
		WEEK II	Psalm 31:9-16 Be gracious to me, O God Most High, for I am in distress; my eye wastes away from grief, my soul and body also. For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my misery, and my bones waste away. I am the scorn of all my adversaries, a horror to my neighbors, an object of dread to my acquaintances; those who see me in the street flee from me. I have passed out of mind like one who is dead; I have become like a broken vessel. For I hear the whispering of many-- terror all around!-- as they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life. But I trust in you, O God Most High; I say, "You are my God." My times are in your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors. Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your steadfast love.
		CRUCIFORM	Faithful Mother, Loving Midwife, as you delivered the Hebrews safely out of the long labor of slavery, so, morning by morning, you draw us forth into the new day. Surround us with a cloud of witnesses, and sustain us by your powerful word, that, in the night of loneliness and fear, we, being weary, may not lost heart but push toward the joy that is to come, laboring with Christ to give birth to your promised Kin-Dom. Amen.
		WEEK III	Hebrews 5. 1-9 Every high priest taken from among the faithful is appointed on their behalf to deal with the things of God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. The high priest is able to deal patiently with erring sinners, being likewise beset by weakness—and so must make personal sin offerings as well as those for the people. One doesn’t take on this honor by one’s own initiative, but only when called by God, as Aaron was. Even Christ didn’t presume to take on the office of high priest. Christ was appointed high priest by the One who said, “You are my Own; today I have begotten you. And in another place, it is written: “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.”  In the days when he was in the flesh, Jesus offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to God, who was able to save him from death, and Jesus was heard because of his reverence.  Firstborn though he was, Jesus learned to obey through suffering. But having been made perfect, Jesus became, for all who obey, the source of eternal salvation, and he was designated by God to be a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
		CRUCIFORM	Faithful Mother, Loving Midwife, as you delivered the Hebrews safely out of the long labor of slavery, so, morning by morning, you draw us forth into the new day. Surround us with a cloud of witnesses, and sustain us by your powerful word, that, in the night of loneliness and fear, we, being weary, may not lost heart but push toward the joy that is to come, laboring with Christ to give birth to your promised Kin-Dom. Amen
		WEEK IV	John 12. 1-11 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?" He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it. Jesus said, "Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me." When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus.
		CRUCIFORM	Faithful Mother, Loving Midwife, as you delivered the Hebrews safely out of the long labor of slavery, so, morning by morning, you draw us forth into the new day. Surround us with a cloud of witnesses, and sustain us by your powerful word, that, in the night of loneliness and fear, we, being weary, may not lost heart but push toward the joy that is to come, laboring with Christ to give birth to your promised Kin-Dom. Amen.
		INVITATORY	Almighty God, Your name is glorified even in the anguish of your the death of your Beloved and Anointed One. Grant us the courage to receive your anointed servant who embodies a wisdom and love that is foolishness to the world. empower us in witness so that all the world may recognize in the scandal of the cross the mystery of reconciliation. Amen.
		CROSS	Christ our God, your love is poured out in death for our sakes. Hold us in your embrace as we wait for Easter's dawn. Comfort us with the promise that no power on earth, not even death itself, can separate us from your love; and strengthen us to wait until you are revealed to us in all your risen glory. Amen.