25 O LORD, how manifold are your works!
in wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
Yonder is the great and wide sea
with its living things too many to number,
creatures both small and great.
There move the ships,
and there is that Leviathan,
which you have made for the sport of it.
All of them look to you
to give them their food in due season.
You give it to them; they gather it;
you open your hand, and they are filled with good things.
You hide your face, and they are terrified;
you take away their breath,
and they die and return to their dust.
You send forth your Spirit, and they are created;
and so you renew the face of the earth.
May the glory of the LORD endure for ever;
may the LORD rejoice in all his works.
He looks at the earth and it trembles;
he touches the mountains and they smoke.
I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
I will praise my God while I have my being.
From the Great Cloud of Witnesses:
Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) was born the tenth child of a noble German family. Drawn to an ascetic form of Christianity from a young age, she joined, and later became the head of, a Bendictine convent. A prolific writer, she recorded her visions as well as numerous musical compositions. At seventy-three she was still traveling and preaching in monasteries, churches and cathedrals to both lay and clergy. Many of her works are still available today. The link below is to a short biography and numerous writings, songs and essays written about her.
http://home.infionline.net/~ddisse/hildegar.html
Collect:
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 not only with our lips but in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.