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.
Bless’d be the Lord our God!
With joy let heaven ring;
Before his presence let all earth
Its songs of homage bring!
His mighty deeds be told;
His majesty be praised;
To God, enthroned in heavenly light,
Let every voice be raised!
All that has life and breath,
Give thanks with heartfelt songs!
To him let all creation sing
To whom all praise belongs!
Acclaim the Father’s love,
Who gave us God his Son;
Praise too the Spirit, given by both,
With both for ever one!
Psalm 118 (119): 105-112
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
O Lord, you will show me the fullness 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 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.
O Lord, you will show me the fullness of joy in your presence. Alleluia.
Christ, God's servant
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 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.
Let every creature, in heaven and on earth, bend the knee at the name of Jesus. Alleluia.
| Short Reading |
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| 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.
High above the heavens is his glory.
– 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
No-one who works a miracle in my name is likely to speak evil of me. Anyone who is not against us is for us. (Year B)
Or: It is not the man who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the man who does the will of my Father. 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.
No-one who works a miracle in my name is likely to speak evil of me. Anyone who is not against us is for us. (Year B)
Or: It is not the man who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the man who does the will of my Father. Alleluia.
| Prayers and intercessions | |
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God our Father leads us forward with great love towards the joyful day when we enter his rest.
– Our hope is all in you, Lord God.
Father, we pray for N., our Pope, and N., our bishop:
guide them and bless them in their work.
– Our hope is all in you, Lord God.
Help the sick to share their sufferings with Christ:
may they know in him the fullness of life and love.
– Our hope is all in you, Lord God.
Lord, you found nowhere to lay your head:
make us aware of the needs of the homeless today.
– Our hope is all in you, Lord God.
Bless those who work on the land:
may we receive the fruits of the earth with thankfulness.
– Our hope is all in you, Lord God.
Father, have mercy on those who have died in the peace of Christ:
receive them into the home you have prepared for them.
– Our hope is all in you, Lord God.
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,
you reveal your mighty power
most of all by your forgiveness and compassion:
fill us constantly with your grace
as we hasten to share the joys you have promised us in heaven.
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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