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Vespers (Evening Prayer)

INTRODUCTION

Deus, in adiutórium meum inténde.

Dómine, ad adiuvándum me festína.

Glória Patri et Fílio*

et Spirítui Sancto.

Sicut erat in princípio et nunc et semper*

et in sǽcula sæculórum.

Amen. Allelúia.

INTRODUCTION

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.

Hymnus

Vir celse, forma fúlgida

virtútis, hymnum súscipe,

qui iure dum te prǽdicat,

Dei canit magnália.

Qui sempitérnus Póntifex

stirpem Deo mortálium

revínxit, atque réddidit

paci novo nos fœ́dere,

Te fecit ipse próvidus

sui minístrum múneris,

Patri datúrum glóriam

eiúsque vitam plébibus.

Virtúte factus dítior

te consecrántis Spíritus,

præsul, salútis pínguia

tu tradidísti pábula.

Locátus in cæléstibus,

sanctæ meménto Ecclésiæ,

oves ut omnes páscua

Christi petant felícia.

Sit Trinitáti glória,

quæ sancti honóris múnia

tibi minístro sédulo

dignis corónat gáudiis. Amen.

Hymn

Who are these like stars appearing,

these, before God’s throne who stand?

Each a golden crown is wearing;

who are all this glorious band?

Alleluia! Hark, they sing,

praising loud their heavenly King.

Who are these of dazzling brightness,

clothed in God’s own righteousness?

These, whose robes of purest whiteness,

shall their lustre still possess,

still untouched by time’s rude hand?

Whence came all this glorious band?

These are they who have contended

for their Saviour’s honour long,

wrestling on till life was ended,

following not the sinful throng;

these who well the fight sustained,

triumph through the Lamb have gained.

These are they whose hearts were riven,

sore with woe and anguish tried,

who in prayer full oft have striven

with the God they glorified;

now, their painful conflict o’er,

God has bid them weep no more.

These, the Almighty contemplating,

did as priests before him stand,

soul and body always waiting

day and night at his command:

now in God’s most holy place

blest they stand before his face.

Ps 138:1-12
Dominus intuens omnia

“Quis cognovit sensum Domini? Aut quis consiliarius eius fuit?” (Rom 11, 34).

Nox sicut dies illuminábitur, allelúia.

1Dómine, scrutátus es et cognovísti me,*

2tu cognovísti sessiónem meam et resurrectiónem meam.

Intellexísti cogitatiónes meas de longe,*

3sémitam meam et accúbitum meum investigásti.

Et omnes vias meas perspexísti,†

4quia nondum est sermo in lingua mea,*

et ecce, Dómine, tu novísti ómnia.

5A tergo et a fronte coartásti me*

et posuísti super me manum tuam.

6Mirábilis nimis facta est sciéntia tua super me,*

sublímis, et non attíngam eam.

7Quo ibo a spíritu tuo*

et quo a fácie tua fúgiam?

8Si ascéndero in cælum, tu illic es;*

si descéndero in inférnum, ades.

9Si súmpsero pennas auróræ*

et habitávero in extrémis maris,

10étiam illuc manus tua dedúcet me,*

et tenébit me déxtera tua.

11Si díxero: «Fórsitan ténebræ cómpriment me,*

et nox illuminátio erit circa me»,

12étiam ténebræ non obscurabúntur a te,†

et nox sicut dies illuminábitur*

— sicut ténebræ eius ita et lumen eius —.

Glória Patri et Fílio*

et Spirítui Sancto.

Sicut erat in princípio et nunc et semper*

et in sǽcula sæculórum.

Amen.

Nox sicut dies illuminábitur, allelúia.

Psalm 138 (139)
The Lord knows all things

Night will be as clear as the day. Alleluia.

Lord, you have examined me, you know me:

you know when I sit down and when I rise.

From far away you know my thoughts:

you know every step I take,

when I walk, when I lie down:

you have seen all that I do.

Before a word even reaches my lips,

you know, Lord, all that I will say.

You are close in front of me and close behind me:

you have laid your hand upon me.

Your knowledge is beyond my understanding:

it is too high, I cannot reach it.

Where shall I go, to escape your spirit?

Where shall I go, to flee your face?

If I rise to the heavens, you are there.

If I sink to the depths, you are there.

