Saturday 22 February 2020
Saint Peter's Chair - Feast
(First Vespers of tomorrow, 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time)
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
In the beginning God created heaven,
The dark and empty earth;
His Spirit moved across the sombre waters
And stirred them with his breath.
Then God created light, and with its coming
The dark was swept away;
The morning came, and then the quiet evening:
The end of God’s first day.
To God the Father of the world give glory,
With Christ his only Son,
Who with the Spirit govern all creation:
Blest Trinity in One.
Stanbrook Abbey Hymnal
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Psalm 112 (113)
Praise of the Lord's name
“He put down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly” (Lk 1:52).
From the rising of the sun to its setting, great is the name of the Lord.
Praise, O servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!
May the name of the Lord be blessed
both now and for evermore!
From the rising of the sun to its setting
praised be the name of the Lord!
High above all nations is the Lord,
above the heavens his glory.
Who is like the Lord, our God,
who has risen on high to his throne
yet stoops from the heights to look down,
to look down upon heaven and earth?
From the dust he lifts up the lowly,
from the dungheap he raises the poor
to set him in the company of princes,
yes, with the princes of his people.
To the childless wife he gives a home
and gladdens her heart with 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.
From the rising of the sun to its setting, great is the name of the Lord.
Psalm-prayer
Almighty Father, we praise and bless your name and ask you to join us together through your enduring love in the bosom of Mother Church.
Or:
Lord Jesus, Word of God, surrendering the brightness of your glory you became man so that we might be raised from the dust to share your very being. May there be innumerable children of the Church to offer homage to your name from the rising of the sun to its setting.
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Psalm 115 (116B)
Thanksgiving in the Temple
“Through him [Christ], let us offer God an unending sacrifice of praise” (Heb 13:15).
I will take the chalice of salvation, and I will call on the name of the Lord.
I trusted, even when I said:
‘I am sorely afflicted,’
and when I said in my alarm:
‘No man can be trusted.’
How can I repay the Lord
for his goodness to me?
The cup of salvation I will raise;
I will call on the Lord’s name.
My vows to the Lord I will fulfil
before all his people.
O precious in the eyes of the Lord
is the death of his faithful.
Your servant, Lord, your servant am I;
you have loosened my bonds.
A thanksgiving sacrifice I make;
I will call on the Lord’s name.
My vows to the Lord I will fulfil
before all his people,
in the courts of the house of the Lord,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
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 will take the chalice of salvation, and I will call on the name of the Lord.
Psalm-prayer
Lord, accept the prayers of your faithful people. Help us always to offer you a sacrifice of praise. Quickly break the bonds that hold your children down, and we will fulfil our vows and praise you every day.
Or:
Father, precious in your sight is the death of the saints, but precious above all is the love with which Christ suffered to redeem us. In this life we fill up in our own flesh what is still lacking in the sufferings of Christ; accept this as our sacrifice of praise, and we shall even now taste the joy of the new Jerusalem.
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Canticle
Philippians 2
Christ, God's servant
The Lord Jesus humbled himself: therefore God has highly exalted him for ever.
Though he was in the form of God,
Jesus did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.
He emptied himself,
taking the form of a servant,
being born in the likeness of men.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself and became obedient unto death,
even death on a cross.
Therefore God has highly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name which is above every name,
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
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 Jesus humbled himself: therefore God has highly exalted him for ever.
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Short Reading
Hebrews 13:20-21
I pray that the God of peace, who brought our Lord Jesus back from the dead to become the great Shepherd of the sheep by the blood that sealed an eternal covenant, may make you ready to do his will in any kind of good action; and turn us all into whatever is acceptable to himself through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever, Amen.
________
Short Responsory
How great are your works, O Lord.
– How great are your works, O Lord.
In wisdom you have created them all.
– How great are your works, O Lord.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– How great are your works, O Lord.
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Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
Pray for those who persecute you and for those who treat you badly: in this way you will be sons of your Father in heaven, says the Lord.
My soul glorifies the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God, my Saviour.
He looks on his servant in her lowliness;
henceforth all ages will call me blessed.
The Almighty works marvels for me.
Holy his name!
His mercy is from age to age,
on those who fear him.
He puts forth his arm in strength
and scatters the proud-hearted.
He casts the mighty from their thrones
and raises the lowly.
He fills the starving with good things,
sends the rich away empty.
He protects Israel, his servant,
remembering his mercy,
the mercy promised to our fathers,
to Abraham and his sons 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.
Pray for those who persecute you and for those who treat you badly: in this way you will be sons of your Father in heaven, says the Lord.
________
Prayers and intercessions
Christ our Lord is mindful of all who need him, and does great things for love of them. Let us not be afraid to ask him for all our needs.
– Show us your loving kindness.
Lord, we know that the good things we have received today have come as a gift from you:
may we receive them with thankfulness and learn how to give.
– Show us your loving kindness.
Saviour and light of all people, keep missionaries in your special care:
may the light of your Spirit burn strongly in them.
– Show us your loving kindness.
Grant that the world may be filled with the knowledge of your truth;
help us to carry out all you have called us to do.
– Show us your loving kindness.
You healed the sickness and pain of your brothers:
Bring healing and comfort to the spirit of man.
– Show us your loving kindness.
Give rest to the faithful departed;
and bring them to praise you in eternity.
– Show us your loving kindness.
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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.
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Grant, almighty God,
that with our thoughts always on the things of the Spirit
we may please you in all that we say and do.
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.
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The Lord bless us, and keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
Copyright © 1996-2020 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.