Monday 23 December 2019
23 December
(optional commemoration of Saint John of Kęty, Priest)
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.
________
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!
________
Psalm 135 (136)
A paschal hymn
“To tell of the works of the Lord is to give praise” (Cassiodorus).
Behold, the Lord, the ruler of the kings of the earth, will come. Happy are those who are ready to meet him.
O give thánks to the Lórd for he is góod, *
for his lóve endúres for éver.
Give thánks to the Gód of góds *
for his lóve endúres for éver.
Give thánks to the Lórd of lórds, *
for his lóve endúres for éver;
who alóne has wrought márvellous wórks, *
for his lóve endúres for éver;
whose wísdom it wás made the skíes, *
for his lóve endúres for éver;
who fíxed the earth fírmly on the séas, *
for his lóve endúres for éver.
It was hé who máde the great líghts, *
for his lóve endúres for éver;
the sún to rúle in the dáy, *
for his lóve endúres for éver;
the móon and stárs in the níght, *
for his lóve endúres 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.
Behold, the Lord, the ruler of the kings of the earth, will come. Happy are those who are ready to meet him.
________
Psalm 135 (136)
Sing a new song to the Lord, his praise to the end of the earth.
The fírst-born of the Egýptians he smóte, *
for his lóve endúres for éver.
He brought Ísrael óut from their mídst, *
for his lóve endúres for éver;
arm outstrétched, with pówer in his hánd, *
for his lóve endúres for éver.
He divíded the Réd Sea in twó, *
for his lóve endúres for éver;
he made Ísrael páss through the mídst, *
for his lóve endúres for éver;
he flung Pháraoh and his fórce in the séa, *
for his lóve endúres for éver.
Through the désert his péople he léd, *
for his lóve endúres for éver.
Nátions in their gréatness he strúck, *
for his lóve endúres for éver.
Kíngs in their spléndour he sléw, *
for his lóve endúres for éver.
Síhon, kíng of the Ámorites, *
for his lóve endúres for éver;
and Óg, the kíng of Báshan, *
for his lóve endúres for éver.
He let Ísrael inhérit their lánd, *
for his lóve endúres for éver.
On his sérvant their lánd he bestówed, *
for his lóve endúres for éver.
He remémbered ús in our distréss, *
for his lóve endúres for éver.
And he snátched us awáy from our fóes, *
for his lóve endúres for éver.
He gives fóod to áll living thíngs, *
for his lóve endúres for éver.
To the Gód of héaven give thánks, *
for his lóve endúres 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.
Sing a new song to the Lord, his praise to the end of the earth.
Psalm-prayer
Almighty God, remember our lowliness and have mercy. Once you gave our fathers a foreign land to inherit. Free us today from sin and give us a share in your inheritance.
Or:
God of everlasting love, in and through your Son you made all things in heaven and on earth. You have opened to us the Easter path from death to life. Listen to the song of the universe, the hymn of resurrection, sung by your Church. May we gain life from your bread and inherit a place in heaven.
________
Canticle
Ephesians 1
God the Saviour
When the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth?
Blessed be the God and Father *
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ *
with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
He chose us in him *
before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy *
and blameless before him.
He destined us in love *
to be his sons through Jesus Christ,
according to the purpose of his will, †
to the praise of his glorious grace *
which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
In him we have redemption through his blood, *
the forgiveness of our trespasses,
according to the riches of his grace *
which he lavished upon us.
He has made known to us †
in all wisdom and insight *
the mystery of his will,
according to his purpose *
which he set forth in Christ.
His purpose he set forth in Christ *
as a plan for the fullness of time,
to unite all things in him, *
things in heaven and things on earth.
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.
When the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth?
________
Short Reading
2 Peter 3:8-9
With the Lord, ‘a day’ can mean a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord is not being slow to carry out his promises, as anybody else might be called slow; but he is being patient with you all, wanting nobody to be lost and everybody to be brought to change his ways.
________
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 Immanuel, you are our king and our judge, the One whom the peoples await and their Saviour. O come and save us, Lord our God.
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 Immanuel, you are our king and our judge, the One whom the peoples await and their Saviour. O come and save us, Lord our God.
________
Prayers and intercessions
Let us ask our Father to save us from our sins and send us forward into new life.
– Father, may your Son bring us freedom.
The Baptist preached a change of heart:
free us from self-satisfaction.
– Father, may your Son bring us freedom.
The Pharisees refused the Baptist’s witness to the coming of your Son:
free us from fear of the truth.
– Father, may your Son bring us freedom.
The Baptist was glad to make way for him:
free us from pride.
– Father, may your Son bring us freedom.
The dead longed for life:
free them from death.
– Father, may your Son bring us freedom.
________
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 God,
now that the birthday of your Son as man is drawing near,
we pray that your eternal Word,
who took flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary and came to dwell among men,
will show your unworthy people the greatness of his love and mercy.
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.