Wednesday 22 April 2020
Wednesday of the 2nd week of Eastertide
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 Christ, the heavens’ eternal King,
Creator, unto thee we sing,
With God the Father ever One,
Co-equal, co-eternal Son.
Thy hand, when first the world began,
Made in thine own pure image man,
And linked to fleshly form of earth
A living soul of heavenly birth.
And when the envious crafty foe
Had marred thy noblest work below,
Thou didst our ruined state repair
By deigning flesh thyself to wear.
Once of a virgin born to save,
And now new born from death’s dark grave,
O Christ, thou bidd’st us rise with thee
From death to immortality.
Eternal Shepherd, thou art wont
To cleanse Thy sheep within the font,
That mystic bath, that grave of sin,
Where ransomed souls new life begin.
Divine Redeemer, thou didst deign
To bear for us the cross of pain,
And freely pay the precious price
Of all thy blood in sacrifice.
Jesu, do thou to every heart
Unceasing Paschal joy impart;
From death of sin and guilty strife
Set free the new born sons of life.
All praise be thine, O risen Lord,
From death to endless life restored;
All praise to God the Father be
And Holy Ghost eternally.
________
Psalm 61 (62)
Peace in God
“May the God of hope fill you with all peace as you believe in him” (Rom 15:13).
Do not let your hearts be troubled: only have faith in me. Alleluia.
In God alóne is my sóul at rést; *
my hélp comes from hím.
He alóne is my róck, my strónghold, *
my fórtress: I stand fírm.
How lóng will you áll attack one mán *
to bréak him dówn,
as thóugh he were a tóttering wáll, *
or a túmbling fénce?
Their plán is ónly to destróy: *
they take pléasure in líes.
With their móuth they útter bléssing *
but in their héart they cúrse.
In God alóne be at rést, my sóul; *
for my hópe comes from hím.
He alóne is my róck, my strónghold, *
my fórtress: I stand fírm.
In Gód is my sáfety and glóry, *
the róck of my stréngth.
Take réfuge in Gód, all you péople. *
Trúst him at áll times.
Póur out your héarts befóre him *
for Gód is our réfuge.
Cómmon folk are ónly a bréath, *
gréat men an illúsion.
Pláced in the scáles, they ríse; *
they weigh léss than a bréath.
Dó not put your trúst in oppréssion *
nor vain hópes on plúnder.
Dó not set your héart on ríches *
even whén they incréase.
For Gód has sáid only óne thing: *
only twó do I knów:
that to Gód alóne belongs pówer *
and to yóu, Lord, lóve;
and that yóu repáy each mán *
accórding to his déeds.
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.
Do not let your hearts be troubled: only have faith in me. Alleluia.
Psalm-prayer
Lord God, you reward each one according to his works. Hear us as we pour out our hearts to you, seeking your grace and secure protection. We look to you for our stable hope in a constantly changing world.
________
Psalm 66 (67)
All peoples, praise the Lord
“Let it be known to you that this salvation from God has been sent to all peoples” (Acts 28:28).
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let them rejoice in your saving help. Alleluia.
O Gód, be grácious and bléss us *
and let your fáce shed its líght upón us.
So will your wáys be knówn upon éarth *
and all nátions learn your sáving hélp.
Let the péoples práise you, O Gód; *
let áll the péoples práise you.
Let the nátions be glád and exúlt *
for you rúle the wórld with jústice.
With fáirness you rúle the péoples, *
you gúide the nátions on éarth.
Let the péoples práise you, O Gód; *
let áll the péoples práise you.
The éarth has yíelded its frúit *
for Gód, our Gód, has bléssed us.
May Gód still gíve us his bléssing *
till the énds of the éarth revére him.
Let the péoples práise you, O Gód; *
let áll the péoples práise 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 the peoples praise you, O God; let them rejoice in your saving help. Alleluia.
Psalm-prayer
Be gracious and bless us, Lord, and let your face shed its light on us, so that we can make you known with reverence and bring forth a harvest of justice.
Or:
All peoples praise you, Father, because through your kindly power the earth has brought forth its fruit, the tree of the cross. We ask that this cross unite all peoples in its embrace and feed them with its fruit, everlasting life.
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Canticle
(Colossians 1)
Christ, firstborn of all creatures and firstborn from the dead
His majesty covers the heavens, the earth is filled with his praise. Alleluia.
Let us give thanks to the Father, †
who has qualified us to share *
in the inheritance of the saints in light.
He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness *
and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption, *
the forgiveness of sins.
He is the image of the invisible God, *
the firstborn of all creation,
for in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, *
visible and invisible.
All things were created *
through him and for him.
He is before all things, *
and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the body, the Church; *
he is the beginning,
the firstborn from the dead, *
that in everything he might be pre-eminent.
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, *
and through him to reconcile to himself all things,
whether on earth or in heaven, *
making peace by the blood of his cross.
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.
His majesty covers the heavens, the earth is filled with his praise. Alleluia.
________
Short Reading
Hebrews 7:24-27
Jesus, because he remains for ever, can never lose his priesthood. It follows, then, that his power to save is utterly certain, since he is living for ever to intercede for all who come to God through him. To suit us, the ideal high priest would have to be holy, innocent and uncontaminated, beyond the influence of sinners, and raised up above the heavens; one who would not need to offer sacrifices every day, as the other high priests do for their own sins and then for those of the people, because Jesus Christ our Lord has done this once and for all by offering himself.
________
Short Responsory
The disciples rejoiced, alleluia, alleluia.
– The disciples rejoiced, alleluia, alleluia.
They saw the Lord, alleluia, alleluia.
– The disciples rejoiced, alleluia, alleluia.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– The disciples rejoiced, alleluia, alleluia.
________
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
The man who lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be plainly seen that what he does is done in God. Alleluia.
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.
The man who lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be plainly seen that what he does is done in God. Alleluia.
________
Prayers and intercessions
In Christ, who was raised from the dead, the Father has opened for us the way to eternal life. Let us pray to him:
– Save your people through the victory of Christ.
God of our fathers, in the resurrection you glorified your Son;
grant us true repentance that we may walk in newness of life.
– Save your people through the victory of Christ.
You have brought us to Christ, the shepherd and guardian of our souls;
keep us faithful to him, under the guidance of our pastors.
– Save your people through the victory of Christ.
From the Jewish people you chose Christ’s first disciples;
show the children of Israel that your promises are fulfilled.
– Save your people through the victory of Christ.
Remember the orphans, the widows and the homeless of our world;
your Son has reconciled men with God, do not abandon them now.
– Save your people through the victory of Christ.
You called Stephen to yourself as he bore witness to Jesus;
welcome the faithful departed who have loved and desired you.
– Save your people through the victory of 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.
________
Year by year, Lord,
we recall the mystery of Easter,
the mystery which restored mankind to its lost dignity
and brought the hope of resurrection.
Grant that we may possess eternally in love
what we now worship in faith.
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 © 1996-2020 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.