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
O Christ, the heavens’ eternal King,
Creator, unto thee we sing,
With God the Father ever One,
Co-equal, co-eternal Son.
Thy hand, when first the world began,
Made in thine own pure image man,
And linked to fleshly form of earth
A living soul of heavenly birth.
And when the envious crafty foe
Had marred thy noblest work below,
Thou didst our ruined state repair
By deigning flesh thyself to wear.
Once of a virgin born to save,
And now new born from death’s dark grave,
O Christ, thou bidd’st us rise with thee
From death to immortality.
Eternal Shepherd, thou art wont
To cleanse Thy sheep within the font,
That mystic bath, that grave of sin,
Where ransomed souls new life begin.
Divine Redeemer, thou didst deign
To bear for us the cross of pain,
And freely pay the precious price
Of all thy blood in sacrifice.
Jesu, do thou to every heart
Unceasing Paschal joy impart;
From death of sin and guilty strife
Set free the new born sons of life.
All praise be thine, O risen Lord,
From death to endless life restored;
All praise to God the Father be
And Holy Ghost eternally.
Psalm 138 (139)
The Lord knows all things
Night will be as clear as the day. Alleluia.
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.
Night will be as clear as the day. Alleluia.
Psalm 138 (139)
I know my sheep, and they know me. Alleluia.
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 know my sheep, and they know me. Alleluia.
Canticle
(Colossians 1)
Christ, firstborn of all creatures and firstborn from the dead
His majesty covers the heavens, the earth is filled with his praise. Alleluia.
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.
His majesty covers the heavens, the earth is filled with his praise. Alleluia.
Short Reading
Hebrews 7:24-27
©
Jesus, because he remains for ever, can never lose his priesthood. It follows, then, that his power to save is utterly certain, since he is living for ever to intercede for all who come to God through him. To suit us, the ideal high priest would have to be holy, innocent and uncontaminated, beyond the influence of sinners, and raised up above the heavens; one who would not need to offer sacrifices every day, as the other high priests do for their own sins and then for those of the people, because Jesus Christ our Lord has done this once and for all by offering himself.
Short Responsory
The disciples rejoiced, alleluia, alleluia.
– The disciples rejoiced, alleluia, alleluia.
They saw the Lord, alleluia, alleluia.
– The disciples rejoiced, alleluia, alleluia.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– The disciples rejoiced, alleluia, alleluia.
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that the world might be saved through him. 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.
God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that the world might be saved through him. Alleluia.
Prayers and intercessions
Rejoicing, let us pray to Christ the Lord, who sheds glory on the universe through his resurrection.
– Christ, our life, hear us.
Lord Jesus, you joined your disciples on the way to Emmaus;
accompany your Church on her journey through life.
– Christ, our life, hear us.
May we, your faithful, not be slow to believe;
give us the courage to proclaim your victory over death.
– Christ, our life, hear us.
Look upon those who have not recognized your presence in their lives;
let their hearts rejoice in the knowledge of their Saviour.
– Christ, our life, hear us.
You are the judge of the living and the dead;
grant to the faithful departed forgiveness of their sins.
– Christ, our life, 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, life of those who believe in you,
glory of the humble and happiness of the saints,
listen kindly to our prayer.
We long for what you promise;
fill us from your abundance.
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.
