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
All hail the power of Jesus’ name;
Let Angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem
To crown him Lord of all.
Crown him, ye Martyrs of your God,
Who from his altar call;
Praise him whose way of pain ye trod,
And crown him Lord of all.
Hail him, ye heirs of David’s line,
Whom David Lord did call;
The God Incarnate, Man Divine,
And crown him Lord of all.
Let every tribe and every tongue
To him their hearts enthral,
Lift high the universal song,
And crown him Lord of all.
Psalm 138 (139)
The Lord knows all things
How wonderful is this knowledge of yours that you have shown me, Lord.
Lord, you have examined me, you know me:
you know when I sit down and when I rise.
From far away you know my thoughts:
you know every step I take,
when I walk, when I lie down:
you have seen all that I do.
Before a word even reaches my lips,
you know, Lord, all that I will say.
You are close in front of me and close behind me:
you have laid your hand upon me.
Your knowledge is beyond my understanding:
it is too high, I cannot reach it.
Where shall I go, to escape your spirit?
Where shall I go, to flee your face?
If I rise to the heavens, you are there.
If I sink to the depths, you are there.
If I put on the wings of the dawn itself –
if I make my abode beyond the farthest sea –
it is still your hand that will lead me there,
it is still your right hand that will hold me.
If I say “May the shadows cover me:
let there be no light around me” –
the shadows will not hide me from you,
and the night will shine like the day:
for shadows and light are the same to 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.
How wonderful is this knowledge of yours that you have shown me, Lord.
Psalm 138 (139)
I am the Lord, who test the mind and heart; I give each man what his conduct deserves.
For you created my innermost being
as you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I will praise you, for you made me so wonderfully:
so wonderful are your works,
so perfect your knowledge.
Even my bones were not hidden from you
as I was being created in secret,
put together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw me before ever I was completed.
All my days were written in your book
before any of them came into being.
Your thoughts, O God, are precious to me:
precious above all things and too many to count.
If I try to count them, they are more than the sand:
if I come to an end, still I am with you.
Look into me, God, and know my heart:
examine me and know my paths.
See if I am wandering on ways that lead nowhere,
and set my feet on the path to eternity.
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.
I am the Lord, who test the mind and heart; I give each man what his conduct deserves.
Canticle
(Colossians 1)
Christ, firstborn of all creatures and firstborn from the dead
All things were created in him and he holds all things in being.
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.
All things were created in him and he holds all things in being.
Short Reading
1 Peter 4:13-14
©
Beloved, if you can have some share in the sufferings of Christ, be glad, because you will enjoy a much greater gladness when his glory is revealed. It is a blessing for you when they insult you for bearing the name of Christ, because it means that you have the Spirit of glory, the Spirit of God resting on you.
Short Responsory
Rejoice in the Lord. Let the just shout for joy.
– Rejoice in the Lord. Let the just shout for joy.
Let the upright sing praise.
– Rejoice in the Lord. Let the just shout for joy.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– Rejoice in the Lord. Let the just shout for joy.
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
The saints, who followed in the footsteps of Christ, rejoice in heaven. They gave their life for love of Christ: therefore, they will reign with him for ever.
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 saints, who followed in the footsteps of Christ, rejoice in heaven. They gave their life for love of Christ: therefore, they will reign with him for ever.
Prayers and intercessions
Let us give thanks to the king of martyrs, for this is the hour when he offered himself in the last supper and laid down his life on the cross.
– We praise you, Christ the Lord.
We praise you, Christ our Saviour, example and strength of the martyrs, because you have loved us to the end;
– We praise you, Christ the Lord.
Because you have promised repentant sinners the reward of eternal life,
– We praise you, Christ the Lord.
Because you have called the Church to offer the blood of the new and eternal covenant, the blood shed for the remission of sins,
– We praise you, Christ the Lord.
Because you have brought us to this day with the gift of faith intact,
– We praise you, Christ the Lord.
Because of the many brothers who today have come to share in your saving death,
– We praise you, Christ the 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.
Lord God, source of strength to all the saints,
you called your martyrs Paul and his companions to undergo the cross that they might enter into life.
Let their prayer help us to keep the faith to the end of our days.
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.
