Friday 20 December 2019
20 December
Vespers (Evening Prayer)
Introduction (without Invitatory)
If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, use the version with the Invitatory Psalm instead.
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.
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Hymn
O come, now Rod of Jesse’s stem,
From every foe deliver them
That trust your mighty power to save,
And give them vict’ry o’er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!
O come, now Key of David, come,
And open wide our heav’nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!
O come, now Day-spring from on high,
And cheer us by your drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadow put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!
O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid now our sad divisions cease,
And be yourself our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!
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Psalm 134 (135)
Praise the Lord, the wonder-worker
“You are a chosen race. Sing the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Pet 2:9).
The one who is to rule will come from Sion: ‘The Lord, Immanuel’ is his great name.
Práise the náme of the Lórd, *
práise him, sérvants of the Lórd,
who stánd in the hóuse of the Lórd *
in the cóurts of the hóuse of our Gód.
Praise the Lórd for the Lórd is góod. *
Sing a psálm to his náme for he is lóving.
For the Lórd has chosen Jácob for himsélf *
and Ísrael for his ówn posséssion.
For I knów the Lórd is gréat, *
that our Lórd is hígh above all góds.
The Lórd does whatéver he wílls, *
in héaven, on éarth, in the séas.
He summons clóuds from the énds of the éarth; †
makes líghtning prodúce the ráin; *
from his tréasuries he sénds forth the wínd.
The fírst-born of the Egýptians he smóte, *
of mán and béast alíke.
Sígns and wónders he wórked †
in the mídst of your lánd, O Égypt, *
against Pháraoh and áll his sérvants.
Nátions in their gréatness he strúck *
and kíngs in their spléndour he sléw.
Síhon, kíng of the Ámorites, *
Óg, the kíng of Báshan,
and áll the kíngdoms of Cánaan. *
He let Ísrael inhérit their lánd;
on his péople their lánd he bestówed.
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 one who is to rule will come from Sion: ‘The Lord, Immanuel’ is his great name.
________
Psalm 134 (135)
Stand steadfast. You will see the helping power of the Lord.
Lórd, your náme stands for éver, *
unforgótten from áge to áge,
for the Lórd does jústice for his péople; *
the Lórd takes píty on his sérvants.
Pagan ídols are sílver and góld, *
the wórk of húman hánds.
They have móuths but they cánnot spéak; *
they have éyes but they cánnot sée.
They have éars but they cánnot héar; *
there is néver a bréath on their líps.
Their mákers will come to bé like thém *
and so will áll who trúst in thém!
Sons of Ísrael, bléss the Lórd! *
Sons of Áaron, bléss the Lórd!
Sons of Lévi, bléss the Lórd! *
You who féar him, bléss the Lórd!
From Síon may the Lórd be bléssed, *
hé who dwélls in Jerúsalem!
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.
Stand steadfast. You will see the helping power of the Lord.
Psalm-prayer
Father, your name and your memory last for ever. We stand to pray in your house and praise you with psalms of joy. We ask you in your kindness to have mercy on us in our lowliness.
Or:
Father, you shattered the powers of darkness, with all their evil plots, to give strength to your servants and make them magnanimous in the struggle for eternal life. Have mercy on us and do not permit us to be deceived by false idols. May we praise your name for ever and receive the eternal gift of our inheritance.
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Canticle
Apocalypse 15
A hymn of adoration
I look to the Lord; I will await the God who saves me.
Great and wonderful are your deeds, *
O Lord God the Almighty!
Just and true are your ways, *
O King of the ages!
Who shall not fear and glorify your name, O Lord? *
For you alone are holy.
All nations shall come and worship you, *
for your judgements have been revealed.
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.
I look to the Lord; I will await the God who saves me.
________
Short Reading
(1 Corinthians 1:7-9)
We are waiting for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed; and he will keep you steady and without blame until the last day, the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, because God by calling you has joined you to his Son, Jesus Christ; and God is faithful.
________
Short Responsory
Come to us and save us, Lord God almighty.
– Come to us and save us, Lord God almighty.
Let your face smile on us and we shall be safe.
– Come to us and save us, Lord God almighty.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– Come to us and save us, Lord God almighty.
________
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
O key of David and sceptre of Israel, what you open no one else can close again; what you close, no one can open. O come and lead the captive from prison; free those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.
My soul glórifies the Lórd, *
my spirit rejóices in Gód, my Sáviour.
He looks on his sérvant in her lówliness; *
henceforth all áges will cáll me bléssed.
The Almíghty works márvels for me. *
Hóly his náme!
His mércy is from age to áge, *
on thóse who féar him.
He púts forth his árm in stréngth *
and scátters the proud-héarted.
He casts the míghty from their thrónes *
and ráises the lówly.
He fills the stárving with good thíngs, *
sends the rích away émpty.
He protects Ísrael, his sérvant, *
remémbering his mércy,
the mercy prómised to our fáthers, *
to Ábraham and his sóns for éver.
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.
O key of David and sceptre of Israel, what you open no one else can close again; what you close, no one can open. O come and lead the captive from prison; free those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.
________
Prayers and intercessions
The Lord God said: ‘I shall look for the lost one, bring back the stray, bandage the wounded and make the weak strong,’
– Lord our God, come to save us.
Lord God, you made us and sustain us with your love:
help us to recognize that you are in our midst.
– Lord our God, come to save us.
You are close to each one of us:
open our hearts to love you.
– Lord our God, come to save us.
We pray for those who find their lives a burden too heavy to bear:
Lord, be their strength and their hope.
– Lord our God, come to save us.
You are Life, and the enemy of death:
rescue us and all the faithful departed from eternal darkness.
– Lord our God, come to save us.
________
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, at the angel’s message
Mary, the immaculate Virgin,
became the temple of God
and was filled with the light of the Holy Spirit
when she received your divine Word.
Grant that, after her example,
we may humbly and steadfastly follow your will.
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.
Copyright © 1996-2019 Universalis Publishing Limited: see www.universalis.com. Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible are published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc, and used by permission of the publishers. Text of the Psalms: Copyright © 1963, The Grail (England). Used with permission of A.P. Watt Ltd. All rights reserved.