If I put on the wings of the dawn itself –

if I make my abode beyond the farthest sea –

it is still your hand that will lead me there,

it is still your right hand that will hold me.

If I say “May the shadows cover me:

let there be no light around me” –

the shadows will not hide me from you,

and the night will shine like the day:

for shadows and light are the same to you.

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.

Night will be as clear as the day. Alleluia.

Ps 138:13-18,23-24

Ego cognósco oves meas, et cognóscunt me meæ, allelúia.

13Quia tu formásti renes meos,*

contexuísti me in útero matris meæ.

14Confitébor tibi, quia mirabíliter plasmátus sum;†

mirabília ópera tua,*

et ánima mea cognóscit nimis.

15Non sunt abscóndita ossa mea a te,†

cum factus sum in occúlto,*

contéxtus in inferióribus terræ.

16Imperféctum adhuc me vidérunt óculi tui,†

et in libro tuo scripti erant omnes dies:*

ficti erant, et nondum erat unus ex eis.

17Mihi autem nimis pretiósæ cogitatiónes tuæ, Deus;*

nimis gravis summa eárum.

18Si dinumerábo eas, super arénam multiplicabúntur;*

si ad finem pervénerim, adhuc sum tecum.

23Scrutáre me, Deus, et scito cor meum;*

proba me et cognósce sémitas meas

24et vide, si via vanitátis in me est,*

et deduc me in via ætérna.

Glória Patri et Fílio*

et Spirítui Sancto.

Sicut erat in princípio et nunc et semper*

et in sǽcula sæculórum.

Amen.

Ego cognósco oves meas, et cognóscunt me meæ, allelúia.

Psalm 138 (139)

I know my sheep, and they know me. Alleluia.

For you created my innermost being

as you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I will praise you, for you made me so wonderfully:

so wonderful are your works,

so perfect your knowledge.

Even my bones were not hidden from you

as I was being created in secret,

put together in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw me before ever I was completed.

All my days were written in your book

before any of them came into being.

Your thoughts, O God, are precious to me:

precious above all things and too many to count.

If I try to count them, they are more than the sand:

if I come to an end, still I am with you.

Look into me, God, and know my heart:

examine me and know my paths.

See if I am wandering on ways that lead nowhere,

and set my feet on the path to eternity.

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 know my sheep, and they know me. Alleluia.

Canticum	cf. Col 1:12-20

Christus primogenitus omnis creaturæ et primogenitus ex mortuis

Opéruit cælos glória eius, et laudis eius plena est terra, allelúia.

12Grátias agámus Deo Patri,*

qui idóneos nos fecit in partem sortis sanctórum in lúmine;

13qui erípuit nos de potestáte tenebrárum*

et tránstulit in regnum Fílii dilectiónis suæ,

14in quo habémus redemptiónem,*

remissiónem peccatórum;

15qui est imágo Dei invisíbilis,*

primogénitus omnis creatúræ,

16quia in ipso cóndita sunt univérsa†

in cælis et in terra,*

visibília et invisibília,

sive throni sive dominatiónes*

sive principátus sive potestátes.

Omnia per ipsum et in ipsum creáta sunt,†

17et ipse est ante ómnia,*

et ómnia in ipso constant.

18Et ipse est caput córporis ecclésiæ;†

qui est princípium, primogénitus ex mórtuis,*

ut sit in ómnibus ipse primátum tenens,

19quia in ipso complácuit omnem plenitúdinem habitáre*

20et per eum reconciliáre ómnia in ipsum,

pacíficans per sánguinem crucis eius,*

sive quæ in terris sive quæ in cælis sunt.

Glória Patri et Fílio*

et Spirítui Sancto.

Sicut erat in princípio et nunc et semper*

et in sǽcula sæculórum.

Amen.

Opéruit cælos glória eius, et laudis eius plena est terra, allelúia.

Canticle	(Colossians 1)

Christ, firstborn of all creatures and firstborn from the dead

His majesty covers the heavens, the earth is filled with his praise. Alleluia.

Let us give thanks to God the Father,

who has made us worthy to share in the light that is the saints’ inheritance.

He has rescued us from the power of the shadows

and brought us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,

in whom we have redemption

and the forgiveness of sins.

He is the image of the invisible God,

the first-born of all creation,

for in him all things were created,

in heaven and on earth,

visible and invisible,

thrones and dominations,

principalities and powers.

