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 134 (135)
Praise the Lord, the wonder-worker |
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The Lord is great: our God is great above all gods.
Praise the name of the Lord:
praise it, servants of the Lord,
you who stand in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God.
Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
sing to his name, for it brings happiness.
For the Lord chose Jacob for his own,
he chose Israel for his possession.
I know how great is the Lord,
how great is our God above all gods.
The Lord accomplishes all that he wills,
in the heavens and on the earth,
in the sea and the depths of the oceans.
He brings in clouds from the ends of the earth,
makes lightning for the rain-clouds,
from his storehouse he calls forth the winds.
He struck down the first-born of Egypt,
of man and of beast alike.
He sent signs and wonders among them,
to Pharaoh and all his servants.
He shattered nation after nation,
killed powerful kings:
Sihon, king of the Amorites,
Og, the king of Bashan,
all the kingdoms of Canaan.
He gave their lands as a birthright,
as a birthright for Israel his people.
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 is great: our God is great above all gods.
House of Israel, bless the Lord, sing psalms to his name.
Lord, your name is for ever;
Lord, your name will be remembered
by generation after generation.
For the Lord will give judgement for his people,
he will look with kindness upon his servants.
The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of the hands of men.
They have mouths but will not speak,
they have eyes and will not see.
They have ears and will not hear,
there is no breath in their mouths.
They will be like them, those who make them;
and all who put their trust in them.
House of Israel, bless the Lord;
house of Aaron, bless the Lord;
house of Levi, bless the Lord;
you who fear the Lord, bless the Lord.
Blessed be the Lord from Zion,
whose abode is 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.
House of Israel, bless the Lord, sing psalms to his name.
All nations will come and worship in your presence, O Lord.
Great and wonderful are your works, Lord God Almighty;
just and true are your ways, King of all nations!
Who, Lord, will not revere and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come and worship in your presence,
for your judgements have been seen by all.
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.
All nations will come and worship in your presence, O Lord.
| Short reading | James 5:16,19-20 © |
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Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, and this will cure you: the heartfelt prayer of a good man works very powerfully. My brothers, if one of you strays away from the truth, and another brings him back to it, he may be sure that anyone who can bring back a sinner from the wrong way that he has taken will be saving a soul from death and covering up a great number of sins.
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 |
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To love your neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any sacrifice.
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.
To love your neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any sacrifice.
| Prayers and Intercessions | |
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The Lord Jesus sanctified his people with his own blood. We pray to him:
– Take pity on your people, Lord.
You are our redeemer and we believe in you. Through your Passion, make us more able to mortify our bodies; support us in our struggles against evil and adversity; and strengthen us with a firmer hope,
make us eager to celebrate your resurrection.
– Take pity on your people, Lord.
You have given Christians the gift of prophecy. Let them use it to spread news of you everywhere:
give them burning faith, hope, and charity, to confirm the story they have to tell.
– Take pity on your people, Lord.
Give your strength to all the afflicted,
and make us fulfil our duty of care to them.
– Take pity on your people, Lord.
Teach the faithful in adversity to share in your passion,
and let the light of your salvation shine out through them.
– Take pity on your people, Lord.
Source of all life, remember those who have left this life
make a gift to them of the glory of your resurrection.
– Take pity on your people, Lord.
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.
In your goodness, Lord, fill us with your grace.
Make us draw back from our human excesses
and hold fast to the heavenly wisdom that is your gift.
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.
A M E N
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.
