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
Praise to the Holiest in the height,
And in the depth be praise,
In all his words most wonderful,
Most sure in all his ways.
O loving wisdom of our God!
When all was sin and shame,
A second Adam to the fight
And to the rescue came.
O wisest love! that flesh and blood
Which did in Adam fail,
Should strive afresh against their foe,
Should strive and should prevail.
And that a higher gift than grace
Should flesh and blood refine,
God’s presence and his very self,
And essence all divine.
O generous love! that he who smote
In man for man the foe
The double agony in man
For man should undergo.
And in the garden secretly
And on the cross on high,
Should teach his brethren, and inspire
To suffer and to die.
Praise to the Holiest in the height,
And in the depth be praise,
In all his words most wonderful,
Most sure in all his ways.
Bl. John Henry Newman
Psalm 109 (110)
The Messiah, king and priest
The Lord will send his mighty sceptre from Sion, and he will rule for ever, 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 Lord will send his mighty sceptre from Sion, and he will rule for ever, alleluia.
Psalm 113A (114)
Israel set free from Egypt
The earth trembled before the Lord, 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.
The earth trembled before the Lord, alleluia.
Canticle
(Apocalypse 19)
The wedding of the Lamb
The Lord is King, our God, the Almighty! 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.
The Lord is King, our God, the Almighty! Alleluia.
Short Reading
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
©
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, a gentle Father and the God of all consolation, who comforts us in all our sorrows, so that we can offer others, in their sorrows, the consolation that we have received from God ourselves.
Short Responsory
Blessed are you, O Lord, in the vault of heaven.
– Blessed are you, O Lord, in the vault of heaven.
You are exalted and glorified above all else for ever.
– Blessed are you, O Lord, in the vault of heaven.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– Blessed are you, O Lord, in the vault of heaven.
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
If you then, who are evil, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! (Year C)
Or: Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you, 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 you then, who are evil, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! (Year C)
Or: Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you, alleluia.
Prayers and intercessions
Christ is the Head of his body, the Church, and we are the members of that body; gathered this evening to pray in his name, we say:
– Your kingdom come!
May your Church be a light to the nations, the sign and source of your power to unite all men:
may she lead mankind to the mystery of your love.
– Your kingdom come!
Guide the Pope and all the bishops of your Church:
grant them the gifts of unity, of love, and of peace.
– Your kingdom come!
Lord, give peace to our troubled world;
and give to your children security of mind and freedom from anxiety.
– Your kingdom come!
Help us to bring your compassion to the poor, the sick, the lonely, the unloved;
lead us to find you in the coming week.
– Your kingdom come!
Awaken the dead to a glorious resurrection:
may we be united with them at the end of time.
– Your kingdom come!
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, protector of those who hope in you,
without whom nothing is strong, nothing holy,
support us always with your love.
Guide us so to use the good things of this world,
that even now we may hold fast to what endures for ever.
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.
