Sunday 20 March 2022
3rd Sunday of Lent
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.
________
Hymn
Sole hope of all the world and Lord,
Bestower of the great reward,
Receive the prayers thy servants raise
Mixed with meet psalms and chants of praise.
And though our conscience doth proclaim
Our deep transgressions and our shame,
Cleanse us, O God, we humbly plead,
From sins of thought and word and deed.
Our sins remember thou no more;
Forgive: thou art of mighty pow’r:
So take upon thee, Lord, our care
That pure in heart we make our prayer.
Therefore accept, O Lord, this tide
Of fast which thou hast sanctified,
That we may reach by mystic ways
The sacraments of Easter days.
________
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).
Lord, almighty King, deliver us for the sake of your name. Give us the grace to return to you.
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.
Lord, almighty King, deliver us for the sake of your name. Give us the grace to return to you.
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 110 (111)
Great are the works of the Lord
“How great and wonderful are all your works, Lord God Almighty” (Rev 15:3).
We were ransomed with the precious blood of Christ, the lamb who is without blemish.
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.
We were ransomed with the precious blood of Christ, the lamb who is without blemish.
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.
________
Canticle
1 Peter 2
Christ's passion, freely chosen
Ours were the sufferings he bore, ours the sorrows he carried.
Christ suffered for you,
leaving you an example
that you should follow in his steps.
He committed no sin;
no guile was found on his lips.
When he was reviled,
he did not revile in return.
When he suffered,
he did not threaten;
but he trusted to him
who judges justly.
He himself bore our sins
in his body on the tree,
that we might die to sin
and live to righteousness.
By his wounds you have been healed.
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.
Ours were the sufferings he bore, ours the sorrows he carried.
________
Short Reading
(1 Corinthians 9:24-25)
All the runners at the stadium are trying to win, but only one of them gets the prize. You must run in the same way, meaning to win. All the fighters at the games go into strict training; they do this just to win a wreath that will wither away, but we do it for a wreath that will never wither.
________
Short Responsory
Hear us, Lord, and have mercy, for we have sinned against you.
– Hear us, Lord, and have mercy, for we have sinned against you.
Listen, Christ, to the prayers of those who cry to you.
– Hear us, Lord, and have mercy, for we have sinned against you.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– Hear us, Lord, and have mercy, for we have sinned against you.
________
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
Sir, leave it one more year and give me time to dig round it and manure it: it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down. (Year C)
Or: Whoever drinks the water that I shall give, says the Lord, will never be thirsty again.
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.
Sir, leave it one more year and give me time to dig round it and manure it: it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down. (Year C)
Or: Whoever drinks the water that I shall give, says the Lord, will never be thirsty again.
________
Prayers and intercessions
God the Father has chosen for himself a people, who are born again, not from any mortal seed but from his everlasting Word. Let us praise his name and turn to him in prayer.
– Lord, have mercy on your people.
Merciful God, hear our prayers for all your people;
may they hunger more for your word than for any human food.
– Lord, have mercy on your people.
Teach us to love sincerely the people of our nation and of every race on earth;
may we work for their peace and welfare.
– Lord, have mercy on your people.
Strengthen those who will be reborn in baptism;
make them living stones in the temple of your Spirit.
– Lord, have mercy on your people.
May the dying go forward in hope to meet Christ, their judge;
may they see your face and be happy for ever.
– Lord, have mercy on your people.
________
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,
in your infinite love and goodness
you have shown us that
prayer, fasting, and almsgiving
are remedies for sin.
Accept the humble admission of our guilt,
and when our conscience weighs us down
let your unfailing mercy raise us up.
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 © 1996-2022 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.