Sunday 20 February 2022
7th 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.
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Hymn
In the beginning God created heaven,
The dark and empty earth;
His Spirit moved across the sombre waters
And stirred them with his breath.
Then God created light, and with its coming
The dark was swept away;
The morning came, and then the quiet evening:
The end of God’s first day.
To God the Father of the world give glory,
With Christ his only Son,
Who with the Spirit govern all creation:
Blest Trinity in One.
Stanbrook Abbey Hymnal
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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).
The Lord’s revelation to my Master: ‘Sit on my right.’ 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.
The Lord’s revelation to my Master: ‘Sit on my right.’ 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.
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Psalm 110 (111)
Great are the works of the Lord
“How great and wonderful are all your works, Lord God Almighty” (Rev 15:3).
The Lord is full of merciful love: he makes us remember his wonders. Alleluia.
I will thank the Lord with all my heart
in the meeting of the just and their assembly.
Great are the works of the Lord,
to be pondered by all who love them.
Majestic and glorious his work,
his justice stands firm for ever.
He makes us remember his wonders.
The Lord is compassion and love.
He gives food to those who fear him;
keeps his covenant ever in mind.
He has shown his might to his people
by giving them the lands of the nations.
His works are justice and truth,
his precepts are all of them sure,
standing firm for ever and ever;
they are made in uprightness and truth.
He has sent deliverance to his people
and established his covenant for ever.
Holy his name, to be feared.
To fear the Lord is the first stage of wisdom;
all who do so prove themselves wise.
His praise shall last 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 Lord is full of merciful love: he makes us remember his wonders. Alleluia.
Psalm-prayer
Merciful and gentle Lord, you are the crowning glory of all the saints. Give us, your children, the gift of obedience which is the beginning of wisdom, so that we may do what you command and be filled with your mercy.
Or:
Merciful God, splendour of the Church and crown of all saints, give us that firm faith which begets wisdom and nourish us with heavenly bread in the holy assembly. May we renew the memory of your wondrous deeds in the one sacrifice worthy of you, until we enjoy the fullness of your covenant in an eternity of happiness.
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Canticle
(Apocalypse 19)
The wedding of the Lamb
The Lord our God Almighty is king, 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.
The Lord our God Almighty is king, alleluia.
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Short Reading
1 Peter 1:3-5
Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy has given us a new birth as his sons, by raising Jesus Christ from the dead, so that we have a sure hope and the promise of an inheritance that can never be spoilt or soiled and never fade away, because it is being kept for you in the heavens. Through your faith, God’s power will guard you until the salvation which has been prepared is revealed at the end of time.
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Short Responsory
Blessed are you, O Lord, in the vault of heaven.
– Blessed are you, O Lord, in the vault of heaven.
You are exalted and glorified above all else for ever.
– Blessed are you, O Lord, in the vault of heaven.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– Blessed are you, O Lord, in the vault of heaven.
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Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
Grant pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and there will be gifts for you; because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given back. (Year C)
Or: Do not judge, and you will not be judged, says the Lord; as you judge others, so you also will be judged.
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.
Grant pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and there will be gifts for you; because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given back. (Year C)
Or: Do not judge, and you will not be judged, says the Lord; as you judge others, so you also will be judged.
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Prayers and intercessions
God is ever creative. His love renews all things and is the source of our hope. Let us turn to him in confidence:
– Lord, accept our thanks and our prayers.
We give thanks for the order of created things:
you have blessed us with the resources of the earth and the gift of human life.
– Lord, accept our thanks and our prayers.
We give thanks for man’s share in your continuing work of creation:
we praise you for your gifts to him of inventive skill and creative vision.
– Lord, accept our thanks and our prayers.
We pray for all the nations of the world:
may those in authority work for peace and goodwill among men.
– Lord, accept our thanks and our prayers.
We pray for all who are homeless today:
we pray for families searching for a place to live, and for refugees driven from their homeland.
– Lord, accept our thanks and our prayers.
Life was your first gift to us:
may those who have died come to its fullness in you.
– Lord, accept our thanks and our prayers.
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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.
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Grant, almighty God,
that with our thoughts always on the things of the Spirit
we may please you in all that we say and do.
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.
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The Lord bless us, and keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
Copyright © 1996-2022 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.