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.
Hymn
Sole hope of all the world and Lord,
Bestower of the great reward,
Receive the prayers thy servants raise
Mixed with meet psalms and chants of praise.
And though our conscience doth proclaim
Our deep transgressions and our shame,
Cleanse us, O God, we humbly plead,
From sins of thought and word and deed.
Our sins remember thou no more;
Forgive: thou art of mighty pow’r:
So take upon thee, Lord, our care
That pure in heart we make our prayer.
Therefore accept, O Lord, this tide
Of fast which thou hast sanctified,
That we may reach by mystic ways
The sacraments of Easter days.
Psalm 125 (126)
Gladness and hope in the Lord
Those who were sowing in tears will sing when they reap.
When the Lord gave Zion back her captives, we became like dreamers.
Our mouths were filled with gladness and our voices cried in exultation.
Among the Gentiles they were saying,
“By his deeds the Lord has shown himself great.”
The Lord’s deeds showed forth his greatness,
and filled us with rejoicing.
Give us back our captives, O Lord,
as you renew the dry streams in the desolate South.
Those who sow in tears will rejoice at the harvest.
They wept as they went, went with seed for the sowing;
but with joy they will come, come bearing the sheaves.
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.
Those who were sowing in tears will sing when they reap.
Psalm 126 (127)
Without the Lord, we labour in vain
The Lord will build a house for us; he will watch over our city.
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.
The Lord will build a house for us; he will watch over our city.
Canticle
(Colossians 1)
Christ, firstborn of all creatures and firstborn from the dead
He is the first-born of all creation, he is supreme over all creatures.
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.
He is the first-born of all creation, he is supreme over all creatures.
Short Reading
Philippians 2:12-15
©
Work for your salvation in fear and trembling, for it is God, for his own loving purpose, who puts both the will and the action into you. Do all that has to be done without complaining or arguing and then you will be innocent and genuine, you will be children of God.
Short Responsory
I said: ‘Lord, have mercy on me.’
– I said: ‘Lord, have mercy on me.’
‘Heal my soul, for I have sinned against you.’
– I said: ‘Lord, have mercy on me.’
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– I said: ‘Lord, have mercy on me.’
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
The man who keeps the commandments of God and teaches them to others will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.
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 man who keeps the commandments of God and teaches them to others will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.
Prayers and intercessions
God our Father knows all the needs of his people, but he wants us to give first place to his kingdom. Let us proclaim his greatness in our prayer.
– May your kingdom come in all its justice.
Holy Father, you gave us Christ as the shepherd of our souls;
may your people always have priests who care for them with his great love.
– May your kingdom come in all its justice.
Grant that Christians will prove brothers to the sick;
show them the features of your Son in the faces of those who suffer.
– May your kingdom come in all its justice.
Help those who do not believe in the gospel to come into your Church;
build it up in love to manifest your goodness everywhere.
– May your kingdom come in all its justice.
Father, we know that we are sinners;
grant us your forgiveness and reconcile us with your Church.
– May your kingdom come in all its justice.
May the dead enter eternal life,
may they abide with you for ever.
– May your kingdom come in all its justice.
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.
Schooled by our Lenten observance, Lord,
and nourished on your word,
may we give you whole-hearted service through our self-denial,
and through our prayer become one in heart and mind.
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.
