Vespers (Evening Prayer)
O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
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.
Hail, Queen of the heavens, hail Mistress of earth;
Hail, Virgin most pure of immaculate birth:
Clear star of the morning in beauty enshrined;
O Lady, make speed to the help of mankind.
Thee God in the depth of eternity chose,
And formed thee all fair as his glorious spouse,
And called thee his own Word’s true Mother to be
By whom he created the earth, sky, and sea.
Hail, Mother most pure, hail, Virgin renowned,
Hail, Queen with the stars as a diadem crowned;
Above all the angels in glory untold,
Set next to the King in a vesture of gold.
These praises and prayers we lay at thy feet,
O Virgin of virgins, O Mary most sweet:
Be thou our true guide through this pilgrimage here,
And stand by our side when our death draweth near.
Psalm 121 (122)
Jerusalem, the holy city |
|---|
Hail Mary, full of grace: the Lord is with you. Alleluia.
They filled me with joy when they said,
“We will go to the house of the Lord.”
Now our feet are standing
within your gates, Jerusalem.
Jerusalem, built as a city,
whole and self-contained:
there the tribes have gone up,
the tribes of the Lord –
the witness of Israel,
to praise the Lord’s name.
For there are the thrones of justice,
the thrones of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“Safety for those who care for you,
peace inside your walls,
security within your ramparts!”
For my brethren and those near to me I will say
“Peace be upon you.”
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will call blessings upon you.
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.
Hail Mary, full of grace: the Lord is with you. Alleluia.
Psalm 126 (127)
Without the Lord, we labour in vain |
|---|
I am the servant of the Lord: let it be as you have said. Alleluia.
If the Lord does not build the house,
its builders labour in vain.
If the Lord does not watch over a city,
its workmen guard it in vain.
It is vain for you to rise before the dawn
and go late to your rest,
eating the bread of toil –
to those he loves, the Lord gives sleep.
The Lord bestows sons as an heirloom,
the fruit of the womb as a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior –
so are the sons of one’s youth.
Happy the man who fills his quiver thus:
when he disputes with his enemies at the gate,
he will not be the loser.
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.
I am the servant of the Lord: let it be as you have said. Alleluia.
You are most blessed of all women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Alleluia.
Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us, in Christ,
with every spiritual blessing in heaven.
In love, he chose us before the creation of the world,
to be holy and spotless in his sight.
He predestined us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ,
simply because it pleased him to do so.
This he did for the praise of the glory of his grace,
of his free gift to us in his Beloved,
in whose blood we have gained redemption,
and the forgiveness of our sins.
This he did according to the riches of his grace,
which he gave us in abundance,
with all wisdom and discernment,
revealing to us the mysteries of his will,
because it pleased him to do so.
In this action he has planned, in the fulfilment of time,
to bring all things together in Christ,
from the heavens and from the 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.
You are most blessed of all women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Alleluia.
| Short reading | Galatians 4:4-5 © |
|---|
When the appointed time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born a subject of the Law, to redeem the subjects of the Law and to enable us to be adopted as sons.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Alleluia, alleluia.
– Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
– Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Alleluia, alleluia.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Alleluia, alleluia.
| My soul rejoices in the Lord |
|---|
Happy are you, Mary, because you believed. All that the Lord said to you will be fulfilled in you. Alleluia.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God, my salvation.
For he has shown me such favour –
me, his lowly handmaiden.
Now all generations will call me blessed,
because the mighty one has done great things for me.
His name is holy,
his mercy lasts for generation after generation
for those who revere him.
He has put forth his strength:
he has scattered the proud and conceited,
torn princes from their thrones;
but lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel,
he has remembered his mercy as he promised to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children 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.
Happy are you, Mary, because you believed. All that the Lord said to you will be fulfilled in you. Alleluia.
| Prayers and Intercessions | |
|---|
God the almighty Father willed that all generations should celebrate Mary, the mother of his son. Let us praise him with great praise and humbly bring him our petitions:
– May Mary, full of grace, intercede for us.
God, worker of miracles, you lifted up the immaculate Virgin Mary, body and soul, to share the glory of Christ in heaven:
guide the hearts of your children to that same glory.
– May Mary, full of grace, intercede for us.
You gave us Mary to be our mother. Through her intercession give healing to those worn out by sickness, consolation to those who mourn and pardon to those who have done wrong;
and to all of us give salvation and peace.
– May Mary, full of grace, intercede for us.
You filled Mary with grace:
grant everyone your grace in joyful abundance.
– May Mary, full of grace, intercede for us.
Lord, make love keep your Church united, heart and soul:
make Christians persevere in prayer, united with Mary the mother of Jesus.
– May Mary, full of grace, intercede for us.
You crowned Mary as the queen of heaven:
may the dead join your saints and rejoice for ever with them in your kingdom.
– May Mary, full of grace, intercede for 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, place deep in our hearts the love of Mary, our help.
May we fight vigorously for the faith on earth
and praise your victories in heaven.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm; and may he lead us to eternal life.
AMEN
The psalms and canticles here are our own translation. The Grail translation of the psalms, which is used liturgically in most of the English-speaking world, cannot be displayed on the Web for copyright reasons. The Universalis downloads do contain the Grail translation of the psalms.
