Vespers (Evening Prayer)
(First Vespers of tomorrow, 6th Sunday of Easter)
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 118 (119): 105-112
The man who lives by the truth comes into the light. Alleluia.
Your word is a lamp to guide my feet,
a light for my journey.
I have firmly sworn to keep your just laws.
Lord, I am greatly afflicted:
revive me as you have promised.
Lord, accept the vows I make,
and teach me your judgements.
I hold my life in my hands,
I remember your laws.
The wicked placed a trap for me,
but I did not wander from your commandments.
Your decrees are my inheritance for ever,
they are the joy of my heart:
my heart is set on carrying them out,
for ever, until the end.
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 lives by the truth comes into the light. Alleluia.
Psalm 15 (16)
The Lord, my inheritance
Freed from the pangs of death, the Lord arose from the grave. Alleluia.
Preserve me, Lord,
I put my hope in you.
I have said to the Lord
“You are my Lord,
in you alone is all my good.”
As for the holy and noble men of the land,
in them is all my delight.
But for those who run to alien gods,
their sorrows are many.
I will not share in their libations of blood.
I will not speak their names.
You, Lord, are my inheritance and my cup.
You control my destiny,
the lot marked out for me is of the best,
my inheritance is all I could ask for.
I will bless the Lord who gave me understanding;
even in the night my heart will teach me wisdom.
I will hold the Lord for ever in my sight:
with him at my side I can never be shaken.
Thus it is that my heart rejoices,
heart and soul together;
while my body rests in calm hope.
You will not leave my soul in the underworld.
You will not let your chosen one see decay.
You will show me the paths of life,
the fullness of joy before your face,
and delights at your right hand 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.
Freed from the pangs of death, the Lord arose from the grave. Alleluia.
Canticle
Philippians 2
Christ, God's servant
Was it not necessary that Christ should suffer thus and so enter into his glory? Alleluia.
Jesus Christ, although he shared God’s nature,
did not try to cling to his equality with God;
but emptied himself, took on the form of a slave,
and became like a man:
not in appearance only,
for he humbled himself by accepting death,
even death on a cross.
For this, God has raised him high,
and given him the name that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bend,
in heaven, on earth, and under the earth,
and every tongue will proclaim
“Jesus Christ is Lord,”
to the glory of God the Father.
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.
Was it not necessary that Christ should suffer thus and so enter into his glory? Alleluia.
Short Reading
1 Peter 2:9-10
©
You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people set apart to sing the praises of God who called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people at all and now you are the People of God; once you were outside the mercy and now you have been given mercy.
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
If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our home with him. Alleluia. (Year C)
Or: I shall ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you for ever, 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.
If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our home with him. Alleluia. (Year C)
Or: I shall ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you for ever, alleluia.
Prayers and intercessions
Let us pray to Christ, who rose from the dead to restore our life.
– Ever-living Christ, hear us.
Jesus, you are the stone rejected by the builders but you have proved to be the keystone of God’s house;
make us living stones in the temple of your Church.
– Ever-living Christ, hear us.
You are the faithful and true witness, the first-born from the dead;
may the Church never cease to proclaim you to the world.
– Ever-living Christ, hear us.
Through your death and resurrection you took the Church to yourself as a bride:
cherish her, and keep her faithful, and prepare her for the day of your coming.
– Ever-living Christ, hear us.
You are the first and the last, you were dead and now you are alive;
may all the baptized be faithful unto death and gain the crown of glory.
– Ever-living Christ, hear us.
You are the light and joy of the city of God;
shine on the faithful departed that they may reign for ever.
– Ever-living Christ, 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.
Almighty God,
give us the grace of an attentive love
to celebrate these days of joy
devoted to the honour of the Risen Lord.
Teach us to hold fast in our actions
to the mystery we recall in worship.
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.
