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
Blest are the pure in heart,
For they shall see our God;
The secret of the Lord is theirs,
Their soul is Christ’s abode.
The Lord, who left the heavens,
Our life and peace to bring,
To dwell in lowliness with men,
Their pattern and their King:
Still to the lowly soul
He does himself impart,
And for his dwelling and his throne
Chooses the pure in heart.
Lord, we thy presence seek;
May ours this blessing be;
Give us a pure and lowly heart,
A temple fit for thee.
Psalm 143 (144)
For victory and peace
The Lord is my love and my refuge: in him I place my trust.
Blessed be the Lord, my help,
who trains my hands for battle,
my fingers for war.
The Lord is kindness and strength,
my refuge and my liberator.
He is my shield, and I trust in him –
he places my people under his rule.
Lord, what is man, that you should take notice of him?
The son of man, that you should give him respect?
For man is as nothing,
his day is like a shadow that passes.
Lord, descend from your heavens,
touch the mountains so that they smoke.
Brandish your lightnings and scatter my enemies,
fire your arrows, sow confusion among them.
Send down your power from above,
raise me and free me from the flooding waters,
from the power of those of foreign race,
whose speeches are not to be trusted,
who lift up their hands in perjury.
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 is my love and my refuge: in him I place my trust.
Psalm 143 (144)
Blessed the people whose God is the Lord.
I will sing a new song to you, God:
I will sound your praise on the ten-stringed harp.
You give victory to kings,
you rescue David your servant
from the swords of his enemies.
Raise me and free me from the power of strangers,
whose speeches are not to be trusted,
who lift up their hands in perjury.
Our sons are like growing saplings
in the time of their youth.
Our daughters are like the carved columns
that hold up the temple.
Our larders are full, overflowing with goodness –
our sheep fill the fields in uncountable thousands –
our oxen are strong.
Our walls are not ruined and we are not exiles:
in our streets there is no lamentation.
Blessed the people whose life is like this:
happy the people whose God is the Lord.
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 the people whose God is the Lord.
Canticle
Apocalypse 11
The Judgement
Victory and empire have now been won by our God.
We thank you,
Lord God Almighty,
who are and who were,
that you have taken up your great power and begun to reign.
The nations were angered,
but your anger came, the time for the dead to be judged,
the time to reward the prophets and saints, your servants,
and those who feared your name, both great and small.
Now have come the salvation and might and kingdom of our God,
and the power of his Anointed,
for the accuser of our brethren has been brought down,
who accused them day and night in the sight of God.
But they vanquished him through the blood of the Lamb
and through their own witness.
They did not cling to life,
even in the face of death.
Therefore rejoice, heavens,
and you who dwell in them.
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.
Victory and empire have now been won by our God.
Short Reading
(Colossians 1:23)
©
Persevere and stand firm on the solid base of the faith. Never let yourselves drift away from the hope promised by the Good News, which you have heard, which has been preached to every created thing under Heaven.
Short Responsory
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
– The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures where he gives me repose.
– The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
The Lord has satisfied and filled with good things those who hungered for justice.
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 Lord has satisfied and filled with good things those who hungered for justice.
Prayers and intercessions
The light shines out in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it. Let us thank our Lord for bringing his light to our lives.
– Lord Jesus Christ, you are our light.
Word of God, you have brought the light of eternity to the darkened world:
may it open the minds and hearts of all the children of the Church.
– Lord Jesus Christ, you are our light.
Show your care for all who dedicate their lives to the service of others:
may your grace inspire their actions and sustain them to the end.
– Lord Jesus Christ, you are our light.
Lord, you healed the paralytic and forgave him his sins:
pardon all our guilt, and heal the wounds of our sins.
– Lord Jesus Christ, you are our light.
Men follow the light to new knowledge and discovery:
may they use your gifts to serve the whole human family, and so give glory to you.
– Lord Jesus Christ, you are our light.
Lead the dead from darkness into your own wonderful light;
in your mercy show them the radiance of your glory.
– Lord Jesus Christ, you are our light.
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.
Listen favourably to our evening prayer, Lord,
and grant that as we follow your Son’s example
we may, by perseverance, yield a harvest of good works.
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.
