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.
Come, O Creator Spirit, come,
And make within our hearts thy home;
To us thy grace celestial give,
Who of thy breathing move and live.
O Comforter, that name is thine,
Of God most high the gift divine;
The well of life, the fire of love,
Our souls’ anointing from above.
Our senses with thy light inflame,
Our hearts to heavenly love reclaim;
Our bodies’ poor infirmity
With strength perpetual fortify.
May we by thee the Father learn,
And know the Son, and thee discern,
Who art of both; and thus adore
In perfect faith for evermore.
All laud to God the Father be;
All praise, O risen Son, to thee;
All glory, as is ever meet,
To God the Holy Paraclete.
Psalm 109 (110)
The Messiah, king and priest |
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The Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world. Alleluia.
The Lord has said to my lord:
“Sit at my right hand
while I make your enemies your footstool.”
From Zion the Lord will give you a sceptre,
and you will rule in the midst of your foes.
Royal power is yours in the day of your strength,
among the sacred splendours.
Before the dawn, I begot you from the womb.
The Lord has sworn, and he will not repent:
“You are a priest for ever,
a priest of the priesthood of Melchisedech.”
The Lord is at your right hand,
and on the day of his anger he will shatter kings.
He will drink from the stream as he goes –
he will hold his head high.
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 Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world. Alleluia.
Psalm 113A (114)
Israel set free from Egypt |
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Send forth your power, Lord, from your holy temple in Jerusalem, and bring to perfection your work among us. Alleluia.
When Israel came out of Egypt,
Jacob’s people from a land of strangers,
Judah became his sanctuary
and Israel his domain.
The sea saw it, and fled;
the Jordan flowed backwards at the sight;
the mountains leapt like rams;
the hills, like yearling sheep.
Sea, what was it, what made you flee?
And you, Jordan, why did you flow uphill?
Mountains, why did you leap like rams?
Hills, like yearling sheep?
Tremble, Earth, at the presence of the Lord,
the presence of the Lord of Jacob,
who has turned the rock into a pool of water
and made a fountain out of the flint.
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.
Send forth your power, Lord, from your holy temple in Jerusalem, and bring to perfection your work among us. Alleluia.
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak. Alleluia.
Alleluia.
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
because his judgements are true and just.
Alleluia.
Alleluia.
Praise our God, all his servants,
and you who fear him, small and great.
Alleluia.
Alleluia.
For the Lord reigns, our God, the Almighty:
let us rejoice and exult and give him glory.
Alleluia.
Alleluia.
The marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his spouse 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.
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak. Alleluia.
| Short reading | Ephesians 4:3-6 © |
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Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together. There is one Body, one Spirit, just as you were all called into one and the same hope when you were called. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God who is Father of all, over all, through all and within all.
The Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world. Alleluia, alleluia.
– The Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world. Alleluia, alleluia.
He keeps all things in being and understands all that is said.
– The Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world. Alleluia, alleluia.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– The Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world. Alleluia, alleluia.
| My soul rejoices in the Lord |
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Today the days of Pentecost are completed, alleluia. Today the Holy Spirit appeared to the disciples in the fire and bestowed gifts of grace on them and sent them to preach and testify across the world. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. 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.
Today the days of Pentecost are completed, alleluia. Today the Holy Spirit appeared to the disciples in the fire and bestowed gifts of grace on them and sent them to preach and testify across the world. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. Alleluia.
| Prayers and Intercessions | |
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Let us pray with devotion to God the Father, who through Christ has gathered together his Church:
– Send your Holy Spirit into the Church.
It is your will that all who bear the name of Christians should be united by one baptism in the Spirit:
give all believers one heart and one soul.
– Send your Holy Spirit into the Church.
You sent the Spirit to fill the whole world:
may all men build up our society in justice and peace.
– Send your Holy Spirit into the Church.
Lord, God, Father of all, it is your will that your scattered children should be brought back together in one faith:
enlighten the whole world with the grace of the Holy Spirit.
– Send your Holy Spirit into the Church.
Through the Spirit you renew all ages:
heal the sick, comfort the afflicted, bestow salvation on all.
– Send your Holy Spirit into the Church.
Through the Spirit you raised your Son from the dead:
give our mortal bodies eternal life.
– Send your Holy Spirit into the Church.
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 God,
you sanctify your Church in every race and nation
by the mystery we celebrate on this day.
Pour out the gifts of the Holy Spirit on all mankind,
and fulfil now in the hearts of your faithful
what you accomplished when the Gospel was first preached on earth.
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.
