Vespers (Evening Prayer)
INTRODUCTION
O God, come to our aid.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.
Hymn
To thee our inmost heart doth cry,
Our voice resounds in melody,
For thee chaste love with longing yearns,
Our humbled soul doth worship thee.
And when dense blackness falls to close
The day in thickest folds of night,
Let not our faith such darkness know,
But by that faith let dark be light.
Allow thou not our souls to rest;
Our sins in rest, we pray thee, bind:
Let pure, refreshing faith be strong
To cool all dreams that heat the mind.
Stripped clean from senses’ danger, let
Our inmost heart dream deep of thee;
Let not our envious foe disturb
Our rest with guile and treachery.
Psalm 125 (126)
Gladness and hope in the Lord
Those who were sowing in tears will sing when they reap.
When the Lord gave Zion back her captives, we became like dreamers.
Our mouths were filled with gladness and our voices cried in exultation.
Among the Gentiles they were saying,
“By his deeds the Lord has shown himself great.”
The Lord’s deeds showed forth his greatness,
and filled us with rejoicing.
Give us back our captives, O Lord,
as you renew the dry streams in the desolate South.
Those who sow in tears will rejoice at the harvest.
They wept as they went, went with seed for the sowing;
but with joy they will come, come bearing the sheaves.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
Those who were sowing in tears will sing when they reap.
Psalm 126 (127)
Without the Lord, we labour in vain
The Lord will build a house for us; he will watch over our city.
If the Lord does not build the house,
its builders labour in vain.
If the Lord does not watch over a city,
its watchmen guard it in vain.
It is vain for you to rise before the dawn
and go late to your rest,
eating the bread of toil –
to those he loves, the Lord gives sleep.
The Lord bestows sons as an heirloom,
the fruit of the womb as a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior –
so are the sons of one’s youth.
Happy the man who fills his quiver thus:
when he disputes with his enemies at the gate,
he will not be the loser.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
The Lord will build a house for us; he will watch over our city.
Canticle
(Colossians 1)
Christ, firstborn of all creatures and firstborn from the dead
He is the first-born of all creation, he is supreme over all creatures.
Let us give thanks to God the Father,
who has made us worthy to share in the light that is the saints’ inheritance.
He has rescued us from the power of the shadows
and brought us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption
and the forgiveness of sins.
He is the image of the invisible God,
the first-born of all creation,
for in him all things were created,
in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible,
thrones and dominations,
principalities and powers.
All things were created through him and for him:
he is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
And he is the head of the body, the Church.
He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead,
and so he is pre-eminent above all.
For it was the Father’s will that the fullness of God should dwell in him,
and that through him all things should be reconciled to himself.
Through the blood of the Cross he brought peace to all things,
both on Earth and in the heavens.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
He is the first-born of all creation, he is supreme over all creatures.
Short Reading
Ephesians 3:20-21
©
Glory be to him whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine; glory be to him from generation to generation in the Church and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.
Short Responsory
Redeem me, Lord, and show me your mercy.
– Redeem me, Lord, and show me your mercy.
Do not cast me away with sinners.
– Redeem me, Lord, and show me your mercy.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– Redeem me, Lord, and show me your mercy.
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
The Almighty has done great things for me; holy is his name.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God, my salvation.
For he has shown me such favour –
me, his lowly handmaiden.
Now all generations will call me blessed,
because the mighty one has done great things for me.
His name is holy,
his mercy lasts for generation after generation
for those who revere him.
He has put forth his strength:
he has scattered the proud and conceited,
torn princes from their thrones;
but lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel,
he has remembered his mercy as he promised to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
The Almighty has done great things for me; holy is his name.
Prayers and intercessions
I may have faith strong enough to move mountains: but if I have no love, I am nothing. With this in mind we pray:
– Lord, grant us your love.
Lord, sustain us as we build and grow towards you:
increase our faith as we work.
– Lord, grant us your love.
We are assailed by doubts, and weighed down by uncertainties,
release our hearts, to journey towards you with hope.
– Lord, grant us your love.
Love keeps no score of wrong, and does not gloat over evil:
help us to delight in the truth, and rejoice in your gifts to others.
– Lord, grant us your love.
Confirm the pilgrim Church in the faith of the apostles:
help us to encourage each other, sharing our gifts.
– Lord, grant us your love.
Bring those who have died in your peace to that knowledge which fulfils faith and answers hope,
grant them the fullness of your love.
– Lord, grant us your love.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Let your people’s cry come into your loving presence, Lord.
Forgive them their sins,
so that by your grace they may be devoted to your service
and rest secure under your protecting hand.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
The Lord bless us, and keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
