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
Come, O Creator Spirit, come,
And make within our hearts thy home;
To us thy grace celestial give,
Who of thy breathing move and live.
O Comforter, that name is thine,
Of God most high the gift divine;
The well of life, the fire of love,
Our souls’ anointing from above.
Our senses with thy light inflame,
Our hearts to heavenly love reclaim;
Our bodies’ poor infirmity
With strength perpetual fortify.
May we by thee the Father learn,
And know the Son, and thee discern,
Who art of both; and thus adore
In perfect faith for evermore.
Psalm 109 (110)
The Messiah, king and priest
The Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world. 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 Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world. Alleluia.
Psalm 113A (114)
Israel set free from Egypt
Send forth your power, Lord, from your holy temple in Jerusalem, and bring to perfection your work among us. 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.
Send forth your power, Lord, from your holy temple in Jerusalem, and bring to perfection your work among us. Alleluia.
Canticle
(Apocalypse 19)
The wedding of the Lamb
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak. 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.
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak. Alleluia.
Short Reading
Ephesians 4:3-6
©
Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together. There is one Body, one Spirit, just as you were all called into one and the same hope when you were called. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God who is Father of all, over all, through all and within all.
Short Responsory
The Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world, alleluia, alleluia.
– The Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world, alleluia, alleluia.
It is he who holds all things in being and understands every word that is spoken.
– The Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world, alleluia, alleluia.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– The Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world, alleluia, alleluia.
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
This is the day of Pentecost, alleluia. Today the Holy Spirit appeared to the disciples in the form of fire and gave to them his special gifts; he sent them into the world to proclaim that whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. 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.
This is the day of Pentecost, alleluia. Today the Holy Spirit appeared to the disciples in the form of fire and gave to them his special gifts; he sent them into the world to proclaim that whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. Alleluia.
Prayers and intercessions
We know that the Father is with us because of the Spirit he has given us. With this confidence we turn to you in prayer.
– Father, send your Spirit into the Church!
Father, you want to unite all men by baptism in the Spirit;
draw all believers together in mind and heart.
– Father, send your Spirit into the Church!
You sent the Spirit to fill the earth with your love;
let men build the human city in justice and peace.
– Father, send your Spirit into the Church!
Lord God, Father of all men, bring to your scattered children unity of faith:
make the world alive with the power of your Spirit.
– Father, send your Spirit into the Church!
By the work of the Spirit you create all minds afresh:
heal the sick, comfort the afflicted, and bring all men to salvation.
– Father, send your Spirit into the Church!
Through the Holy Spirit you raised your Son from the dead.
Raise us by the power of your Spirit when we come to your kingdom.
– Father, send your Spirit into the Church!
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.
Let us pray.
Lord God,
you sanctify your Church in every race and nation
by the mystery we celebrate on this day.
Pour out the gifts of the Holy Spirit on all mankind,
and fulfil now in the hearts of your faithful
what you accomplished when the Gospel was first preached on earth.
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.
