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 109 (110)
The Messiah, king and priest |
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God has appointed him to judge everyone, alive or dead.
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.
God has appointed him to judge everyone, alive or dead.
Psalm 111 (112)
How blessed are the just |
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Happy the man on whom the Lord takes pity: he will never be shaken.
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord
and loves his commands above all things.
His seed will be powerful on earth:
the descendants of the just will be blessed.
Glory and riches will fill his house,
and his righteousness will stand firm for ever.
He rises up in the darkness,
a light for the upright,
compassionate, generous, and just.
Happy the man who takes pity and lends,
who directs his affairs with wisdom –
he will never be shaken.
The just man will be remembered for ever,
no slander will he fear.
His heart is ready, hoping in the Lord;
his heart is strong, it will not fear,
until he looks down on his defeated enemies.
He gives alms and helps the poor:
his righteousness will endure for ever,
his future will be glorious.
The transgressor will see, and be enraged:
he will grind his teeth and fade away.
The desires of the wicked will perish.
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.
Happy the man on whom the Lord takes pity: he will never be shaken.
| Christ's passion, freely chosen |
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Through the mouths of the prophets God foretold that his Anointed would suffer; and he fulfilled the prophecy.
Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, to follow in his path.
He committed no sin, in his speech there was no deceit;
when they cursed him, he did not curse them;
when he suffered, he did not threaten retribution, but committed them to the one just judge.
He endured our sins in the sufferings of his body on the tree,
so that we would die to our sins and live for righteousness –
and by his bruises you have been healed.
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 the mouths of the prophets God foretold that his Anointed would suffer; and he fulfilled the prophecy.
| Short reading | (1 Corinthians 9:24-25) © |
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All the runners at the stadium are trying to win, but only one of them gets the prize. You must run in the same way, meaning to win. All the fighters at the games go into strict training; they do this just to win a wreath that will wither away, but we do it for a wreath that will never wither.
Lord, listen and take pity on us, for we have sinned against you.
– Lord, listen and take pity on us, for we have sinned against you.
Christ, hear those who cry to you.
– Lord, listen and take pity on us, for we have sinned against you.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– Lord, listen and take pity on us, for we have sinned against you.
| My soul rejoices in the Lord |
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My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.
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.
My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.
| Prayers and Intercessions | |
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Christ is the head and we are the body. Let us always give praise to our master, who came to serve all and do good for all. Humbly and faithfully, we ask him:
– Come, Lord, to your family.
Lord, lend your strength to the bishops and priests of your Church, who share your task as head and as shepherd.
Let them lead all men to the Father through you.
– Come, Lord, to your family.
Send your angel to accompany travellers,
keeping body and soul safe from the traps that await them.
– Come, Lord, to your family.
Teach us to serve men
like you, who came to serve, not to be served.
– Come, Lord, to your family.
Make every human community a place where brother helps brother;
may your presence make it like a city built on rock.
– Come, Lord, to your family.
Take pity on all the dead,
and bring them into the light of your presence.
– Come, Lord, to your family.
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, through your incarnate Word you miraculously reconcile the human race to yourself.
We ask you to grant that the whole Christian people
may hurry towards Easter with ready devotion and eager faith.
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.
