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
Christ is made the sure Foundation,
And the precious Corner-stone,
Who, the two-fold walls surmounting,
Binds them closely into one:
Holy Zion’s help for ever,
And her confidence alone.
All that dedicated city,
Dearly loved by God on high,
In exultant jubilation
Pours perpetual melody;
God the One, and God the Trinal,
Singing everlastingly.
To this Temple, where we call thee,
Come, O Lord of Hosts, today!
With thy wonted loving kindness
Hear thy people as they pray;
And thy fullest benediction
Shed within its walls for ay.
Here vouchsafe to all thy servants
What they supplicate to gain:
Here to have and hold for ever
Those good things their prayers obtain:
And hereafter in thy glory
With the blessed ones to reign.
Glory be to God, and honour
In the highest, as is meet,
To the Son and to the Father,
And the eternal Paraclete,
Whose is boundless praise and power
Through the ages infinite.
Psalm 45 (46)
God, our refuge and our strength
The Lord has made holy the place where he dwells: God is within, it cannot be shaken.
The Lord is our refuge and our strength,
a true help in our troubles.
Therefore we do not fear,
even when the earth is shaken and mountains fall into the depths of the sea,
the waves roar and foam
and rise up to shake the mountains.
The streams of the river give joy to the city of God,
the holy dwelling-place of the Most High.
God is within it, it will not be shaken;
God will give help as the day dawns.
The nations are in turmoil and kingdoms totter:
at the sound of his voice, the earth flows like water.
The Lord of strength is with us,
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Come and see the works of the Lord,
who has done wonders on the earth.
He puts an end to wars over all the world:
he tramples the bow, shatters weapons, and burns the shields with fire.
Stop and see that I am God:
I will be exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.
The Lord of strength is with us,
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
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 made holy the place where he dwells: God is within, it cannot be shaken.
Psalm 121 (122)
Jerusalem, the holy city
Let us enter the house of the Lord with rejoicing.
They filled me with joy when they said,
“We will go to the house of the Lord.”
Now our feet are standing
within your gates, Jerusalem.
Jerusalem, built as a city,
whole and self-contained:
there the tribes have gone up,
the tribes of the Lord –
the witness of Israel,
to praise the Lord’s name.
For there are the thrones of justice,
the thrones of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“Safety for those who care for you,
peace inside your walls,
security within your ramparts!”
For my brethren and those near to me I will say
“Peace be upon you.”
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will call blessings upon you.
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.
Let us enter the house of the Lord with rejoicing.
Canticle
(Apocalypse 19)
The wedding of the Lamb
Praise our God, all you his saints.
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.
Praise our God, all you his saints.
Short Reading
Apocalypse 21:1,2-3,22,27
©
I saw a new heaven and a new earth; I saw the holy city, and the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, as beautiful as a bride all dressed for her husband. Then I heard a loud voice call from the throne, ‘You see this city? Here God lives among men. He will make his home among them; they shall be his people, and he will be their God.’ I saw that there was no temple in the city since the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb were themselves the temple. Nothing unclean may come into it: no one who does what is loathsome or false, but only those who are listed in the Lamb’s book of life.
Short Responsory
Happy are they that dwell in your house, O Lord.
– Happy are they that dwell in your house, O Lord.
They will sing your praise for ever.
– Happy are they that dwell in your house, O Lord.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– Happy are they that dwell in your house, O Lord.
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
The Lord has made holy the place where he dwells: this is the house of God, in which his name will be invoked, as it is written: ‘My name shall be there, says the Lord.’
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 Lord has made holy the place where he dwells: this is the house of God, in which his name will be invoked, as it is written: ‘My name shall be there, says the Lord.’
Prayers and intercessions
Let us pray to our Saviour who gave up his life to gather into unity the scattered children of God.
– Lord, remember your Church.
Lord Jesus, you commanded your disciples to hear your words and put them into action;
constantly strengthen your Church in faith, courage and trust.
– Lord, remember your Church.
Lord Jesus, from your opened side there poured out blood and water;
make your Church vigorously alive through the sacraments of the new and everlasting covenant.
– Lord, remember your Church.
Lord Jesus, you are present among those who are gathered in your name;
hear your Church, united in prayer.
– Lord, remember your Church.
Lord Jesus, you come with the Father to dwell in those who love you;
perfect your Church all over the world in your divine love.
– Lord, remember your Church.
Lord Jesus, anyone who comes to you is never turned away;
admit all those who have died into your Father’s house.
– Lord, remember your 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.
Lord God, you have called your people to become your Church.
Grant that all who are gathered in your name
may fear you and love you and follow you
and, under your guidance, attain to your promises in heaven.
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.
