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.
O blest Creator of the light,
Who mak’st the day with radiance bright,
And o’er the forming world didst call
The light from chaos first of all.
Whose wisdom joined in meet array
The morn and eve, and named them day;
Night comes with all its darkling fears;
Regard thy people’s prayers and tears.
Lest, sunk in sin and ’whelmed with strife
They lose the gift of endless life;
While thinking but the thoughts of time,
They weave new chains of woe and crime.
But grant them grace that they may strain
The heavenly gate and prize to gain;
Each harmful lure aside to cast,
And purge away each error past.
O Father, that we ask be done
Through Jesus Christ, thine only Son,
Who, with the Holy Ghost and thee,
Doth live and reign eternally.
Your word is a lamp for my steps, Lord. Alleluia.
Your word is a lamp to guide my feet,
a light for my journey.
I have firmly sworn to keep your just laws.
Lord, I am greatly afflicted:
revive me as you have promised.
Lord, accept the vows I make,
and teach me your judgements.
I hold my life in my hands,
I remember your laws.
The wicked placed a trap for me,
but I did not wander from your commandments.
Your decrees are my inheritance for ever,
they are the joy of my heart:
my heart is set on carrying them out,
for ever, until the end.
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.
Your word is a lamp for my steps, Lord. Alleluia.
Psalm 15 (16)
The Lord, my inheritance |
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O Lord, you will show me the fulness of joy in your presence. Alleluia.
Preserve me, Lord,
I put my hope in you.
I have said to the Lord
“You are my Lord,
in you alone is all my good.”
As for the holy and noble men of the land,
in them is all my delight.
But for those who run to alien gods,
their sorrows are many.
I will not share in their libations of blood.
I will not speak their names.
You, Lord, are my inheritance and my cup.
You control my destiny,
the lot marked out for me is of the best,
my inheritance is all I could ask for.
I will bless the Lord who gave me understanding;
even in the night my heart will teach me wisdom.
I will hold the Lord for ever in my sight:
with him at my side I can never be shaken.
Thus it is that my heart rejoices,
heart and soul together;
while my body rests in calm hope.
You will not leave my soul in the underworld.
You will not let your chosen one see decay.
You will show me the paths of life,
the fullness of joy before your face,
and delights at your right hand until the end of time.
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.
O Lord, you will show me the fulness of joy in your presence. Alleluia.
Let every creature, in heaven and on earth, bend the knee at the name of Jesus. Alleluia.
Jesus Christ, although he shared God’s nature,
did not try to seize equality with God for himself;
but emptied himself, took on the form of a slave,
and became like a man:
not in appearance only,
for he humbled himself by accepting death,
even death on a cross.
For this, God has raised him high,
and given him the name that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bend,
in heaven, on earth, and under the earth,
and every tongue will proclaim
“Jesus Christ is Lord,”
to the glory of God the Father.
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.
Let every creature, in heaven and on earth, bend the knee at the name of Jesus. Alleluia.
| Short reading | Colossians 1:2-6 © |
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Grace and peace to you from God our Father. We have never failed to remember you in our prayers and to give thanks for you to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ever since we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you show towards all the saints because of the hope which is stored up for you in heaven. It is only recently that you heard of this, when it was announced in the message of the truth. The Good News which has reached you is spreading and bearing fruit all over the world.
From the rising of the sun to its setting, great is the name of the Lord.
– From the rising of the sun to its setting, great is the name of the Lord.
The glory of the Lord is high above the heavens.
– From the rising of the sun to its setting, great is the name of the Lord.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– From the rising of the sun to its setting, great is the name of the Lord.
| My soul rejoices in the Lord |
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‘If you want to,’ said the leper, ‘you can cure me.’ And Jesus said, ‘Be cured!’
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.
‘If you want to,’ said the leper, ‘you can cure me.’ And Jesus said, ‘Be cured!’
| Prayers and Intercessions | |
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God helps and watches over his chosen people on the path to blessedness. We thank him and call on his kindness:
– In you, Lord, we put our trust.
Merciful Father, we pray for our Pope N. and our bishop N:
give them your strength and protection and make them holy.
– In you, Lord, we put our trust.
Help the sick to unite themselves with Christ in his passion
and to receive his consolation in their sufferings.
– In you, Lord, we put our trust.
In your kindness, care for those with no roof over their heads:
may they find the decent shelter they need.
– In you, Lord, we put our trust.
Give us abundant fruits from the land,
so that all may receive their daily bread.
– In you, Lord, we put our trust.
Lord, in your great kindness look after the dead,
and grant them a dwelling-place in heaven.
– In you, Lord, we put our trust.
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.
To those who love you, Lord,
you promise to come with your Son
and make your home within them.
Come, then, with your purifying grace
and make our hearts a place where you can dwell.
[We make our prayer] 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.
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.
