Vespers (Evening Prayer)
(First Vespers of tomorrow, St Joseph)
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.
Hymn
O Blessed Joseph, yours the praise
The choirs of angels sing,
The guardian of the Virgin blest,
And of her Child and King.
The prophets told of God to come:
The Son of God on earth;
Yours was the glory then to be
There at the Saviour’s birth.
To him, the Father’s only Son
You served as father here;
He was subjected to your will
He, whom the heavens revere.
As once you sought and found again
The Christ, the Lord of light;
So may we walk with him, like you
All humble in his sight.
O Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
The God of truth and grace,
By holy Joseph’s prayers grant
That we may see your face.
Stanbrook Abbey Hymnal
Psalm 112 (113)
Praise of the Lord's name
Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary; of her was born Jesus who is called Christ.
Praise, servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord.
Let the Lord’s name be blessed,
now and for ever.
From the sun’s rising to its setting,
the Lord’s name is to be praised.
The Lord is high over all peoples,
his glory is above the heavens.
Who is like the Lord our God, who lives on high,
who bends down to watch over heaven and earth?
He raises the weak from the ground,
the poor from the dunghill,
raises them among the princes,
the princes of his people.
He gives the barren woman a household,
makes her the happy mother of children.
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.
Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary; of her was born Jesus who is called Christ.
Psalm 145 (146)
The blessedness of those who hope in the Lord
The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee named Nazareth, to the virgin who was betrothed to a man named Joseph.
Praise the Lord, my soul.
I will praise the Lord all my life,
make music to my God as long as I exist.
Do not trust in princes to save you,
they are only sons of men.
One day their breath will leave them, they will return to the ground;
on that day perish all their plans.
Happy the one whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
who made heaven and earth and all that is in them,
who keeps faith for ever,
who gives justice to the oppressed,
who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord frees prisoners,
he gives light to the blind,
he raises the fallen.
The Lord loves the upright, cares for strangers,
sustains orphans and widows;
but the wicked he sends astray.
The Lord will reign for all ages,
your God, O Zion, from generation to generation.
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 angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee named Nazareth, to the virgin who was betrothed to a man named Joseph.
Canticle
Ephesians 1
God the Saviour
Mary, the mother of Jesus, was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
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.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
Short Reading
Colossians 3:23-24
©
Whatever your work is, put your heart into it as if it were for the Lord and not for men, knowing that the Lord will repay you by making you his heirs. It is Christ the Lord that you are serving.
Short Responsory
The virtuous man will bloom like the lily.
– The virtuous man will bloom like the lily.
He will grow for ever before the Lord.
– The virtuous man will bloom like the lily.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– The virtuous man will bloom like the lily.
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
Behold the faithful and wise servant, whom the Master placed over his household.
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.
Behold the faithful and wise servant, whom the Master placed over his household.
Prayers and intercessions
Let us pray to God our Father, for from him all fatherhood in heaven and on earth takes its name.
– Father, hallowed be your name
Father, in your Son you revealed to Joseph the mystery kept secret for endless ages:
help us to acknowledge your Son as God and man.
– Father, hallowed be your name
Father, you enabled Joseph to spend his life in your service:
set our minds on your kingdom and your justice before all other things.
– Father, hallowed be your name
Father, your will is that every man should accept and answer your call:
by the prayer of Joseph, give us the grace to live in accord with your will.
– Father, hallowed be your name
Creator of all things, you have entrusted your work to our hands:
grant that our labours may prove worthy of you.
– Father, hallowed be your name
Father, in whom all men live, grant to those who have died new life, through your Son;
with Mary, and Joseph, and all your saints for ever.
– Father, hallowed be your name
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,
at the beginnings of our salvation,
when Mary conceived your Son and brought him forth in to the world,
you placed them under Joseph’s watchful care.
May his prayer still help your Church
to be an equally faithful guardian of your mysteries
and a sign of Christ to mankind.
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.
