Universalis
Tuesday 16 December 2025    (other days)
Tuesday of the 3rd week of Advent 

Using calendar: England - Portsmouth - Sark. You can change this.

Vespers (Evening Prayer)

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.
Hymn
On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry
Announces that the Lord is nigh;
Come then and hearken, for he brings
Glad tidings from the King of kings.
Then cleansed be every Christian breast,
And furnished for so great a guest!
Yea, let us each his heart prepare
For Christ to come and enter there.
For thou art our salvation, Lord,
Our refuge and our great reward;
Without thy grace our souls must fade,
And wither like a flower decayed.
Stretch forth thine hand, to heal our sore,
And make us rise to fall no more;
Once more upon thy people shine,
And fill the world with love divine.
All praise, eternal Son, to thee,
Whose Advent sets thy people free,
Whom, with the Father, we adore,
And Holy Ghost, for evermore.

Psalm 124 (125)
The Lord guards his people

The Lord surrounds his people.
Those who trust in the Lord are like the mountain of Zion:
  it cannot be shaken, it will stand firm for ever.
Jerusalem – the mountains stand guard over it,
  and the Lord stands guard over his people,
  both now and for ever.
The sceptre of the wicked shall not rest
  upon the inheritance of the just;
lest the just themselves stretch out their hands
  and turn to wickedness.
Be good, O Lord, to the good
  and the upright of heart.
As for those who turn away to crooked paths,
  the Lord shall treat them like the doers of evil.
Peace be on Israel!
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 surrounds his people.

How to listen

Psalm 130 (131)
Childlike trust in God

Unless you become like little children you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Lord, I do not puff myself up or stare about,
  or walk among the great or seek wonders beyond me.
Truly calm and quiet I have made my spirit:
  quiet as a weaned child in its mother’s arms –
  like an infant is my soul.
Let Israel hope in the Lord, now and for all time.
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 you become like little children you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
CanticleApocalypse 4,5

The song of the redeemed

Lord, you made us a kingdom and priests to serve our God.
You are worthy, our Lord and our God,
  to receive glory and honour and power;
for you made all things,
  and it is by your will that they exist and were created.
You are worthy, Lord,
  to receive the book and open its seals,
for you were killed,
  and with your blood you have ransomed people
  from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and made them rulers and priests for God;
  and they will rule over the earth.
The Lamb is worthy, who was killed,
  to receive power and riches and wisdom,
  strength and honour, glory and blessing.
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.
Lord, you made us a kingdom and priests to serve our God.
Scripture Reading
(1 Corinthians 1:7-9)
We are waiting for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed; and he will keep you steady and without blame until the last day, the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, because God by calling you has joined you to his Son, Jesus Christ; and God is faithful.
Short Responsory
Come to us and save us, Lord God almighty.
– Come to us and save us, Lord God almighty.
Let your face smile on us and we shall be safe.
– Come to us and save us, Lord God almighty.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– Come to us and save us, Lord God almighty.
CanticleMagnificat

My soul rejoices in the Lord

Before they came together, Mary was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
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.
Before they came together, Mary was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
Prayers and intercessions
The Lord God said: ‘I shall look for the lost one, bring back the stray, bandage the wounded and make the weak strong.’
– Lord our God, come to save us.
Lord God, you made us and sustain us with your love:
  help us to recognize that you are in our midst.
– Lord our God, come to save us.
You are close to each one of us:
  open our hearts to love you.
– Lord our God, come to save us.
We pray for those who find their lives a burden too heavy to bear:
  Lord, be their strength and their hope.
– Lord our God, come to save us.
You are Life, and the enemy of death:
  rescue us and all the faithful departed from eternal darkness.
– Lord our God, come to save us.
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.
Father,
  through your Son you have made us a new people.
Look on us now as the new creation of your love,
  and by the coming of your Son, cleanse us from every stain of sin.
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.

You can also view this page in Latin and English.

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