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.
Through the sinful woman shriven,
Through the dying thief forgiven,
Thou to me a hope hast given.
Worthless are my prayers and sighing,
Yet, good Lord, in grace complying,
Rescue me from fires undying.
With thy sheep a place provide me,
From the goats afar divide me,
To thy right hand do thou guide me.
When the wicked are confounded,
Doomed to flames of woe unbounded,
Call me with thy saints surrounded.
Low I kneel, with heart’s submission,
See, like ashes, my contrition,
Help me in my last condition.
Ah! that day of tears and mourning,
From the dust of earth returning
Man for judgement must prepare him,
Spare, O God, in mercy spare him.
O God of majesty
nourishing light of the Trinity
join us with the blessed. Amen.
Psalm 114 (116A)
Thanksgiving
Lord, keep my soul from death, my feet from stumbling.
I love the Lord, for he has heard
the cry of my appeal;
because he has turned his ear to me as I call on him,
day by day.
The ropes of death surrounded me,
Hell held me tight,
I had found pain and tribulation –
but I called on the Lord’s name:
“O Lord, free my soul.”
The Lord is compassionate and just;
our God takes pity on us.
The Lord cares for the simple –
I was brought low, but he saved me.
Return, my soul, to your rest,
for the Lord has looked after you;
he has rescued my spirit from death, my eyes from tears,
he has saved my feet from stumbling.
I shall walk in the presence of the Lord
in the land of the living.
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, keep my soul from death, my feet from stumbling.
Psalm 120 (121)
The guardian of the people
My help shall come from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
I shall lift my eyes to the hills:
where is my help to come from?
My help will come from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip:
he will not doze, your guardian.
Behold, he will not doze or sleep,
the guardian of Israel.
The Lord is your guardian, the Lord is your shade;
he is at your right hand.
By day the sun will not strike you;
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will guard you from all harm;
the Lord will guard your life.
The Lord will guard your coming and your going
both now and 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 help shall come from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
A hymn of adoration
Your ways are just and true, King of all the ages.
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.
Your ways are just and true, King of all the ages.
| Scripture Reading |
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| 1 Corinthians 2:7-10 © |
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The hidden wisdom of God which we teach in our mysteries is the wisdom that God predestined to be for our glory before the ages began. It is a wisdom that none of the masters of this age have ever known, or they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory; we teach what scripture calls: the things that no eye has seen and no ear has heard, things beyond the mind of man, all that God has prepared for those who love him. These are the very things that God has revealed to us through the Spirit.
Christ died for our sins, that he might offer us to God.
– Christ died for our sins, that he might offer us to God.
In the body he was put to death; in the spirit he was raised to life.
– Christ died for our sins, that he might offer us to God.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– Christ died for our sins, that he might offer us to God.
My soul rejoices in the Lord
Remember your mercy, O Lord; according to the promise you made to our fathers.
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.
Remember your mercy, O Lord; according to the promise you made to our fathers.
| Prayers and intercessions | |
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Christ comforted the widow who had lost her only son: let us pray to him, who will come at the last to wipe away every tear from our eyes.
– Come, Lord Jesus.
Lord Jesus, you consoled especially the poor and troubled:
look with mercy on those in any kind of need.
– Come, Lord Jesus.
The angel brought you the Father’s comfort on the eve of your passion:
we pray that your comfort may strengthen those who are dying.
– Come, Lord Jesus.
Let all exiles know your care for them;
may they find their homelands once more, and come one day in joy to the Father’s house.
– Come, Lord Jesus.
Look in love on all whose sins have separated them from you:
reconcile them to yourself and to your Church.
– Come, Lord Jesus.
The dead suffered the pain and loss of human life:
give them the fullness of life and joy in heaven.
– Come, Lord Jesus.
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,
the Cross reveals the mystery of your love:
a stumbling-block indeed for unbelief,
but the sign of your power and wisdom to us who believe.
Teach us so to contemplate your Son’s glorious Passion
that we may always believe and glory in his Cross.
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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