Saturday 28 November 2020
Saturday of week 34 in Ordinary Time
or Saturday memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary
(First Vespers of tomorrow, 1st Sunday of Advent)
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
On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry
Announces that the Lord is nigh;
Come then and hearken, for he brings
Glad tidings from the King of kings.
Then cleansed be every Christian breast,
And furnished for so great a guest!
Yea, let us each his heart prepare
For Christ to come and enter there.
For thou art our salvation, Lord,
Our refuge and our great reward;
Without thy grace our souls must fade,
And wither like a flower decayed.
Stretch forth thine hand, to heal our sore,
And make us rise to fall no more;
Once more upon thy people shine,
And fill the world with love divine.
All praise, eternal Son, to thee,
Whose Advent sets thy people free,
Whom, with the Father, we adore,
And Holy Ghost, for evermore.
________
Psalm 140 (141)
Prayer in time of danger
“The smoke of incense rose before God with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel” (Rev 8:4).
Proclaim it, say to the peoples: Behold, God will come and save us.
I have called to you, Lord; hasten to help me!
Hear my voice when I cry to you.
Let my prayer arise before you like incense,
the raising of my hands like an evening oblation.
Set, O Lord, a guard over my mouth;
keep watch, O Lord, at the door of my lips!
Do not turn my heart to things that are wrong,
to evil deeds with men who are sinners.
Never allow me to share in their feasting.
If a good man strikes or reproves me it is kindness;
but let the oil of the wicked not anoint my head.
Let my prayer be ever against their malice.
Their princes were thrown down by the side of the rock;
then they understood that my words were kind.
As a millstone is shattered to pieces on the ground,
so their bones were strewn at the mouth of the grave.
To you, Lord God, my eyes are turned:
in you I take refuge; spare my soul!
From the trap they have laid for me keep me safe:
keep me from the snares of those who do evil.
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.
Proclaim it, say to the peoples: Behold, God will come and save us.
Psalm-prayer
Lord, from the rising of the sun to its setting your name is worthy of all praise. Let our prayer come like incense before you. May the lifting up of our hands be as an evening sacrifice acceptable to you, Lord our God.
Or:
Lord, you never reject the prayer of those who cry to you. Listen to the pleading of your Church and defend your people. Make them strong in faith against the evil one who would devour them. After they have overcome the brief ordeals of this life, may they enter into your glory with Christ Jesus.
________
Psalm 141 (142)
You are my refuge
“All these things were fulfilled by the Lord at the time of his passion” (St Hilary).
Behold, the Lord will come, and all his holy ones with him. On that day a great light will appear. Alleluia.
With all my voice I cry to the Lord,
with all my voice I entreat the Lord.
I pour out my trouble before him;
I tell him all my distress
while my spirit faints within me.
But you, O Lord, know my path.
On the way where I shall walk
they have hidden a snare to entrap me.
Look on my right and see:
there is no one who takes my part.
I have no means of escape,
not one who cares for my soul.
I cry to you, O Lord.
I have said: ‘You are my refuge
all I have in the land of the living.’
Listen, then, to my cry
for I am in the depths of distress.
Rescue me from those who pursue me
for they are stronger than I.
Bring my soul out of this prison
and then I shall praise your name.
Around me the just will assemble
because of your goodness to me.
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.
Behold, the Lord will come, and all his holy ones with him. On that day a great light will appear. Alleluia.
Psalm-prayer
Lord, we humbly ask for your goodness. May you help us to hope in you, and give us a share with your chosen ones in the land of the living.
Or:
Lord Jesus, hanging alone on the cross, you accepted to be tortured by the executioners and cut to the heart by the defection of your disciples. You called on your Father with a mighty cry as you gave up your spirit. Deliver us from the prison of affliction and be yourself our inheritance in the land of the living.
________
Canticle
Philippians 2
Christ, God's servant
The Lord will come with great might and all flesh will see him.
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 will come with great might and all flesh will see him.
________
Short Reading
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
May the God of peace make you perfect and holy; and may you all be kept safe and blameless, spirit, soul and body, for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. God has called you and he will not fail you.
________
Short Responsory
Show us, Lord, your steadfast love.
– Show us, Lord, your steadfast love.
And grant us your salvation.
– Show us, Lord, your steadfast love.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– Show us, Lord, your steadfast love.
________
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
See, the name of the Lord comes from afar. His splendour fills the whole 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.
See, the name of the Lord comes from afar. His splendour fills the whole world.
________
Prayers and intercessions
The Son of God is coming with great power: all mankind shall see his face and be reborn.
– Come, Lord Jesus, do not delay!
You will bring us wisdom, fresh understanding and new vision.
– Come, Lord Jesus, do not delay!
You will bring us good news, and power which will transform our lives.
– Come, Lord Jesus, do not delay!
You will bring us truth, showing us the way to our Father.
– Come, Lord Jesus, do not delay!
Born of a woman, you will open in our flesh the way to eternal life and joy.
– Come, Lord Jesus, do not delay!
________
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.
________
Grant, almighty Father,
that when Christ comes again we may go out to meet him
bearing the harvest of good works achieved by your grace.
We pray that he will receive us into the company of the saints
and call us into the kingdom of heaven.
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.