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.
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator, come
from thy bright heav’nly throne.
Come, take possession of our souls
and make them all thine own.
Thou who art called the Paraclete,
blest gift of God above,
the living spring, the living fire,
sweet unction and true love.
Thou who art sev’nfold in thy grace,
finger of God’s right hand;
his promise, teaching little ones
to speak and understand.
O guide our minds with thy blest light,
with love our hearts in-flame;
and with thy strength, which ne’er decays
confirm our mortal frame.
Far from us drive our deadly foe,
true peace unto us bring;
and through all perils lead us safe
beneath thy sacred wing.
Through thee may we the Father know,
through thee th’eternal Son,
and thee the Spirit of them both,
thrice-blessèd Three in One.
Psalm 112 (113)
Praise of the Lord's name
The Lord God is high above the heavens; and from the dust he lifts up the lowly, alleluia.
Praise, servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord.
Let the Lord’s name be blessed,
now and for ever.
From the sun’s rising to its setting,
the Lord’s name is to be praised.
The Lord is high over all peoples,
his glory is above the heavens.
Who is like the Lord our God, who lives on high,
who bends down to watch over heaven and earth?
He raises the weak from the ground,
the poor from the dunghill,
raises them among the princes,
the princes of his people.
He gives the barren woman a household,
makes her the happy mother of children.
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 Lord God is high above the heavens; and from the dust he lifts up the lowly, alleluia.
Psalm 115 (116B)
Thanksgiving in the Temple
You have loosened my bonds, Lord: a sacrifice of praise I will make to you, 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.
You have loosened my bonds, Lord: a sacrifice of praise I will make to you, alleluia.
Christ, God's servant
The Son of God learned to obey through suffering, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. Alleluia.
Jesus Christ, although he shared God’s nature,
did not try to cling to his equality with God;
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.
The Son of God learned to obey through suffering, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. Alleluia.
| Short Reading | 1 Peter 2:9-10 © |
|---|
You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people set apart to sing the praises of God who called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people at all and now you are the People of God; once you were outside the mercy and now you have been given mercy.
The disciples rejoiced, alleluia, alleluia.
– The disciples rejoiced, alleluia, alleluia.
They saw the Lord, alleluia, alleluia.
– The disciples rejoiced, alleluia, alleluia.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– The disciples rejoiced, alleluia, alleluia.
My soul rejoices in the Lord
Holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one like us. Alleluia. (Year B)
Or: I will not leave you desolate like orphans. I am going now, but I will return to you and then your hearts will be filled with joy. 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.
Holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one like us. Alleluia. (Year B)
Or: I will not leave you desolate like orphans. I am going now, but I will return to you and then your hearts will be filled with joy. Alleluia.
| Prayers and intercessions | |
|---|
Blessed be Christ, the Son of God. At the Jordan the Holy Spirit descended on him in the form of a dove. Let us confirm our prayer to him by saying:
– Amen. Amen.
Lord Jesus, send forth your Holy Spirit to renew the life of the Church
and make her radiant with hope.
– Amen. Amen.
May all the nations praise you as their king and Lord;
make Israel the people whom you call your own.
– Amen. Amen.
Make us generous, make us humble;
let us forget our own needs in the service of others.
– Amen. Amen.
At Pentecost you reversed the disaster of Babel, which divided and confused the family of man;
through your Holy Spirit let all men speak the same language of faith and love.
– Amen. Amen.
May your Holy Spirit dwell within us
to give life to our mortal bodies.
– Amen. Amen.
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,
we believe that the Saviour of mankind
is enthroned with you in majesty.
Listen to our prayer,
and, according to his promise,
let us feel his presence among us
to the end of time.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
(one) 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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