Vespers (Evening Prayer)
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.
Leader now on earth no longer,
soldier of the eternal king,
victor in the fight for heaven,
we thy loving praises sing.
Great Saint George, our patron, help us,
in the conflict be thou nigh;
help us in that daily battle,
where each one must win or die.
Praise him who in deadly battle
never shrank from foeman’s sword,
proof against all earthly weapon,
gave his life for Christ the Lord.
Who, when earthly war was over,
fought, but not for earth’s renown;
fought, and won a nobler glory,
won the martyr’s purple crown.
Help us when temptation presses,
we have still our crown to win,
help us when our soul is weary
fighting with the powers of sin.
Clothe us in thy shining armour,
place thy good sword in our hand;
teach us how to wield it, fighting
onward to the heavenly land.
Onward, till, our striving over,
on life’s battlefield we fall,
resting then, but ever ready,
waiting for the angel’s call.
Great Saint George, our patron, help us,
in the conflict be thou nigh;
help us in that daily battle,
where each one must win or die.
Psalm 114 (116A)
Thanksgiving
If anyone wishes to be a follower of mine, he must deny himself; he must take up his cross and come with me. Alleluia.
I love the Lord, for he has heard
the cry of my appeal;
because he has turned his ear to me as I call on him,
day by day.
The ropes of death surrounded me,
Hell held me tight,
I had found pain and tribulation –
but I called on the Lord’s name:
“O Lord, free my soul.”
The Lord is compassionate and just;
our God takes pity on us.
The Lord cares for the simple –
I was brought low, but he saved me.
Return, my soul, to your rest,
for the Lord has looked after you;
he has rescued my spirit from death, my eyes from tears,
he has saved my feet from stumbling.
I shall walk in the presence of the Lord
in the land of the living.
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.
If anyone wishes to be a follower of mine, he must deny himself; he must take up his cross and come with me. Alleluia.
Psalm 115 (116B)
Thanksgiving in the Temple
If anyone serves me, my Father will honour him. Alleluia.
Still I trusted, even when I said
“I am greatly afflicted,”
when I said in my terror,
“all men are liars.”
How shall I repay the Lord
for all he has done for me?
I will take up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord.
I will fulfil my vows to the Lord
before all his people.
Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his faithful.
O Lord, I am your servant,
your maidservant’s son.
You have torn apart my chains:
I will make you a sacrifice of praise,
I will call on the name of the Lord.
I will fulfil my vows to the Lord
before all his people,
in the courts of the house of the Lord,
within your walls, Jerusalem.
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.
If anyone serves me, my Father will honour him. Alleluia.
The song of the redeemed
If anyone denies himself for my sake, he will receive eternal life. Alleluia.
You are worthy, our Lord and our God,
to receive glory and honour and power;
for you made all things,
and it is by your will that they exist and were created.
You are worthy, Lord,
to receive the book and open its seals,
for you were killed,
and with your blood you have ransomed people
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and made them rulers and priests for God;
and they will rule over the earth.
The Lamb is worthy, who was killed,
to receive power and riches and wisdom,
strength and honour, glory and blessing.
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.
If anyone denies himself for my sake, he will receive eternal life. Alleluia.
| Scripture Reading |
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| Apocalypse 7:14-17 © |
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These are the people who have been through the great persecution, and because they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb, they now stand in front of God’s throne and serve him day and night in his sanctuary; and the One who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. They will never hunger or thirst again; neither the sun nor scorching wind will ever plague them, because the Lamb who is at the throne will be their shepherd and will lead them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away all tears from their eyes.
You have tested us, God, and you have brought us out into freedom again. Alleluia, alleluia.
– You have tested us, God, and you have brought us out into freedom again. Alleluia, alleluia.
You have refined us like silver.
– You have tested us, God, and you have brought us out into freedom again. Alleluia, alleluia.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– You have tested us, God, and you have brought us out into freedom again. Alleluia, alleluia.
My soul rejoices in the Lord
Unless the wheat grain falls on the earth and dies, it remains itself alone; but if it dies it yields much fruit, 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.
Unless the wheat grain falls on the earth and dies, it remains itself alone; but if it dies it yields much fruit, alleluia.
| Prayers and intercessions | |
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Let us give thanks to the king of martyrs, for this is the hour when he offered himself in the last supper and laid down his life on the cross.
– We praise you, Christ the Lord.
We praise you, Christ our Saviour, example and strength of the martyrs, because you have loved us to the end;
– We praise you, Christ the Lord.
Because you have promised repentant sinners the reward of eternal life,
– We praise you, Christ the Lord.
Because you have called the Church to offer the blood of the new and eternal covenant, the blood shed for the remission of sins,
– We praise you, Christ the Lord.
Because you have brought us to this day with the gift of faith intact,
– We praise you, Christ the Lord.
Because of the many brothers who today have come to share in your saving death,
– We praise you, Christ the Lord.
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.
Proclaiming your glory, Lord,
we humbly ask that as Saint George imitated Christ in his passion,
so he may be a ready helper in our weakness.
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.
The psalms and canticles here are our own translation from the Latin. 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 apps and programs do contain the Grail translation of the psalms.
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