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
O wonderful exchange! The Creator of human nature took on a human body and was born of the Virgin. He became man without having a human father and has bestowed on us his divine nature.
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.
O wonderful exchange! The Creator of human nature took on a human body and was born of the Virgin. He became man without having a human father and has bestowed on us his divine nature.
Psalm 126 (127)
Without the Lord, we labour in vain
You were born of the Virgin in a mysterious manner of which no man can speak; you fulfilled the scriptures; like rain falling gently on the earth you came hither to save the human race. We praise you: you are our God.
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.
You were born of the Virgin in a mysterious manner of which no man can speak; you fulfilled the scriptures; like rain falling gently on the earth you came hither to save the human race. We praise you: you are our God.
Canticle
Ephesians 1
God the Saviour
Moses saw the thorn bush that was on fire yet was not burnt up. In it we see a sign of your virginity, which all must honour. Mother of God, pray for us.
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.
Moses saw the thorn bush that was on fire yet was not burnt up. In it we see a sign of your virginity, which all must honour. Mother of God, pray for us.
Short Reading
Galatians 4:4-5
©
When the appointed time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born a subject of the Law, to redeem the subjects of the Law and to enable us to be adopted as sons.
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
Blessed is the womb that bore you, Christ, and blessed are the breasts that suckled you, for you are the Lord and Saviour of the world, alleluia.
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.
Blessed is the womb that bore you, Christ, and blessed are the breasts that suckled you, for you are the Lord and Saviour of the world, alleluia.
Prayers and intercessions
Blessed be Christ, Immanuel, whom the Virgin conceived and brought forth.
– Son of the Virgin Mary, hear our prayer.
You gave the Virgin Mary the joys of motherhood;
grant to all parents joy in their children.
– Son of the Virgin Mary, hear our prayer.
King of peace, your kingdom is one of justice and peace;
grant that we may seek those things that will further harmony among men.
– Son of the Virgin Mary, hear our prayer.
You came to build the human race into a holy people;
bind the nations together in the unity of the Spirit.
– Son of the Virgin Mary, hear our prayer.
You were born into a human family;
strengthen with love the bonds of family life.
– Son of the Virgin Mary, hear our prayer.
You came to a life of weakness in our world:
grant to the dead the life of glory in your kingdom.
– Son of the Virgin Mary, hear our prayer.
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,
since you gave mankind a saviour through Blessed Mary, virgin and mother,
grant that we may feel the power of her intercession,
when she pleads for us with Jesus Christ, your Son, the author of life,
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.
