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
The Lamb’s high banquet we await,
In snow-white robes of royal state;
And now, the Red Sea’s channel past,
To Christ our Prince we sing at last.
Upon the altar of the Cross
His body hath redeemed our loss;
And tasting of his scarlet blood,
Our life is hid with him in God.
Now Christ our paschal Lamb is slain,
The Lamb of God that knows no stain,
The true oblation offered here,
Our own unleavened bread sincere.
O thou, from whom hell’s monarch flies,
O great, O very Sacrifice,
Thy captive people are set free,
And endless life restored in thee.
To thee who, dead, again dost live,
All glory, Lord, thy people give:
All glory, as is ever meet,
To Father and to Paraclete.
Psalm 109 (110)
The Messiah, king and priest
Mary Magdalen came with the other Mary to see the tomb where the Lord had been laid, alleluia.
The Lord has said to my lord:
“Sit at my right hand
while I make your enemies your footstool.”
From Zion the Lord will give you a sceptre,
and you will rule in the midst of your foes.
Royal power is yours in the day of your strength,
among the sacred splendours.
Before the dawn, I begot you from the womb.
The Lord has sworn, and he will not repent:
“You are a priest for ever,
a priest of the priesthood of Melchisedech.”
The Lord is at your right hand,
and on the day of his anger he will shatter kings.
He will drink from the stream as he goes –
he will hold his head high.
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 Magdalen came with the other Mary to see the tomb where the Lord had been laid, alleluia.
Psalm 113A (114)
Israel set free from Egypt
Come and see where the Lord was laid, alleluia.
When Israel came out of Egypt,
Jacob’s people from a land of strangers,
Judah became his sanctuary
and Israel his domain.
The sea saw it, and fled;
the Jordan flowed backwards at the sight;
the mountains leapt like rams;
the hills, like yearling sheep.
Sea, what was it, what made you flee?
And you, Jordan, why did you flow uphill?
Mountains, why did you leap like rams?
Hills, like yearling sheep?
Tremble, Earth, at the presence of the Lord,
the presence of the Lord of Jacob,
who has turned the rock into a pool of water
and made a fountain out of the flint.
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.
Come and see where the Lord was laid, alleluia.
Canticle
(Apocalypse 19)
The wedding of the Lamb
Jesus said: ‘Do not fear. Go, and tell my brethren that they are to leave for Galilee: they will see me there.’ Alleluia.
Alleluia.
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
because his judgements are true and just.
Alleluia.
Alleluia.
Praise our God, all his servants,
and you who fear him, small and great.
Alleluia.
Alleluia.
For the Lord reigns, our God, the Almighty:
let us rejoice and exult and give him glory.
Alleluia.
Alleluia.
The marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his spouse has made herself ready.
Alleluia.
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.
Jesus said: ‘Do not fear. Go, and tell my brethren that they are to leave for Galilee: they will see me there.’ Alleluia.
Short Reading
1 Peter 2:4-5
©
The Lord is the living stone, rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him; set yourselves close to him so that you too, the holy priesthood that offers the spiritual sacrifices which Jesus Christ has made acceptable to God, may be living stones making a spiritual house.
Short Responsory
This is the day which was made by the Lord: let us rejoice and be glad, alleluia.
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
While I was weeping at the tomb, I saw the Lord, 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.
While I was weeping at the tomb, I saw the Lord, alleluia.
Prayers and intercessions
Rejoicing, let us pray to Christ who was buried in the heart of the earth to awake in the light of glory.
– King of glory, hear us.
We pray for bishops, priests and deacons: may they be dedicated to their ministry;
grant that they may present to you a people ready for every kind of good work.
– King of glory, hear us.
We pray for those who serve the Church as teachers of the faith:
may they always seek your truth with sincerity of heart.
– King of glory, hear us.
We pray for all the faithful: may they run the great race, finish the course;
let them receive the crown of victory in the kingdom of heaven.
– King of glory, hear us.
Lord, you cancelled on the cross our sentence of damnation;
free us from the darkness of our sins.
– King of glory, hear us.
You descended into hell and opened wide its gates;
receive the faithful departed into your Father’s house.
– King of glory, hear us.
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,
you brought us healing through the Easter mysteries.
Continue to be bountiful to your people:
lead us to the perfect freedom,
by which the joy that gladdens our way on earth
will be fulfilled in heaven.
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.
