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
O Christ, the Father’s only Son,
Whose death for all redemption won,
Before the worlds, of God Most High,
Begotten all ineffably.
The Father’s Light and Splendour thou,
Their endless Hope to thee that bow;
Accept the prayers and praise today
That through the world thy servants pay.
Salvation’s Author, call to mind
Thou took’st the form of humankind,
When of the Virgin undefiled
Thou in man’s flesh becam’st a Child.
Thus testifies the present day
Through every year in long array,
That thou, salvation’s source alone,
Proceedest from the Father’s throne.
All honour, laud, and glory be,
O Jesu, Virgin-born, to thee;
All glory, as is ever meet,
To Father and to Paraclete.
Psalm 109 (110)
The Messiah, king and priest
All authority and dominion are yours on the day of your strength; you are resplendent in holiness. From the womb before the dawn I begot you.
The Lord has said to my lord:
“Sit at my right hand
while I make your enemies your footstool.”
From Zion the Lord will give you a sceptre,
and you will rule in the midst of your foes.
Royal power is yours in the day of your strength,
among the sacred splendours.
Before the dawn, I begot you from the womb.
The Lord has sworn, and he will not repent:
“You are a priest for ever,
a priest of the priesthood of Melchisedech.”
The Lord is at your right hand,
and on the day of his anger he will shatter kings.
He will drink from the stream as he goes –
he will hold his head high.
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.
All authority and dominion are yours on the day of your strength; you are resplendent in holiness. From the womb before the dawn I begot you.
Psalm 129 (130)
Out of the depths
With the Lord there is unfailing love. Great is his power to set men free.
Out of the depths I have cried to you, Lord:
Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears listen out
for the voice of my pleading.
If you took notice of our transgressions, Lord –
Lord, who would be left?
But with you is forgiveness,
and for this we revere you.
I rely on you, Lord,
my spirit relies on your promise;
my soul hopes in the Lord,
more than the watchman for daybreak.
More than the watchman for daybreak,
let Israel hope in the Lord:
for with the Lord there is kindness
and abundant redemption.
He himself will redeem Israel
from all its transgressions.
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.
With the Lord there is unfailing love. Great is his power to set men free.
Canticle
(Colossians 1)
Christ, firstborn of all creatures and firstborn from the dead
The Word was God in the beginning and before all time. Today he is born to us, the Saviour of the world.
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.
The Word was God in the beginning and before all time. Today he is born to us, the Saviour of the world.
Short Reading
Romans 8:3-4
©
God dealt with sin by sending his own Son in a body as physical as any sinful body, and in that body God condemned sin. He did this in order that the Law’s just demands might be satisfied in us, who behave not as our unspiritual nature but as the spirit dictates.
Short Responsory
The Word became flesh.
– The Word became flesh.
And he lived among us.
– The Word became flesh.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– The Word became flesh.
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
All that the prophets foretold about Christ has been fulfilled through you, Virgin Mary: you were a virgin when you conceived and remained a virgin after you had given birth.
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.
All that the prophets foretold about Christ has been fulfilled through you, Virgin Mary: you were a virgin when you conceived and remained a virgin after you had given birth.
Prayers and intercessions
Let us pray to God the Father, who out of his great love sent us his only Son.
– May the grace of your Son be with us, Lord.
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, you have shown your tender mercy for those who live in darkness:
accept the prayers we offer for the salvation of all men.
– May the grace of your Son be with us, Lord.
Father of those who follow Jesus Christ, bless your Church with all its people,
and let them live in harmony and peace.
– May the grace of your Son be with us, Lord.
Father of all men, turn the hearts of nations to your beloved Son,
that they may overthrow the forces that set man against man.
– May the grace of your Son be with us, Lord.
Father of the world to come, peace came down from heaven when your Son was born on earth:
grant to the faithful departed the eternal peace of Christ.
– May the grace of your Son be with us, Lord.
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.
Almighty God,
your incarnate Word fills us with the new light he brought to men.
Let the light of faith in our hearts
shine through all that we do and say.
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.
