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 40 (41)
Prayer in time of sickness
Christ made himself poor for our enrichment. Alleluia.
Blessed is he who takes thought for the helpless,
for the Lord will keep him safe in time of trouble.
The Lord will guard him and give him life.
He will give him good fortune on the earth,
and not betray him into the power of his enemies.
The Lord will lend him strength on his bed of pain;
you will transform all his sickness into health.
I said, “Lord, have mercy, heal my soul,
for I have sinned against you.”
My enemies spoke against me, saying: “When will he die?
When will his name perish?”
When one of them came to visit me, he talked of nothing,
but stored up wickedness in his heart.
He went out, and told tales against me.
All my enemies whispered together against me,
imagined the worst:
“A plague has taken hold of him:
he has lain down and will not rise.”
Even my dearest friend, in whom I put my trust, who had eaten my bread –
even he trampled me down.
But you, Lord – have mercy on me,
revive me, and I will pay them back.
This is how I know that I have your favour,
when my enemy cannot triumph over me,
when you raise me up because of my innocence,
and put me in your presence for all eternity.
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
from the beginning to the end of time.
Amen! Amen!
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.
Christ made himself poor for our enrichment. Alleluia.
Psalm 45 (46)
God, our refuge and our strength
The waters of a river give joy to God’s city, alleluia.
The Lord is our refuge and our strength,
a true help in our troubles.
Therefore we do not fear,
even when the earth is shaken and mountains fall into the depths of the sea,
the waves roar and foam
and rise up to shake the mountains.
The streams of the river give joy to the city of God,
the holy dwelling-place of the Most High.
God is within it, it will not be shaken;
God will give help as the day dawns.
The nations are in turmoil and kingdoms totter:
at the sound of his voice, the earth flows like water.
The Lord of strength is with us,
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Come and see the works of the Lord,
who has done wonders on the earth.
He puts an end to wars over all the world:
he tramples the bow, shatters weapons, and burns the shields with fire.
Stop and see that I am God:
I will be exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.
The Lord of strength is with us,
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
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 waters of a river give joy to God’s city, alleluia.
Canticle
Apocalypse 15
A hymn of adoration
Let us sing to the Lord: great is his triumph. Alleluia.
Great and wonderful are your deeds,
O Lord God the Almighty!
Just and true are your ways,
O King of the ages!
Who shall not fear and glorify your name, O Lord?
For you alone are holy.
All nations shall come and worship you,
for your judgements have been revealed.
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.
Let us sing to the Lord: great is his triumph. Alleluia.
Short Reading
Hebrews 5:8-10
©
Christ, although he was Son, learnt to obey through suffering; but having been made perfect, he became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation and was acclaimed by God with the title of high priest of the order of Melchizedek.
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
A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends. 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.
A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends. Alleluia.
Prayers and intercessions
Let us pray to Christ, the way, the truth and the life.
– Son of the living God, bless your people.
We pray for all the ministers of your Church:
may they be nourished and sustained as they break for their brothers the bread of life.
– Son of the living God, bless your people.
We pray for the whole Christian people:
may they be faithful to their calling and hold fast in bonds of peace the unity of the spirit.
– Son of the living God, bless your people.
We pray for those who govern our country that they may exercise their office with justice and compassion;
help them to promote the peace of the world.
– Son of the living God, bless your people.
Make us worthy to adore you in the communion of saints;
grant eternal joy to the faithful departed, whom we entrust to your care.
– Son of the living God, bless your people.
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,
grant that the Easter mystery may shape our lives,
so that what we celebrate with joy
may be our constant defence and salvation.
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.
