The Clothing of a Novice in the SOCIETY OF SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST
Jamie Robert Nelson
Sunday, February 25, 2024
The Angelus
Officiant The angel of the Lord announced unto Mary, People and she conceived by the Holy Spirit.
Officiant Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with you.
Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
People Holy Mary, Mother of God, { PAUSE }
pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
Officiant And Mary said, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, People Be it unto me according to your Word.”
Officiant Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with you.
Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
People Holy Mary, Mother of God, { PAUSE }
pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
Officiant And the Word was made flesh, People And dwelt among us.
Officiant Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
People Holy Mary, Mother of God, { PAUSE }
pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
Officiant Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God,
People That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
The Invitatory
Officiant O God, make speed to save us.
People O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. To you, O Lord, be glory, King of endless Majesty.
Evening Hymn
The Psalms
Psalm 113 Laudate, pueri
8 Give praise, you servants of the LORD; * praise the Name of the LORD.
2 Let the Name of the LORD be blessed, * from this time forth for evermore.
3 From the rising of the sun to its going down * let the Name of the LORD be praised.
4 The LORD is high above all nations, * and his glory above the heavens.
5 Who is like the LORD our God, who sits enthroned on high, * but stoops to behold the heavens and the earth?
6 He takes up the weak out of the dust * and lifts up the poor from the ashes.
7 He sets them with the princes, * with the princes of his people.
Hymnal S 59
8 He makes the woman of a childless house * to be a joyful mother of children.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: * as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Psalm 114 In exitu Israel
8 When Israel came out of Egypt, * the house of Jacob from a people of strange speech,
2 Judah became God’s sanctuary * and Israel his dominion.
3 The sea beheld it and fled; * Jordan turned and went back.
4 The mountains skipped like rams, * and the little hills like young sheep.
5 What ailed you, O sea, that you fled? * O Jordan, that you turned back?
6 You mountains, that you skipped like rams? * you little hills like young sheep?
7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the LORD, * at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 Who turned the hard rock into a pool of water * and flint-stone into a flowing spring.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: * as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Psalm 115 Non nobis, Domine
1 Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your Name give glory; * because of your love and because of your faithfulness.
2 Why should the heathen say, * “Where then is their God?”
3 Our God is in heaven; * whatever he wills to do he does.
4 Their idols are silver and gold, * the work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, but they cannot speak; * eyes have they, but they cannot see;
6 They have ears, but they cannot hear; * noses, but they cannot smell;
7 They have hands, but they cannot feel; feet, but they cannot walk; * they make no sound with their throat.
8 Those who make them are like them, * and so are all who put their trust in them.
9 O Israel, trust in the LORD; * he is their help and their shield.
10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD; * he is their help and their shield.
11 You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD; * he is their help and their shield.
12 The LORD has been mindful of us, and he will bless us; * he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron;
13 He will bless those who fear the LORD, * both small and great together.
14 May the LORD increase you more and more, * you and your children after you.
15 May you be blessed by the LORD, * the maker of heaven and earth.
16 The heaven of heavens is the LORD’s, * but he entrusted the earth to its peoples.
17 The dead do not praise the LORD, * nor all those who go down into silence;
18 But we will bless the LORD, * from this time forth for evermore.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: * as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
The Lesson
John 9:1-39
The Song of Mary Magnificat An antiphon will be sung by the community
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; * for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: * the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him * in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, * He has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, * and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, * and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel, * for he has remembered his promise of mercy, The promise he made to our fathers, * to Abraham and his children for ever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: * as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
The Clothing
The congregation is seated.
Novice Guardian Let us welcome into our midst Jamie Robert Nelson.
Brothers Jamie, we welcome you in the name of the Lord!
Superior Jamie, you have been sharing our life and seeking in our company signs of the will of God. What do you now desire?
Postulant I desire the grace and mercy of God and to be admitted to the Society of Saint John the Evangelist as a Novice.
Superior In your baptism you received the Holy Spirit and were clothed with Christ. You received power to bear witness to the new life of the gospel and were made a minister of the new covenant. Do you believe that God is planting in your heart the desire to live this new life as a member of our community?
Postulant I do.
Novice Guardian We believe that God is drawing you to test your calling here. We are ready to make you a Novice in the community. Will you give yourself wholeheartedly to the life of a Novice, trusting the guidance we give you?
Postulant I will, with the help of Christ’s Spirit.
Brothers, will you receive me as a member of the community and share with me your experience of the living God?
Brothers We will.
Postulant Will you support me with your prayer and friendship as I learn to abide in Christ more deeply by living the Rule of this Society?
Brothers We will.
Superior Jamie, we rejoice when our prayers for the gift of new members are answered. New members bring with them the promise of new life for our brotherhood. We rejoice in the talents and gifts of the Holy Spirit that you bring us.
Superior The novitiate is a time of progressive initiation into the life of the community. During this time of growth and change the grace you received in baptism to die and rise again in Christ will be at work. You will need to draw on that grace as you seek to deepen your conversion in Christ.
As a Novice you will be sharing our life of worship and prayer. You will learn to practice the spiritual disciplines that deepen our abiding in Christ. Through study and meditation you will explore the resources of Christian knowledge and wisdom. We will help you understand the role of the monastic way in the life and mission of the Church. We will open to you the meaning of our Rule of Life and share our tradition and the teaching of our founders.
Set your heart on making the Gospel of John your own. An affinity with the witness of the disciple whom Jesus loved is one of the signs of belonging to our brotherhood. Seek to identify yourself with him and realize the intimacy of our union with Christ.
If you are truly called to our way of life, the novitiate will be a time not merely of adaptation, but of inner change and conversion of life. Expect emotional and spiritual trials, since stages of genuine transformation are marked by experiences of confusion and loss. The Brothers who have responsibility for the work of formation will help you face these times with courage and gain insight into their meaning. All of us are here to encourage you in the stress of adjustment and change. We want to foster your readiness for commitment by our prayerful friendship. Together we are putting your vocation to the test of experience.
Jamie, we now open our arms to you and offer you the habit of our Society. The habit is a powerful sign of our common life and identity. As you put it on you are accepting the gift of membership in our community.
First Brother Jamie, receive the cross of the Society as an emblem of our common life and mission. When you wear it, let it be close to your heart as a sign of the lifting up of Christ from the earth that he might draw all people to himself.
Second Brother Jamie, let the habit remind you of the baptismal gift of your union with Christ. You have put him on; he clothes you with his own self.
Third Brother Jamie, let the triple cord round your waist be a sign of your readiness to meet Christ in his coming. Be prepared for him to come to you in new and surprising ways as you become one of us.
The Novice steps forward and the Superior takes his hands.
Brothers Jamie, we receive you as a Novice in our Society, with the blessing of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Novice then exchanges the Peace with each Brother in turn, beginning with the Superior.
The Lord’s Prayer
Officiant The Lord be with you
All And also with you.
Officiant Let us pray.
All Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and for ever. Amen.
The congregation stands.
Collect
Officiant Shed upon your Church, O Lord, the brightness of your light, that we, being illumined by the teaching of your evangelist John, may so walk in the light of your truth, that at length we may attain to the fullness of eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
People Amen.
Dismissal
Cantor Let us bless the Lord.
People Thanks be to God.
Officiant Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to God from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever.
People Amen. The service ends without a formal procession, so that Jamie can greet those who have joined us for worship.
