Saturday 29 May 2021
Saturday of week 8 in Ordinary Time
or Saint Paul VI, Pope
or Saturday memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary
(First Vespers of tomorrow, The Most Holy Trinity)
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
O Trinity of blessèd light,
O Unity of princely might,
The fiery sun now goes his way;
Shed thou within our hearts thy ray.
To thee our morning song of praise,
To thee our evening prayer we raise;
Thy glory humbly we adore
For ever and for evermore.
All laud to God the Father be;
All praise, eternal Son, to thee;
All glory, as is ever meet,
To God the Holy Paraclete.
________
Psalm 112 (113)
Praise of the Lord's name
“He put down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly” (Lk 1:52).
All glory belongs to you, Holy Trinity, one God, before all ages, now and for ever.
Praise, O servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!
May the name of the Lord be blessed
both now and for evermore!
From the rising of the sun to its setting
praised be the name of the Lord!
High above all nations is the Lord,
above the heavens his glory.
Who is like the Lord, our God,
who has risen on high to his throne
yet stoops from the heights to look down,
to look down upon heaven and earth?
From the dust he lifts up the lowly,
from his misery he raises the poor
to set him in the company of princes,
yes, with the princes of his people.
To the childless wife he gives a home
and gladdens her heart with children.
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.
All glory belongs to you, Holy Trinity, one God, before all ages, now and for ever.
Psalm-prayer
Almighty Father, we praise and bless your name and ask you to join us together through your enduring love in the bosom of Mother Church.
Or:
Lord Jesus, Word of God, surrendering the brightness of your glory you became man so that we might be raised from the dust to share your very being. May there be innumerable children of the Church to offer homage to your name from the rising of the sun to its setting.
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Psalm 147 (147B)
God, the foundation of Jerusalem
“Come, and I will show you the bride that the Lamb has chosen” (Rev 21:9).
Blessed be the holy Trinity and undivided Unity. Let us give praise to him, for he has shown mercy to us.
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
Sion, praise your God!
He has strengthened the bars of your gates
he has blessed the children within you.
He established peace on your borders,
he feeds you with finest wheat.
He sends out his word to the earth
and swiftly runs his command.
He showers down snow white as wool,
he scatters hoar-frost like ashes.
He hurls down hailstones like crumbs.
The waters are frozen at his touch;
he sends forth his word and it melts them:
at the breath of his mouth the waters flow.
He makes his word known to Jacob,
to Israel his laws and decrees.
He has not dealt thus with other nations;
he has not taught them his decrees.
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 be the holy Trinity and undivided Unity. Let us give praise to him, for he has shown mercy to us.
Psalm-prayer
Lord, you established peace within the borders of Jerusalem. Give the fullness of peace now to your faithful people. May peace rule us in this life and possess us in eternal life. You are about to fill us with the best of wheat; grant that what we see dimly now as in a mirror, we may come to perceive clearly in the brightness of your truth.
Or:
All-powerful God, it is through your Church, generously endowed with gifts of grace and fortified by the Holy Spirit, that you send out your word to all nations. Strengthen your Church with the best of all food and make her dauntless in faith. Multiply her children to celebrate with one accord the mysteries of your love at the altar on high.
________
Canticle
Ephesians 1
God the Saviour
Glory and honour be to God in the unity of the Trinity, to the Father and to the Son with the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever.
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.
Glory and honour be to God in the unity of the Trinity, to the Father and to the Son with the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever.
________
Short Reading
Romans 11:33-36
How rich are the depths of God – how deep his wisdom and knowledge – and how impossible to penetrate his motives or understand his methods! Who could ever know the mind of the Lord? Who could ever be his counsellor? Who could ever give him anything or lend him anything? All that exists comes from him; all is by him and for him. To him be glory for ever! Amen.
________
Short Responsory
Let us bless the Father and the Son with the Holy Spirit.
– Let us bless the Father and the Son with the Holy Spirit.
To God alone be all honour and glory.
– Let us bless the Father and the Son with the Holy Spirit.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– Let us bless the Father and the Son with the Holy Spirit.
________
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
We give you thanks, O God; we give thanks to you the one and true Trinity, the one and highest God, the one and all-holy Unity.
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.
We give you thanks, O God; we give thanks to you the one and true Trinity, the one and highest God, the one and all-holy Unity.
________
Prayers and intercessions
Father, through your Holy Spirit you gave Christ your Son to us in the flesh, so that we might have life through him. Filled now with that life, we raise our hearts in praise of the Holy Trinity, saying:
– Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Father almighty, eternal God, in the name of your Son send your Holy Spirit upon the Church:
may the Comforter preserve us in unity, harmony and the fullness of truth.
– Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Lord, send your labourers into the harvest to teach all nations and baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit:
strengthen them all in the faith.
– Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Lord, support all those who suffer persecution on account of their faith in your Son:
give them the Spirit of truth who will, according to his promise, speak through them.
– Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Father almighty, all acknowledge that you, the Word and the Spirit are one:
as we believe in one God, so may we hope in you and love you.
– Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Father of the living, bring those who have died to share your glory:
with your Son and the Holy Spirit may they reign eternally with you in heaven.
– Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
________
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.
________
God our Father,
you revealed the great mystery of your godhead to men
when you sent into the world
the Word who is Truth
and the Spirit who makes us holy.
Help us to believe in you and worship you,
as the true faith teaches:
three Persons, eternal in glory,
one God, infinite in majesty.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
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.