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.
A suitable hymn may be inserted here.
Psalm 10 (11)
The Lord, support of the just |
|---|
The eyes of the Lord look down upon the poor.
I trust in the Lord, so why do you say to me:
“Fly up to the mountain like a sparrow”?
“For the wicked have drawn their bows,
fitted the arrow to the string,
to shoot in darkness at the upright of heart.
When the foundations are being overthrown,
what are the just to do?”
The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord’s throne is in heaven.
His eyes look down on the poor,
he examines the children of men.
The Lord scrutinises the just and the unjust,
and his heart hates those who do evil.
He rains down coals upon the wicked,
fire and brimstone and a scorching wind:
this is what he gives them to drink.
For the Lord is just and loves just deeds,
and the upright shall see his face.
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 eyes of the Lord look down upon the poor.
Psalm 14 (15)
Who is worthy to face the Lord? |
|---|
Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.
Lord, who will live in your tent?
Who will dwell on your holy mountain?
Whoever comes there without stain,
acts rightly, speaks truth in his heart.
Whoever does not speak deceitfully,
or do harm to his neighbour, or slander him.
Whoever despises the evil-doer,
but reveres those who fear the Lord.
Whoever swears and keeps his word, come what may
– lends his money without usury –
takes no bribe to condemn the innocent.
Whoever lives like this
will stand firm 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.
Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.
Through his Son, God chose us to be his adopted children.
Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us, in Christ,
with every spiritual blessing in heaven.
In love, he chose us before the creation of the world,
to be holy and spotless in his sight.
He predestined us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ,
simply because it pleased him to do so.
This he did for the praise of the glory of his grace,
of his free gift to us in his Beloved,
in whose blood we have gained redemption,
and the forgiveness of our sins.
This he did according to the riches of his grace,
which he gave us in abundance,
with all wisdom and discernment,
revealing to us the mysteries of his will,
because it pleased him to do so.
In this action he has planned, in the fulfilment of time,
to bring all things together in Christ,
from the heavens and from the earth.
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.
Through his Son, God chose us to be his adopted children.
| Short reading | Romans 5:8-9 © |
|---|
What proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. Having died to make us righteous, is it likely that he would now fail to save us from God’s anger?
I have said: Lord, take pity on me.
– I have said: Lord, take pity on me.
Heal my soul, for I have sinned against you.
– I have said: Lord, take pity on me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– I have said: Lord, take pity on me.
| My soul rejoices in the Lord |
|---|
‘I testify on my own behalf,’ says the Lord; ‘and the Father who sent me is my witness also.’
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.
‘I testify on my own behalf,’ says the Lord; ‘and the Father who sent me is my witness also.’
| Prayers and Intercessions | |
|---|
Let us humbly call on the Lord Jesus Christ, who rescued us, his people, from our sins.
– Jesus, Son of David, take pity on us.
We pray to you, Christ, for your holy Church. You gave yourself up to sanctify her, washing her clean with the Word of life.
Renew your Church and bring her to purity through repentance.
– Jesus, Son of David, take pity on us.
Good master, show the young the path that you have chosen for each one of them,
that they may follow the direction that is best for them.
– Jesus, Son of David, take pity on us.
You took pity on our weaknesses: raise the spirits of the sick, give them health,
and make us, too, eager to care for them.
– Jesus, Son of David, take pity on us.
Help us to remember the dignity conferred on us through baptism,
that we may always live for you.
– Jesus, Son of David, take pity on us.
Give peace to the dead, and glory;
and grant that we, like them, may one day reign with you in heaven.
– Jesus, Son of David, take pity on us.
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.
O God, your inexhaustible grace enriches us with every blessing.
Give us the gift of abandoning our old life and becoming new,
to be ready for the glory of your heavenly kingdom.
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 downloadable versions of Universalis do contain the Grail translation of the psalms.
