Wednesday 10 February 2021
Saint Scholastica, Virgin
on Wednesday of week 5 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
All hail the power of Jesus’ name;
Let Angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem
To crown him Lord of all.
Crown him, ye Martyrs of your God,
Who from his altar call;
Praise him whose way of pain ye trod,
And crown him Lord of all.
Hail him, ye heirs of David’s line,
Whom David Lord did call;
The God Incarnate, Man Divine,
And crown him Lord of all.
Let every tribe and every tongue
To him their hearts enthral,
Lift high the universal song,
And crown him Lord of all.
________
Psalm 26 (27):1-6
Keeping faith in time of peril
“Behold, the place where God dwells among men” (Rev 21:3).
The Lord is my light and my help: whom shall I fear?
The Lord is my light and my help;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
before whom shall I shrink?
When evil-doers draw near
to devour my flesh,
it is they, my enemies and foes,
who stumble and fall.
Though an army encamp against me
my heart would not fear.
Though war break out against me
even then would I trust.
There is one thing I ask of the Lord,
for this I long,
to live in the house of the Lord,
all the days of my life,
to savour the sweetness of the Lord,
to behold his temple.
For there he keeps me safe in his tent
in the day of evil.
He hides me in the shelter of his tent,
on a rock he sets me safe.
And now my head shall be raised
above my foes who surround me
and I shall offer within his tent
a sacrifice of joy.
I will sing and make music for 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.
The Lord is my light and my help: whom shall I fear?
________
Psalm 26 (27):7-14
“Some stood up and submitted false evidence against Jesus.”
It is your face, O Lord, that I seek: hide not your face.
O Lord, hear my voice when I call;
have mercy and answer.
Of you my heart has spoken:
‘Seek his face.’
It is your face, O Lord, that I seek;
hide not your face.
Dismiss not your servant in anger;
you have been my help.
Do not abandon or forsake me,
O God my help!
Though father and mother forsake me,
the Lord will receive me.
Instruct me, Lord, in your way;
on an even path lead me.
When they lie in ambush protect me
from my enemy’s greed.
False witnesses rise against me,
breathing out fury.
I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.
Hope in him, hold firm and take heart.
Hope in 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.
It is your face, O Lord, that I seek: hide not your face.
Psalm-prayer
Father, you protect and strengthen those who hope in you; you heard the cry of your Son and kept him safe in your tent in the day of evil. Grant that your servants who seek your face in times of trouble may see your goodness in the land of the living.
________
Canticle
(Colossians 1)
Christ, firstborn of all creatures and firstborn from the dead
He is the first-born of all creation, he is supreme over all creatures.
Let us give thanks to the Father,
who has qualified us to share
in the inheritance of the saints in light.
He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness
and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption,
the forgiveness of sins.
He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation,
for in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible.
All things were created
through him and for him.
He is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the body, the Church;
he is the beginning,
the firstborn from the dead,
that in everything he might be pre-eminent.
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile to himself all things,
whether on earth or in heaven,
making peace by the blood of his cross.
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.
He is the first-born of all creation, he is supreme over all creatures.
________
Short Reading
1 Corinthians 7:32,34
An unmarried man can devote himself to the Lord’s affairs, all he need worry about is pleasing the Lord. In the same way an unmarried woman, like a young girl, can devote herself to the Lord’s affairs; all she need worry about is being holy in body and spirit.
________
Short Responsory
The virgins come before the king. They sing for joy.
– The virgins come before the king. They sing for joy.
They are led into the temple of the king.
– The virgins come before the king. They sing for joy.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– The virgins come before the king. They sing for joy.
________
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
Come, bride of Christ, and receive the crown which the Lord has prepared for you.
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.
Come, bride of Christ, and receive the crown which the Lord has prepared for you.
________
Prayers and intercessions
Christ the Lord praised those who follow the way of virginity for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let us proclaim his love and pray:
– Jesus, king of virgins, hear us.
Christ our Lord, you presented the Church to yourself, as a chaste virgin to her only husband;
make her pure, holy and faultless.
– Jesus, king of virgins, hear us.
Christ Jesus, the holy virgins went to meet you with lamps burning bright;
keep alive the flame of fidelity in the hearts of religious women.
– Jesus, king of virgins, hear us.
Lord, you have always preserved your Church in purity and soundness of faith;
grant to all Christians a faith that is true and complete.
– Jesus, king of virgins, hear us.
You bring joy to the lives of your faithful as they celebrate the feast of your holy virgin N.;
may they also rejoice in her constant intercession.
– Jesus, king of virgins, hear us.
You have welcomed your holy virgins to the wedding feast of heaven;
invite all the dead to the feast of eternal life.
– Jesus, king of virgins, hear us.
________
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, may we, like Saint Scholastica,
serve you with an unsullied love.
Then our joy will be full
as we receive from your loving hand
all that we desire and ask.
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.