Vespers (Evening Prayer)
(First Vespers of tomorrow, Corpus Christi)
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
Of the glorious Body telling,
O my tongue, its mysteries sing,
And the Blood, all price excelling,
Which the world’s eternal King,
In a noble womb once dwelling,
Shed for this world’s ransoming.
Given for us, for us descending,
Of a Virgin to proceed,
Man with man in converse blending,
Scattered he the Gospel seed,
Till his sojourn drew to ending
Which he closed in wondrous deed.
At the last great Supper lying
Circled by his brethren’s band,
Meekly with the law complying,
First he finished its command,
Then, immortal Food supplying,
Gave himself with his own hand.
Word made Flesh, by word he maketh
Very bread his Flesh to be;
Man in wine Christ’s Blood partaketh:
And if senses fail to see,
Faith alone the true heart waketh
To behold the mystery.
Humbly we, before him bending,
This great Sacrament revere;
Types and shadows have their ending,
For the newer rite is here;
Faith, our outward sense befriending,
Makes the inward vision clear.
Glory let us give, and blessing
To the Father and the Son;
Honour, might and praise addressing,
While eternal ages run;
Ever too his love confessing,
Who, from both, with both is one.
Psalm 110 (111)
Great are the works of the Lord
The Lord is merciful: he gives food to those who fear him, to make them remember his wonders.
I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart
in the council of the upright and the assembly.
Great are the works of the Lord,
to be studied by all who delight in them.
His works are splendour and majesty,
his righteousness lasts for ever and ever.
He gives us a record of the wonders he has worked,
the Lord, the kind and compassionate.
He gives food to those who fear him:
for all ages he will remember his covenant.
He has shown to his people the power of his deeds,
he has given them the inheritance of the nations.
Steadfastness and justice
are the works of the Lord.
All his precepts are to be trusted,
they stand firm for ever and ever:
they were laid down in faithfulness and justice.
He has sent deliverance to his people;
he has set up his covenant for ever.
Holy is his name, and much to be feared.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
To those who fear him comes true understanding,
and his praise endures for ever and 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.
The Lord is merciful: he gives food to those who fear him, to make them remember his wonders.
Psalm 147 (147B)
God, the foundation of Jerusalem
The Lord has established peace for his Church; he feeds us with finest wheat.
Praise the Lord, Jerusalem
— Zion, praise your God.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates,
he has blessed your children.
He keeps your borders in peace,
he fills you with the richest wheat.
He sends out his command over the earth,
and swiftly runs his word.
He sends down snow that is like wool,
frost that is like ashes.
He sends hailstones like crumbs
— who can withstand his cold?
He will send out his word, and all will be melted;
his spirit will breathe, and the waters will flow.
He proclaims his word to Jacob,
his laws and judgements to Israel.
He has not done this for other nations:
he has not shown them his judgements.
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 established peace for his Church; he feeds us with finest wheat.
Canticle
Apocalypse 11
The Judgement
Truly I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven, it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. Alleluia.
We thank you,
Lord God Almighty,
who are and who were,
that you have taken up your great power and begun to reign.
The nations were angered,
but your anger came, the time for the dead to be judged,
the time to reward the prophets and saints, your servants,
and those who feared your name, both great and small.
Now have come the salvation and might and kingdom of our God,
and the power of his Anointed,
for the accuser of our brethren has been brought down,
who accused them day and night in the sight of God.
But they vanquished him through the blood of the Lamb
and through their own witness.
They did not cling to life,
even in the face of death.
Therefore rejoice, heavens,
and you who dwell in them.
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.
Truly I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven, it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. Alleluia.
Short Reading
1 Corinthians 10:16-17
©
The blessing-cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ, and the bread that we break is a communion with the body of Christ. The fact that there is only one loaf means that, though there are many of us, we form a single body because we all have a share in this one loaf.
Short Responsory
He gave them the bread of heaven to eat, alleluia, alleluia.
– He gave them the bread of heaven to eat, alleluia, alleluia.
Man has tasted the food of angels.
– He gave them the bread of heaven to eat, alleluia, alleluia.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– He gave them the bread of heaven to eat, alleluia, alleluia.
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
Lord, how good you are and how gentle is your spirit. When you wished to show your goodness to your sons you gave them bread from heaven, filling the hungry with good things and sending the rich away empty.
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.
Lord, how good you are and how gentle is your spirit. When you wished to show your goodness to your sons you gave them bread from heaven, filling the hungry with good things and sending the rich away empty.
Prayers and intercessions
At the supper to which all are invited, Christ gives his body and blood for the life of the world. Earnestly we beseech him, saying:
– Lord Jesus Christ, give us the bread of eternal life.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, you have commanded us to celebrate the eucharistic meal in remembrance of you:
enrich your Church with the worthy celebration of these mysteries.
– Lord Jesus Christ, give us the bread of eternal life.
Lord Jesus Christ, eternal high priest, you have committed to your priests the ministration of your sacraments:
help them to do their part in your work with the unfailing gladness of genuine charity.
– Lord Jesus Christ, give us the bread of eternal life.
Lord Jesus Christ, manna from heaven, you make into one all who share the one bread:
grant peace and concord to all who believe in you.
– Lord Jesus Christ, give us the bread of eternal life.
Lord Jesus Christ, heavenly physician, you give an eternal remedy and a pledge of resurrection to those who eat your bread:
grant health to the ailing and a real hope to sinners.
– Lord Jesus Christ, give us the bread of eternal life.
Lord Jesus Christ, king who is to come, we know that whenever we celebrate these mysteries, we proclaim your death until you come again:
bring all those who have died in you to share your resurrection.
– Lord Jesus Christ, give us the bread of eternal life.
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 Jesus Christ,
you gave your Church an admirable sacrament
as the abiding memorial of your passion.
Teach us so to worship the sacred mystery of your Body and Blood
that its redeeming power may sanctify us always.
Who live and reign with God the Father
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.
