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
For all the saints who from their labours rest,
Who thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy name, O Jesu, be for ever blest.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Thou wast their rock, their fortress and their might;
Thou, Lord, their captain in the well-fought fight;
Thou in the darkness drear their one true Light.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
O may thy soldiers, faithful, true and bold,
Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old,
And win, with them, the victor’s crown of gold.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
O blest communion! fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
Yet all are one in thee, for all are thine.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Psalm 112 (113)
Praise of the Lord's name
Undying light will shine about your saints, Lord; they will live for ever. Alleluia.
Praise, servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord.
Let the Lord’s name be blessed,
now and for ever.
From the sun’s rising to its setting,
the Lord’s name is to be praised.
The Lord is high over all peoples,
his glory is above the heavens.
Who is like the Lord our God, who lives on high,
who bends down to watch over heaven and earth?
He raises the weak from the ground,
the poor from the dunghill,
raises them among the princes,
the princes of his people.
He gives the barren woman a household,
makes her the happy mother of children.
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.
Undying light will shine about your saints, Lord; they will live for ever. Alleluia.
Psalm 147 (147B)
God, the foundation of Jerusalem
Jerusalem, city of God, you shall rejoice in your children. They shall all be blessed, and shall be gathered together to the Lord. Alleluia.
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.
Jerusalem, city of God, you shall rejoice in your children. They shall all be blessed, and shall be gathered together to the Lord. Alleluia.
Canticle
(Apocalypse 19)
The wedding of the Lamb
The saints were singing a new song at the throne of God and the Lamb, and the earth rang to the sound of their voices. 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 saints were singing a new song at the throne of God and the Lamb, and the earth rang to the sound of their voices. Alleluia.
Short Reading
Hebrews 12:22-24
©
What you have come to is Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem where the millions of angels have gathered for the festival, with the whole Church in which everyone is a ‘first-born son’ and a citizen of heaven. You have come to God himself, the supreme Judge, and been placed with spirits of the saints who have been made perfect; and to Jesus, the mediator who brings a new covenant and a blood for purification which pleads more insistently than Abel’s.
Short Responsory
The just shall rejoice in the presence of God.
– The just shall rejoice in the presence of God.
They shall exult and dance for joy.
– The just shall rejoice in the presence of God.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– The just shall rejoice in the presence of God.
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
The glorious band of apostles, the noble company of prophets, the white-robed army who shed their blood for Christ and all the saints in heaven together proclaim: We praise you, Holy Trinity, one God.
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.
The glorious band of apostles, the noble company of prophets, the white-robed army who shed their blood for Christ and all the saints in heaven together proclaim: We praise you, Holy Trinity, one God.
Prayers and intercessions
With so many witnesses in a great cloud on every side of us, we are encouraged to run steadily in the race we have started. We pray to Christ, for he is the author of our faith, and he will bring it to fulfilment:
– With all the saints we praise and thank you, Lord.
Lord, you chose the apostles to be the foundation of your Church:
keep us faithful to all that you left in their care.
– With all the saints we praise and thank you, Lord.
Your martyrs testified to you, even to the shedding of their blood:
make all Christians faithful witnesses to your word.
– With all the saints we praise and thank you, Lord.
Lord, be with those who have consecrated their lives to you in virginity:
may their hope and generosity be a sign to the world of the glorious life they await at the end of time.
– With all the saints we praise and thank you, Lord.
In the saints you reveal your presence and your care:
as we venerate them, may we be drawn closer to you.
– With all the saints we praise and thank you, Lord.
Welcome our departed brothers and sisters into the company of Mary, Joseph and all the saints:
through their intercession, grant us a place in your kingdom.
– With all the saints we praise and thank you, Lord.
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, ever-living God,
we are celebrating with joy
the triumph of your grace in all the saints.
With so vast a multitude praying for us,
may we receive from you
the fullness of mercy we have always desired.
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.
