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.
All hail the power of Jesus’ name;
Let Angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem
To crown him Lord of all.
Crown him, ye Martyrs of your God,
Who from his altar call;
Praise him whose way of pain ye trod,
And crown him Lord of all.
Hail him, ye heirs of David’s line,
Whom David Lord did call;
The God Incarnate, Man Divine,
And crown him Lord of all.
Let every tribe and every tongue
To him their hearts enthral,
Lift high the universal song,
And crown him Lord of all.
Psalm 134 (135)
Praise the Lord, the wonder-worker
I, the Lord, am your Saviour, I am your Redeemer. Alleluia.
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.
I, the Lord, am your Saviour, I am your Redeemer. Alleluia.
Psalm 134 (135)
Blessed is the kingdom of our father David which has come among us. Alleluia.
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.
Blessed is the kingdom of our father David which has come among us. Alleluia.
A hymn of adoration
Let us sing to the Lord: great is his triumph. Alleluia.
Great and wonderful are your deeds,
O Lord God the Almighty!
Just and true are your ways,
O King of the ages!
Who shall not fear and glorify your name, O Lord?
For you alone are holy.
All nations shall come and worship you,
for your judgements have been revealed.
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 us sing to the Lord: great is his triumph. Alleluia.
| Scripture Reading |
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| Apocalypse 7:14-17 © |
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These are the people who have been through the great persecution, and because they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb, they now stand in front of God’s throne and serve him day and night in his sanctuary; and the One who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. They will never hunger or thirst again; neither the sun nor scorching wind will ever plague them, because the Lamb who is at the throne will be their shepherd and will lead them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away all tears from their eyes.
You have tested us, God, and you have brought us out into freedom again. Alleluia, alleluia.
– You have tested us, God, and you have brought us out into freedom again. Alleluia, alleluia.
You have refined us like silver.
– You have tested us, God, and you have brought us out into freedom again. Alleluia, alleluia.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– You have tested us, God, and you have brought us out into freedom again. Alleluia, alleluia.
My soul rejoices in the Lord
Unless the wheat grain falls on the earth and dies, it remains itself alone; but if it dies it yields much fruit, 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.
Unless the wheat grain falls on the earth and dies, it remains itself alone; but if it dies it yields much fruit, alleluia.
| Prayers and intercessions | |
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Let us give thanks to the king of martyrs, for this is the hour when he offered himself in the last supper and laid down his life on the cross.
– We praise you, Christ the Lord.
We praise you, Christ our Saviour, example and strength of the martyrs, because you have loved us to the end;
– We praise you, Christ the Lord.
Because you have promised repentant sinners the reward of eternal life,
– We praise you, Christ the Lord.
Because you have called the Church to offer the blood of the new and eternal covenant, the blood shed for the remission of sins,
– We praise you, Christ the Lord.
Because you have brought us to this day with the gift of faith intact,
– We praise you, Christ the Lord.
Because of the many brothers who today have come to share in your saving death,
– We praise you, Christ the 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.
God, who adorned your loyal confessor Alphege
with the dignity of priesthood and the palm of martyrdom,
grant us this boon,
that with his aid in pleading our cause before you,
we may be enabled to rejoice with him in everlasting bliss.
We make our prayer 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.
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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