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
The Lord has risen and sits at the right hand of God. 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.
The Lord has risen and sits at the right hand of God. Alleluia.
Psalm 113A (114)
Israel set free from Egypt
He has freed us from the power of darkness and has given us a place in the kingdom of his Son. 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.
He has freed us from the power of darkness and has given us a place in the kingdom of his Son. Alleluia.
Canticle
(Apocalypse 19)
The wedding of the Lamb
Alleluia. The Lord our God is king: let us rejoice and give glory to him. 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.
Alleluia. The Lord our God is king: let us rejoice and give glory to him. Alleluia.
Short Reading
Hebrews 10:12-14
©
Christ has offered one single sacrifice for sins, and then taken his place forever, at the right hand of God, where he is now waiting until his enemies are made into a footstool for him. By virtue of that one single offering, he has achieved the eternal perfection of all whom he is sanctifying.
Short Responsory
The Lord has truly risen, alleluia, alleluia.
– The Lord has truly risen, alleluia, alleluia.
He has appeared to Simon.
– The Lord has truly risen, alleluia, alleluia.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– The Lord has truly risen, alleluia, alleluia.
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
By this love you have for one another, everyone will know that you are my disciples. Alleluia. (Year C)
Or: I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you, says 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.
By this love you have for one another, everyone will know that you are my disciples. Alleluia. (Year C)
Or: I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you, says the Lord. Alleluia.
Prayers and intercessions
Let us pray with joy to Christ the Lord. He rose from the dead and is living now to intercede for us.
– Victorious king, hear us.
Christ, you are the light of the world and the salvation of nations;
set us on fire with your Spirit as we proclaim the wonder of your resurrection.
– Victorious king, hear us.
Let Israel recognize in you the Messiah it has longed for;
fill all men with the knowledge of your glory.
– Victorious king, hear us.
Keep us united in the communion of saints;
may we find rest with them, when life’s work is done.
– Victorious king, hear us.
You have overcome death, the last enemy of man;
destroy everything in us that is at enmity with God.
– Victorious king, hear us.
Christ, our Saviour, you became obedient to death, but God raised you to the heights;
receive our brothers into the kingdom of your glory.
– Victorious king, 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.
Since it is from you, God our Father,
that redemption comes to us, your adopted children,
look with favour on the family you love,
give true freedom to us and to all who believe in Christ,
and bring us all alike to our eternal heritage.
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.