All things were created through him and for him:

he is before all things,

and in him all things hold together.

And he is the head of the body, the Church.

He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead,

and so he is pre-eminent above all.

For it was the Father’s will that the fullness of God should dwell in him,

and that through him all things should be reconciled to himself.

Through the blood of the Cross he brought peace to all things,

both on Earth and in the heavens.

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.

His majesty covers the heavens, the earth is filled with his praise. Alleluia.

Lectio brevis	1 Petr 5:1-4

Senióres, qui in vobis sunt, óbsecro, consénior et testis Christi passiónum, qui et eius, quæ in futúro revelánda est, glóriæ communicátor: Páscite, qui est in vobis, gregem Dei, providéntes non coácto sed spontánee secúndum Deum, neque turpis lucri grátia sed voluntárie, neque ut dominántes in cleris sed formæ facti gregis. Et cum apparúerit Princeps pastórum, percipiétis immarcescíbilem glóriæ corónam.

Scripture Reading	1 Peter 5:1-4 ©

Now I have something to tell your elders: I am an elder myself, and a witness to the sufferings of Christ, and with you I have a share in the glory that is to be revealed. Be the shepherds of the flock of God that is entrusted to you: watch over it, not simply as a duty but gladly, because God wants it; not for sordid money, but because you are eager to do it. Never be a dictator over any group that is put in your charge, but be an example that the whole flock can follow. When the chief shepherd appears, you will be given the crown of unfading glory.

Responsorium breve

℣. Hic est fratrum amátor, qui multum orat pro pópulo, * Allelúia, allelúia. Hic est.

℟. Et ánimam suam trádidit pro frátribus suis.* Allelúia, allelúia. Glória Patri. Hic est.

Short Responsory

This is a man who loves his brothers and intercedes for the people. Alleluia, alleluia.

– This is a man who loves his brothers and intercedes for the people. Alleluia, alleluia.

He laid down his life for his brothers.

– This is a man who loves his brothers and intercedes for the people. Alleluia, alleluia.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

– This is a man who loves his brothers and intercedes for the people. Alleluia, alleluia.

Canticum

Exsultatio animæ in Domino

Iste est fidélis et prudens dispensátor, quem constítuit Dóminus super famíliam suam, ut daret illis in témpore trítici mensúram, allelúia.

Vel: Grátias tibi ago, Christe, pastor bone, qui me ad hanc glóriam perdúcere dignátus es; peto ergo ut oves, quas tradidísti mihi, participéntur mecum de grátia tua in sempitérnum, allelúia.

Magníficat*

ánima mea Dóminum,

et exsultávit spíritus meus*

in Deo salvatóre meo,

quia respéxit humilitátem ancíllæ suæ.*

Ecce enim ex hoc beátam me dicent omnes generatiónes,

quia fecit mihi magna, qui potens est,*

et sanctum nomen eius,

et misericórdia eius in progénies et progénies*

timéntibus eum.

Fecit poténtiam in bráchio suo,*

dispérsit supérbos mente cordis sui;

depósuit poténtes de sede*

et exaltávit húmiles;

esuriéntes implévit bonis*

et dívites dimísit inánes.

Suscépit Israel púerum suum,*

recordátus misericórdiæ,

sicut locútus est ad patres nostros,*

Abraham et sémini eius in sǽcula.

Glória Patri et Fílio*

et Spirítui Sancto.

Sicut erat in princípio et nunc et semper*

et in sǽcula sæculórum.

Amen.

Iste est fidélis et prudens dispensátor, quem constítuit Dóminus super famíliam suam, ut daret illis in témpore trítici mensúram, allelúia.

Canticle	Magnificat

My soul rejoices in the Lord

This is the faithful and wise steward whom the Master placed over his household to give them their measure of food at the proper time. Alleluia.

Or: I thank you, Christ, for honouring me by leading me to this glory. You are the good shepherd; I pray that the sheep which you have placed in my charge will share with me in your glory for ever. 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.

This is the faithful and wise steward whom the Master placed over his household to give them their measure of food at the proper time. Alleluia.

Preces

Christum, pro homínibus pontíficem constitútum in iis quæ sunt ad Deum, dignis láudibus celebrémus, humíliter deprecántes: