Tuesday 8 September 2020
The Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Feast
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
Hail, Queen of the heavens, hail Mistress of earth;
Hail, Virgin most pure of immaculate birth:
Clear star of the morning in beauty enshrined;
O Lady, make speed to the help of mankind.
Thee God in the depth of eternity chose,
And formed thee all fair as his glorious spouse,
And called thee his own Word’s true Mother to be
By whom he created the earth, sky, and sea.
Hail, Mother most pure, hail, Virgin renowned,
Hail, Queen with the stars as a diadem crowned;
Above all the angels in glory untold,
Set next to the King in a vesture of gold.
These praises and prayers we lay at thy feet,
O Virgin of virgins, O Mary most sweet:
Be thou our true guide through this pilgrimage here,
And stand by our side when our death draweth near.
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Psalm 121 (122)
Jerusalem, the holy city
“You have come to Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” (Heb 12:22).
The Virgin Mary was born from the stock of Jesse, and the Spirit of the Most High came to dwell with her.
I rejoiced when I heard them say:
‘Let us go to God’s house.’
And now our feet are standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
Jerusalem is built as a city
strongly compact.
It is there that the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord.
For Israel’s law it is,
there to praise the Lord’s name.
There were set the thrones of judgement
of the house of David.
For the peace of Jerusalem pray:
‘Peace be to your homes!
May peace reign in your walls,
in your palaces, peace!’
For love of my brethren and friends
I say: ‘Peace upon you!’
For love of the house of the Lord
I will ask for your good.
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 Virgin Mary was born from the stock of Jesse, and the Spirit of the Most High came to dwell with her.
Psalm-prayer
When you rose from the dead, Lord Jesus, you formed the Church into your new body and made of her the new Jerusalem, united in your Spirit. Give us peace in our day. Make all nations come to your Church to share your gifts in fellowship, that they may render you thanks without end and come to your eternal city.
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Psalm 126 (127)
Without the Lord, we labour in vain
“You are God’s building” (1 Cor 3:9).
Today is the birthday of the holy Virgin Mary. God looked on her beauty and came to visit her in her lowliness.
If the Lord does not build the house,
in vain do its builders labour;
if the Lord does not watch over the city,
in vain does the watchman keep vigil.
In vain is your earlier rising,
your going later to rest,
you who toil for the bread you eat,
when he pours gifts on his beloved while they slumber.
Truly sons are a gift from the Lord,
a blessing, the fruit of the womb.
Indeed the sons of youth
are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.
O the happiness of the man
who has filled his quiver with these arrows!
He will have no cause for shame
when he disputes with his foes in the gateways.
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.
Today is the birthday of the holy Virgin Mary. God looked on her beauty and came to visit her in her lowliness.
Psalm-prayer
You command the seed to rise, Lord God, though the farmer is unaware. Grant that those who labour for you may trust not in their own work but in your help. Remembering that the land is brought to flower not with human tears but with those of your Son, may the Church rely only upon your gifts.
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Canticle
Ephesians 1
God the Saviour
Blessed and worthy of our veneration is holy Mary, the Virgin Mother of God: her birthday we celebrate that she may intercede for us with the Lord.
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.
Blessed and worthy of our veneration is holy Mary, the Virgin Mother of God: her birthday we celebrate that she may intercede for us with the Lord.
________
Short Reading
Romans 9:4-5
They are Israelites: they were adopted as sons, they were given the glory and the covenants; the Law and the ritual were drawn up for them, and the promises were made to them. They are descended from the patriarchs and from their flesh and blood came Christ who is above all, God for ever blessed! Amen.
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Short Responsory
Hail Mary, full of grace: the Lord is with you.
– Hail Mary, full of grace: the Lord is with you.
You are most blessed of all women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
– Hail Mary, full of grace: the Lord is with you.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– Hail Mary, full of grace: the Lord is with you.
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Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
Let us remember the worthy birth of the glorious Virgin Mary. The Lord looked on her in her lowliness and sent his angel to announce to her that she would conceive and bear the Redeemer of the world.
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.
Let us remember the worthy birth of the glorious Virgin Mary. The Lord looked on her in her lowliness and sent his angel to announce to her that she would conceive and bear the Redeemer of the world.
________
Prayers and intercessions
Let us praise God the Father who chose Mary as the mother of his Son and wanted all generations to call her blessed. With confidence we pray:
– May the Virgin Mary intercede for us.
Father, you did great things for the Virgin Mary and brought her, body and soul, to the glory of heaven;
fill the hearts of your children with the hope of Christ’s glory.
– May the Virgin Mary intercede for us.
Through the prayers of Mary, our mother, heal the sick, comfort the sorrowful, pardon sinners;
grant peace and salvation to all.
– May the Virgin Mary intercede for us.
You favoured Mary with the fullness of grace;
bestow on all men your overflowing blessings.
– May the Virgin Mary intercede for us.
May your Church be united heart and soul, held fast by love,
and may your faithful be joined in continuous prayer, with Mary the mother of Jesus.
– May the Virgin Mary intercede for us.
Father, you exalted the Virgin Mary and crowned her queen of heaven;
may the dead enter your kingdom and rejoice with your saints for ever.
– May the Virgin Mary intercede for us.
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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.
________
Lord God,
the day of our salvation dawned when the Blessed Virgin gave birth to your Son.
As we celebrate her own nativity,
grant us your grace and your peace.
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.