Thursday 23 July 2020
Thursday of week 16 in Ordinary Time
or Saint Bridget of Sweden, Religious
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
Blest are the pure in heart,
For they shall see our God;
The secret of the Lord is theirs,
Their soul is Christ’s abode.
The Lord, who left the heavens,
Our life and peace to bring,
To dwell in lowliness with men,
Their pattern and their King:
Still to the lowly soul
He does himself impart,
And for his dwelling and his throne
Chooses the pure in heart.
Lord, we thy presence seek;
May ours this blessing be;
Give us a pure and lowly heart,
A temple fit for thee.
________
Psalm 143 (144)
For victory and peace
“I can do all things with the help of the One who gives me strength” (Phil 4:13).
The Lord is my love and my refuge: in him I place my trust.
Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
who trains my arms for battle,
who prepares my hands for war.
He is my love, my fortress;
he is my stronghold, my saviour
my shield, my place of refuge.
He brings peoples under my rule.
Lord, what is man that you care for him,
mortal man, that you keep him in mind;
man, who is merely a breath
whose life fades like a shadow?
Lower your heavens and come down;
touch the mountains; wreathe them in smoke.
Flash your lightnings; rout the foe,
shoot your arrows and put them to flight.
Reach down from heaven and save me;
draw me out from the mighty waters,
from the hands of alien foes
whose mouths are filled with lies,
whose hands are raised in perjury.
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 is my love and my refuge: in him I place my trust.
________
Psalm 143 (144)
Blessed the people whose God is the Lord.
To you, O God, will I sing a new song;
I will play on the ten-stringed harp
to you who give kings their victory,
who set David your servant free.
You set him free from the evil sword;
you rescued him from alien foes
whose mouths were filled with lies,
whose hands were raised in perjury.
Let our sons then flourish like saplings
grown tall and strong from their youth,
our daughters graceful as columns,
adorned as though for a palace.
Let our barns be filled to overflowing
with crops of every kind;
our sheep increasing by thousands,
myriads of sheep in our fields,
our cattle heavy with young,
no ruined wall, no exile,
no sound of weeping in our streets.
Happy the people with such blessings;
happy the people whose God is the Lord.
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 the people whose God is the Lord.
Psalm-prayer
Lord, every day we remember the abundance of your gifts. Grant that we may share with our brothers all the fruits of the earth, and leave an ample provision for those yet to live in the world. At the end, having shared the gifts of this earth with others, may we also share with them an everlasting fellowship with you.
________
Canticle
Apocalypse 11
The Judgement
Victory and empire have now been won by our God.
We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
who are and who were,
that you have taken your great power
and begun to reign.
The nations raged,
but your wrath came,
and the time for the dead to be judged,
for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints,
and those who fear your name,
both small and great.
Now the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Christ have come,
for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down,
who accuses them day and night before our God.
And they have conquered him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
for they loved not their lives even unto death.
Rejoice, then, O heaven,
and you that dwell therein.
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.
Victory and empire have now been won by our God.
________
Short Reading
(Colossians 1:23)
Persevere and stand firm on the solid base of the faith. Never let yourselves drift away from the hope promised by the Good News, which you have heard, which has been preached to every created thing under Heaven.
________
Short Responsory
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
– The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures where he gives me repose.
– The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
________
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
The Lord has satisfied and filled with good things those who hungered for justice.
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.
The Lord has satisfied and filled with good things those who hungered for justice.
________
Prayers and intercessions
The light shines out in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it. Let us thank our Lord for bringing his light to our lives.
– Lord Jesus Christ, you are our light.
Word of God, you have brought the light of eternity to the darkened world:
may it open the minds and hearts of all the children of the Church.
– Lord Jesus Christ, you are our light.
Show your care for all who dedicate their lives to the service of others:
may your grace inspire their actions and sustain them to the end.
– Lord Jesus Christ, you are our light.
Lord, you healed the paralytic and forgave him his sins:
pardon all our guilt, and heal the wounds of our sins.
– Lord Jesus Christ, you are our light.
Men follow the light to new knowledge and discovery:
may they use your gifts to serve the whole human family, and so give glory to you.
– Lord Jesus Christ, you are our light.
Lead the dead from darkness into your own wonderful light;
in your mercy show them the radiance of your glory.
– Lord Jesus Christ, you are our light.
________
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.
________
Listen favourably to our evening prayer, Lord,
and grant that as we follow your Son’s example
we may, by perseverance, yield a harvest of good works.
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.