Sunday 31 January 2021
4th Sunday in Ordinary Time
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
Holy God, we praise thy name;
Lord of all, we bow before thee!
All on earth thy sceptre own,
All in heaven above adore thee.
Infinite thy vast domain,
Everlasting is thy reign.
Hark! the loud celestial hymn,
Angel choirs above are raising;
Cherubim and seraphim,
In unceasing chorus praising,
Fill the heavens with sweet accord:
Holy, holy, holy, Lord.
Holy Father, holy Son,
Holy Spirit, three we name thee.
While in essence only one
Undivided God we claim thee;
And adoring bend the knee,
While we own the mystery.
Spare thy people, Lord, we pray,
By a thousand snares surrounded;
Keep us without sin today;
Never let us be confounded.
Lo, I put my trust in thee;
Never, Lord, abandon me.
________
Psalm 109 (110)
The Messiah, king and priest
“He must be king so that he may put all his enemies under his feet” (1 Cor 15:25).
In holy splendour I begot you before the dawn, alleluia.
The Lord’s revelation to my Master:
‘Sit on my right:
your foes I will put beneath your feet.’
The Lord will wield from Sion
your sceptre of power:
rule in the midst of all your foes.
A prince from the day of your birth
on the holy mountains;
from the womb before the dawn I begot you.
The Lord has sworn an oath he will not change.
‘You are a priest for ever,
a priest like Melchizedek of old.’
The Master standing at your right hand
will shatter kings in the day of his wrath.
He shall drink from the stream by the wayside
and therefore he shall lift up his head.
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.
In holy splendour I begot you before the dawn, alleluia.
Psalm-prayer
Father, we ask you to give us victory and peace. In Jesus Christ, our Lord and King, we are already seated at your right hand. We look forward to praise you in the fellowship of all your saints in our heavenly homeland.
Or:
Almighty God, bring the kingdom of Christ, your anointed one, to its fullness. May the perfect offering of your Son, eternal priest of the new Jerusalem, be offered in every place to your name and make all nations a holy people for you.
________
Psalm 111 (112)
How blessed are the just
“Be like the children of the light; for the fruits of the light are seen in complete goodness and right living and truth” (Eph 5:8,9).
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall have their fill.
Happy the man who fears the Lord,
who takes delight in all his commands.
His sons will be powerful on earth;
the children of the upright are blessed.
Riches and wealth are in his house;
his justice stands firm for ever.
He is a light in the darkness for the upright:
he is generous, merciful and just.
The good man takes pity and lends,
he conducts his affairs with honour.
The just man will never waver:
he will be remembered for ever.
He has no fear of evil news;
with a firm heart he trusts in the Lord.
With a steadfast heart he will not fear;
he will see the downfall of his foes.
Open-handed, he gives to the poor;
his justice stands firm for ever.
His head will be raised in glory.
The wicked man sees and is angry,
grinds his teeth and fades away;
the desire of the wicked leads to doom.
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 are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall have their fill.
Psalm-prayer
Lord God, you are the eternal light which illumines the hearts of good people. Help us to love you, to rejoice in your glory, and so to live in this world as to avoid harsh judgement in the next. May we come to see the light of your countenance.
Or:
Lord Jesus, you are the light rising in darkness for the just. To show your love for us you offered yourself in our place as a victim to God. Teach us to love one another as you love us, that our love may bring peace and joy to the world and enable us to find the happiness of your home.
________
Canticle
(Apocalypse 19)
The wedding of the Lamb
Praise God, all you his servants, both great and small. Alleluia.
Alleluia.
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
his judgements are true and just.
Alleluia.
Alleluia.
Praise our God, all you his servants,
you who fear him, small and great.
Alleluia.
Alleluia.
The Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns,
let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory.
Alleluia.
Alleluia.
The marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
Alleluia.
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.
Praise God, all you his servants, both great and small. Alleluia.
________
Short Reading
Hebrews 12:22-24
What you have come to is Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem where the millions of angels have gathered for the festival, with the whole Church in which everyone is a ‘first-born son’ and a citizen of heaven. You have come to God himself, the supreme Judge, and been placed with spirits of the saints who have been made perfect; and to Jesus, the mediator who brings a new covenant and a blood for purification which pleads more insistently than Abel’s.
________
Short Responsory
Great is our Lord; great is his might.
– Great is our Lord; great is his might.
His wisdom can never be measured.
– Great is our Lord; great is his might.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– Great is our Lord; great is his might.
________
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
The people were astonished, and his reputation rapidly spread everywhere, through all the surrounding Galilean countryside. (Year B)
Or: Everyone was astonished at the words that came from the mouth of God.
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 people were astonished, and his reputation rapidly spread everywhere, through all the surrounding Galilean countryside. (Year B)
Or: Everyone was astonished at the words that came from the mouth of God.
________
Prayers and intercessions
In the Church, God has made known to us his hidden purpose: to make all things one in Christ. Let us pray that his will may be done.
– Father, unite all things in Christ.
We give you thanks for the presence and power of your Spirit in the Church:
give us the will to search for unity, and inspire us to pray and work together.
– Father, unite all things in Christ.
We give you thanks for all whose work proclaims your love:
help us to serve the communities in whose life we share.
– Father, unite all things in Christ.
Father, care for all who serve in the Church as ministers of your word and sacraments:
may they bring your whole family to the unity for which Christ prayed.
– Father, unite all things in Christ.
Your people have known the ravages of war and hatred:
grant that they may know the peace left by your Son.
– Father, unite all things in Christ.
Fulfil the hopes of those who sleep in your peace:
bring them to that final resurrection when you will be all in all.
– Father, unite all things in 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.
________
Lord our God,
make us love you above all things,
and all our fellow-men
with a love that is worthy of you.
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 © 1996-2021 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.