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
Hail, Queen of the heavens, hail Mistress of earth;
Hail, Virgin most pure of immaculate birth:
Clear star of the morning in beauty enshrined;
O Lady, make speed to the help of mankind.
Thee God in the depth of eternity chose,
And formed thee all fair as his glorious spouse,
And called thee his own Word’s true Mother to be
By whom he created the earth, sky, and sea.
Hail, Mother most pure, hail, Virgin renowned,
Hail, Queen with the stars as a diadem crowned;
Above all the angels in glory untold,
Set next to the King in a vesture of gold.
These praises and prayers we lay at thy feet,
O Virgin of virgins, O Mary most sweet:
Be thou our true guide through this pilgrimage here,
And stand by our side when our death draweth near.
Psalm 44 (45)
The wedding of the King
You are the fairest of the children of men, and graciousness is poured upon your lips.
My heart cries out on a joyful theme:
I will tell my poem to the king,
my tongue like the pen of the swiftest scribe.
You have been given more than human beauty,
and grace is poured out upon your lips,
so that God has blessed you for ever.
Strap your sword to your side, mighty one,
in all your greatness and splendour.
In your splendour go forth, mount your chariot,
on behalf of truth, kindness and justice.
Let your right hand show your marvels,
let your arrows be sharp against the hearts of the king’s enemies
– the peoples will fall before you.
Your throne is firm, O God, from age to age,
your royal sceptre is a sceptre of justice.
You love uprightness, hate injustice
– for God, your God has anointed you
with the oil of gladness, above all your companions.
Myrrh and aloes and cassia anoint your garments.
From ivory palaces the sound of harps delights you.
In your retinue go the daughters of kings.
At your right hand, the queen is adorned with gold of Ophir.
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.
You are the fairest of the children of men, and graciousness is poured upon your lips.
Psalm 44 (45)
The King's bride
Behold, the Bridegroom is coming: go out and meet him.
Listen, my daughter, and understand;
turn your ears to what I have to say.
Forget your people, forget your father’s house,
and the king will desire you for your beauty.
He is your lord, so worship him.
The daughters of Tyre will bring you gifts;
the richest of your subjects will beg you to look on them.
How great is the king’s daughter, within the palace!
She is clothed in woven gold.
She will be taken to the king in coloured garments,
her maidens will escort her to your presence.
In gladness and rejoicing they are brought
and led to the house of the king.
Instead of your fathers you will have sons:
you will make them rulers over all the world.
I will remember your name
from generation to generation.
And so your people will do you honour
for ever and 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.
Behold, the Bridegroom is coming: go out and meet him.
Canticle
Ephesians 1
God the Saviour
God planned to bring all things together under Christ when the fullness of time had come.
Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us, in Christ,
with every spiritual blessing in heaven.
In love, he chose us before the creation of the world,
to be holy and spotless in his sight.
He predestined us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ,
simply because it pleased him to do so.
This he did for the praise of the glory of his grace,
of his free gift to us in his Beloved,
in whose blood we have gained redemption,
and the forgiveness of our sins.
This he did according to the riches of his grace,
which he gave us in abundance,
with all wisdom and discernment,
revealing to us the mysteries of his will,
because it pleased him to do so.
In this action he has planned, in the fulfilment of time,
to bring all things together in Christ,
from the heavens and from the earth.
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 planned to bring all things together under Christ when the fullness of time had come.
Short Reading
Galatians 4:4-5
©
When the appointed time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born a subject of the Law, to redeem the subjects of the Law and to enable us to be adopted as sons.
Short Responsory
Hail Mary, full of grace: the Lord is with you.
– Hail Mary, full of grace: the Lord is with you.
You are most blessed of all women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
– Hail Mary, full of grace: the Lord is with you.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– Hail Mary, full of grace: the Lord is with you.
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
Blessed are you, Mary, because you believed that all those things which were said to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.
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.
Blessed are you, Mary, because you believed that all those things which were said to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.
Prayers and intercessions
Let us praise God the Father who chose Mary as the mother of his Son and wanted all generations to call her blessed. With confidence we pray:
– May the Virgin Mary intercede for us.
Father, you did great things for the Virgin Mary and brought her, body and soul, to the glory of heaven;
fill the hearts of your children with the hope of Christ’s glory.
– May the Virgin Mary intercede for us.
Through the prayers of Mary, our mother, heal the sick, comfort the sorrowful, pardon sinners;
grant peace and salvation to all.
– May the Virgin Mary intercede for us.
You favoured Mary with the fullness of grace;
bestow on all men your overflowing blessings.
– May the Virgin Mary intercede for us.
May your Church be united heart and soul, held fast by love,
and may your faithful be joined in continuous prayer, with Mary the mother of Jesus.
– May the Virgin Mary intercede for us.
Father, you exalted the Virgin Mary and crowned her queen of heaven;
may the dead enter your kingdom and rejoice with your saints for ever.
– May the Virgin Mary intercede for 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.
Let us pray.
O God, Father of mercies,
whose Only Begotten Son, as he hung upon the Cross,
chose the Blessed Virgin Mary, his Mother, to be our Mother also;
grant, we pray,
that with her loving help,
your Church may be more fruitful day by day,
and exulting in the holiness of her children,
may draw to her embrace all the families of the peoples.
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.
