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.
Holy God, we praise thy name;
Lord of all, we bow before thee!
All on earth thy sceptre own,
All in heaven above adore thee.
Infinite thy vast domain,
Everlasting is thy reign.
Hark! the loud celestial hymn,
Angel choirs above are raising;
Cherubim and seraphim,
In unceasing chorus praising,
Fill the heavens with sweet accord:
Holy, holy, holy, Lord.
Holy Father, holy Son,
Holy Spirit, three we name thee.
While in essence only one
Undivided God we claim thee;
And adoring bend the knee,
While we own the mystery.
Spare thy people, Lord, we pray,
By a thousand snares surrounded;
Keep us without sin today;
Never let us be confounded.
Lo, I put my trust in thee;
Never, Lord, abandon me.
Psalm 121 (122)
Jerusalem, the holy city
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
They filled me with joy when they said,
“We will go to the house of the Lord.”
Now our feet are standing
within your gates, Jerusalem.
Jerusalem, built as a city,
whole and self-contained:
there the tribes have gone up,
the tribes of the Lord –
the witness of Israel,
to praise the Lord’s name.
For there are the thrones of justice,
the thrones of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“Safety for those who care for you,
peace inside your walls,
security within your ramparts!”
For my brethren and those near to me I will say
“Peace be upon you.”
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will call blessings upon 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.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Psalm 129 (130)
Out of the depths
From the morning watch even until night my soul is longing for the Lord.
Out of the depths I have cried to you, Lord:
Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears listen out
for the voice of my pleading.
If you took notice of our transgressions, Lord –
Lord, who would be left?
But with you is forgiveness,
and for this we revere you.
I rely on you, Lord,
my spirit relies on your promise;
my soul hopes in the Lord,
more than the watchman for daybreak.
More than the watchman for daybreak,
let Israel hope in the Lord:
for with the Lord there is kindness
and abundant redemption.
He himself will redeem Israel
from all its transgressions.
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.
From the morning watch even until night my soul is longing for the Lord.
Christ, God's servant
Let every creature, in heaven and on earth, bend the knee at the name of Jesus. Alleluia.
Jesus Christ, although he shared God’s nature,
did not try to cling to his equality with God;
but emptied himself, took on the form of a slave,
and became like a man:
not in appearance only,
for he humbled himself by accepting death,
even death on a cross.
For this, God has raised him high,
and given him the name that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bend,
in heaven, on earth, and under the earth,
and every tongue will proclaim
“Jesus Christ is Lord,”
to the glory of God the Father.
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 every creature, in heaven and on earth, bend the knee at the name of Jesus. Alleluia.
| Scripture Reading | 2 Peter 1:19-21 |
|---|
We have confirmation of what was said in prophecies; and you will be right to depend on prophecy and take it as a lamp for lighting a way through the dark until the dawn comes and the morning star rises in your minds. At the same time, we must be most careful to remember that the interpretation of scriptural prophecy is never a matter for the individual. Why? Because no prophecy ever came from man’s initiative. When men spoke for God it was the Holy Spirit that moved them.
From the rising of the sun to its setting, great is the name of the Lord.
– From the rising of the sun to its setting, great is the name of the Lord.
High above the heavens is his glory.
– From the rising of the sun to its setting, great is the name of the Lord.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– From the rising of the sun to its setting, great is the name of the Lord.
My soul rejoices in the Lord
There is one thing you lack. Go and sell everything you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me. (Year B)
Or: A certain man prepared a great feast and invited many guests. When everything was ready and the time for the feast had come he sent his servant to call those who had been invited, 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.
There is one thing you lack. Go and sell everything you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me. (Year B)
Or: A certain man prepared a great feast and invited many guests. When everything was ready and the time for the feast had come he sent his servant to call those who had been invited, alleluia.
| Prayers and intercessions | |
|---|
Let us pray to Christ, who, of his fullness, gives his brothers love in return for love.
– Lord Jesus, hear our prayer.
Firstborn from the dead, you have cleansed us of our sins by your blood.
Lead us to understand what you have done for us.
– Lord Jesus, hear our prayer.
You have called us to be heralds of the good news:
help us to enter the depths of its message and to make it our own.
– Lord Jesus, hear our prayer.
King of peace, guide the actions of those who govern:
may your Spirit move them to care for those whom society rejects.
– Lord Jesus, hear our prayer.
Guide the steps of those who are oppressed, those persecuted for race, colour, or religion:
let their dignity be respected, and their rights upheld.
– Lord Jesus, hear our prayer.
Welcome all who have died in your peace;
bring them to everlasting life with our Lady and all the saints.
– Lord Jesus, hear our prayer.
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.
Lord God,
open our hearts to your grace.
Let it go before us and be with us,
that we may always be intent upon doing your will.
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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