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, my soul, the King of heaven;
To his feet your tribute bring;
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
Who like me his praise should sing?
Praise him! Praise him!
Praise him! Praise him!
Praise the everlasting King.
Praise him for his grace and favour,
To our fathers in distress;
Praise him still the same for ever,
Slow to chide and swift to bless,
Praise him! Praise him!
Praise him! Praise him!
Glorious in his faithfulness.
Fatherlike, he tends and spares us;
Well our feeble frame he knows;
In his hands he gently bears us,
Rescues us from all our foes.
Praise him! Praise him!
Praise him! Praise him!
Widely as his mercy flows.
Angels, help us to adore him;
Ye behold him face to face;
Sun and moon bow down before him,
Dwellers all in time and space.
Praise him! Praise him!
Praise him! Praise him!
Praise with us the God of grace.
Psalm 109 (110)
The Messiah, king and priest
In holy splendour I begot you before the dawn, 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.
In holy splendour I begot you before the dawn, alleluia.
Psalm 111 (112)
How blessed are the just
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall have their fill.
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord
and loves his commands above all things.
His seed will be powerful on earth:
the descendants of the just will be blessed.
Glory and riches will fill his house,
and his righteousness will stand firm for ever.
He rises up in the darkness,
a light for the upright,
compassionate, generous, and just.
Happy the man who takes pity and lends,
who directs his affairs with wisdom –
he will never be shaken.
The just man will be remembered for ever,
no slander will he fear.
His heart is ready, hoping in the Lord;
his heart is strong, it will not fear,
until he looks down on his defeated enemies.
He gives alms and helps the poor:
his righteousness will endure for ever,
his future will be glorious.
The transgressor will see, and be enraged:
he will grind his teeth and fade away.
The desires of the wicked will perish.
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 those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall have their fill.
Canticle
(Apocalypse 19)
The wedding of the Lamb
Praise God, all you his servants, both great and small. 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.
Praise God, all you his servants, both great and small. 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
Great is our Lord; great is his might.
– Great is our Lord; great is his might.
His wisdom can never be measured.
– Great is our Lord; great is his might.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– Great is our Lord; great is his might.
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
He is God, not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all men are in fact alive. (Year C)
Or: He is God, not of the dead but of the living; because for him all things are alive, 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.
He is God, not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all men are in fact alive. (Year C)
Or: He is God, not of the dead but of the living; because for him all things are alive, alleluia.
Prayers and intercessions
In the Church, God has made known to us his hidden purpose: to make all things one in Christ. Let us pray that his will may be done.
– Father, unite all things in Christ.
We give you thanks for the presence and power of your Spirit in the Church:
give us the will to search for unity, and inspire us to pray and work together.
– Father, unite all things in Christ.
We give you thanks for all whose work proclaims your love:
help us to serve the communities in whose life we share.
– Father, unite all things in Christ.
Father, care for all who serve in the Church as ministers of your word and sacraments:
may they bring your whole family to the unity for which Christ prayed.
– Father, unite all things in Christ.
Your people have known the ravages of war and hatred:
grant that they may know the peace left by your Son.
– Father, unite all things in Christ.
Fulfil the hopes of those who sleep in your peace:
bring them to that final resurrection when you will be all in all.
– Father, unite all things in Christ.
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.
Defend us, Lord, against every distress
so that, unencumbered in body and soul,
we may devote ourselves to your service in freedom and joy.
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.
