Wednesday 28 October 2020
Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles - 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
Now let the heavens with joy resound,
And earth the chant re-echo round;
Nor heaven nor earth too high can raise
The great Apostles’ glorious praise.
Theirs was the steadfast faith of saints,
The unconquered hope that never faints,
The perfect love of Christ to know,
That lays the praise of this world low.
In them the Father’s glory shone,
In them the Spirit’s will was done;
The Son’s glad praise to them is given,
With joy resound the courts of heaven.
To thee, Redeemer, now we cry,
That with this glorious band on high,
Through endless ages, by thy grace,
Thy servants also may have place.
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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).
You are the men who have stood faithfully by me in my trials.
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.
You are the men who have stood faithfully by me in my trials.
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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Psalm 125 (126)
Gladness and hope in the Lord
“Just as you are sharing in our sufferings, so also will you share our consolations” (2 Cor 1:7).
I am here among you as one who serves.
When the Lord delivered Sion from bondage,
it seemed like a dream.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter,
on our lips there were songs.
The heathens themselves said: ‘What marvels
the Lord worked for them!’
What marvels the Lord worked for us!
Indeed we were glad.
Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage
as streams in dry land.
Those who are sowing in tears
will sing when they reap.
They go out, they go out, full of tears,
carrying seed for the sowing:
they come back, they come back, full of song,
carrying their sheaves.
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 am here among you as one who serves.
Psalm-prayer
Lord, you have raised us from the earth; may you let the seeds of justice, which we have sown in tears, grow and increase in your sight. May we reap in joy the harvest we hope for patiently.
Or:
Lord Jesus, our life and resurrection, the tears you sowed in the sorrow of Good Friday brought the earth to flower on Easter morning. May you renew the wonders of your power in the Church, that after the sorrows of our exile we may come home to you in gladness.
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Canticle
Ephesians 1
God the Saviour
I shall not call you servants any more, I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I learned from my Father.
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.
I shall not call you servants any more, I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I learned from my Father.
________
Short Reading
Ephesians 4:11-13
To some, his gift was that they should be apostles; to some, prophets; to some, evangelists; to some, pastors and teachers; so that the saints together make a unity in the work of service, building up the body of Christ. In this way we are all to come to unity in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God, until we become the perfect Man, fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself.
________
Short Responsory
Tell of the glory of the Lord; announce it among the nations.
– Tell of the glory of the Lord; announce it among the nations.
Speak of his wonderful deeds to all the peoples.
– Tell of the glory of the Lord; announce it among the nations.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– Tell of the glory of the Lord; announce it among the nations.
________
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
When all is made new and the Son of Man sits on his throne of glory, you will sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel.
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.
When all is made new and the Son of Man sits on his throne of glory, you will sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel.
________
Prayers and intercessions
Since we are part of a building that has the apostles for its foundation, let us pray to the Father for his holy people.
– Lord, remember your Church.
Father, when your Son rose from the dead, you showed him first to the apostles;
let us make him known, near and far.
– Lord, remember your Church.
You sent your Son into the world to proclaim the good news to the poor:
grant that we may bring his gospel into the darkness of men’s lives.
– Lord, remember your Church.
You sent your Son to plant in men’s hearts the seed of imperishable life;
may we labour to sow his word and reap a harvest of joy.
– Lord, remember your Church.
You sent your Son to reconcile the world with yourself by the shedding of his blood;
let us become his fellow workers in restoring men to your friendship.
– Lord, remember your Church.
You placed your Son at your own right hand in heaven;
receive the dead into the happiness of your kingdom.
– Lord, remember your Church.
________
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,
you taught us to call upon your name
through the preaching of the apostles.
At the intercession of Saint Simon and Saint Jude,
may your Church continue to grow
by an increase in the number of believing nations.
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.