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
Hail, Queen of the heavens, hail Mistress of earth;
Hail, Virgin most pure of immaculate birth:
Clear star of the morning in beauty enshrined;
O Lady, make speed to the help of mankind.
Thee God in the depth of eternity chose,
And formed thee all fair as his glorious spouse,
And called thee his own Word’s true Mother to be
By whom he created the earth, sky, and sea.
Hail, Mother most pure, hail, Virgin renowned,
Hail, Queen with the stars as a diadem crowned;
Above all the angels in glory untold,
Set next to the King in a vesture of gold.
These praises and prayers we lay at thy feet,
O Virgin of virgins, O Mary most sweet:
Be thou our true guide through this pilgrimage here,
And stand by our side when our death draweth near.
Psalm 121 (122)
Jerusalem, the holy city
After three days they found Jesus in the temple, sitting among the doctors, listening to them and asking them questions.
They filled me with joy when they said,
“We will go to the house of the Lord.”
Now our feet are standing
within your gates, Jerusalem.
Jerusalem, built as a city,
whole and self-contained:
there the tribes have gone up,
the tribes of the Lord –
the witness of Israel,
to praise the Lord’s name.
For there are the thrones of justice,
the thrones of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“Safety for those who care for you,
peace inside your walls,
security within your ramparts!”
For my brethren and those near to me I will say
“Peace be upon you.”
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will call blessings upon you.
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.
After three days they found Jesus in the temple, sitting among the doctors, listening to them and asking them questions.
Psalm 126 (127)
Without the Lord, we labour in vain
Jesus went down with them to Nazareth and lived under their authority.
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.
Jesus went down with them to Nazareth and lived under their authority.
Canticle
Ephesians 1
God the Saviour
As Jesus grew up, he advanced in wisdom and favour with God and men.
Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us, in Christ,
with every spiritual blessing in heaven.
In love, he chose us before the creation of the world,
to be holy and spotless in his sight.
He predestined us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ,
simply because it pleased him to do so.
This he did for the praise of the glory of his grace,
of his free gift to us in his Beloved,
in whose blood we have gained redemption,
and the forgiveness of our sins.
This he did according to the riches of his grace,
which he gave us in abundance,
with all wisdom and discernment,
revealing to us the mysteries of his will,
because it pleased him to do so.
In this action he has planned, in the fulfilment of time,
to bring all things together in Christ,
from the heavens and from the earth.
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.
As Jesus grew up, he advanced in wisdom and favour with God and men.
Short Reading
Philippians 2:6-7
©
Jesus Christ’s state was divine, yet he did not cling to his equality with God but emptied himself to assume the condition of a slave and the form of a man; and he became as men are.
Short Responsory
He had to be made like his brothers in every way, so that he might be merciful.
– He had to be made like his brothers in every way, so that he might be merciful.
He appeared on earth and lived among men.
– He had to be made like his brothers in every way, so that he might be merciful.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– He had to be made like his brothers in every way, so that he might be merciful.
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
Jesus went down with them and came to Nazareth and lived under their authority. His mother stored up all these things in her heart. (Year C)
Or: ‘Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been looking for you anxiously.’ – ‘Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I was bound to be where my Father is?’
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.
Jesus went down with them and came to Nazareth and lived under their authority. His mother stored up all these things in her heart. (Year C)
Or: ‘Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been looking for you anxiously.’ – ‘Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I was bound to be where my Father is?’
Prayers and intercessions
Let us adore the Son of the living God, who became son in a human family.
– Lord Jesus, bless our families.
By your obedience to Mary and Joseph,
teach us how to respect proper authority and order.
– Lord Jesus, bless our families.
By the love that filled your home,
give our families the grace of loving harmony and peace.
– Lord Jesus, bless our families.
Your first intent was the honour of your Father.
May God be the heart of all our family life.
– Lord Jesus, bless our families.
Your parents found you teaching in your Father’s house.
Help us, like you, to seek first the Father’s will.
– Lord Jesus, bless our families.
By your reunion with Mary and Joseph in the joy of heaven,
welcome our dead into the family of the saints.
– Lord Jesus, bless our families.
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.
God our Father,
in the Holy Family of Nazareth
you have given us the true model of a Christian home.
Grant that by following Jesus, Mary and Joseph
in their love for each other and in the example of their family life,
we may come to your home of peace and joy.
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.
