Vespers
In the United States, the Optional Memorial of Saint Damien de Veuster, Priest, may be observed today using the ferial texts with the Proper Closing Prayer. If it is desired to use any texts from the Common, these may be taken from the Common of Pastors: For Missionaries, found in the ‘Prayers’ section of the iBreviary.
INTRODUCTION
God,
+ come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.
HYMN
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
The strife is o’er, the battle done;
Now is the victor’s triumph won:
O let the song of praise be sung.
Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
On the third morn he rose again,
Glorious in majesty to reign:
O let us swell the joyful strain:
Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
O risen Lord, all praise to thee,
Who from our sins has set us free,
That we may live eternally:
Alleluia!
Tune: Victory 888 with alleluias
Music: G.P. da Palestrina, 1588 adapted with alleluias by W.H. Monk, 1861Text: Cologne, 1695Translation: Francis Pott, 1861, alt.
Or:
Christ Jesus lay in death’s strong bands
For our offenses given:
But now at God’s right hand he stands
And brings us life from heaven;
Therefore let us joyful be,
And praise the Father thankfully
With songs of Alleluia.
Alleluia.
How long and bitter was the strife
When life and death contended,
The victory remained with life,
The reign of death was ended:
Stripped of power, no more it reigns,
And empty form alone remains.
Death’s sting is lost for ever.
Alleluia.
So let us keep this festival
To which Our Lord invites us,
The Savior who is joy of all,
The Sun that warms and lights us:
By his grace he shall impart
Eternal sunshine to the heart;
The night of sin has ended.
Alleluia.
Tune: Christ lag in Todesbanden87.87.787 with alleluiaMusic: Walther’s Gesangbuchlein, 1524Text: Martin Luther, 1483-1546, based on Victimae Paschali laudesTranslation: Richard Massie, 1800-1887, adapted by Anthony G. Petti
Or:
Ad cenam Agni providi,
stolis salutis candidi,
post transitum maris Rubri
Christo canamus principi.
Cuius corpus sanctissimum
in ara crucis torridum,
sed et cruorem roseum
gustando, Deo vivimus.
Protecti paschae vespero
a devastante angelo,
de Pharaonis aspero
sumus erepti imperio.
Iam pascha nostrum Christus est,
agnus occisus innocens;
sinceritatis azyma
qui carnem suam obtulit.
O vera, digna hostia,
per quam franguntur tartara,
captiva plebs redimitur,
redduntur vitae praemia!
Consurgit Christus tumulo,
victor redit de barathro,
tyrannum trudens vinculo
et paradisum reserans.
Esto perenne mentibus
paschale, Iesu, gaudium
et nos renatos gratiae
tuis triumphis aggrega.
Iesu, tibi sit gloria,
qui morte victa praenites,
cum Patre et almo Spiritu,
in sempiterna saecula. Amen.
PSALMODY
Ant.1 You have turned my mourning into joy, alleluia.
Psalm 30
Thanksgiving for deliverance from death
Christ, risen in glory, gives continual thanks to his Father (Cassian).
I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me
*and have not let my enemies rejoice over me.
O Lord, I cried to you for help
*and you, my God, have healed me.
O Lord, you have raised my soul from the dead,
*restored me to life from those who sink into the grave.
Sing psalms to the Lord, you who love him,
*give thanks to his holy name.
His anger lasts but a moment; his favor through life.
*At night there are tears, but joy comes with dawn.
I said to myself in my good fortune:
*“Nothing will ever disturb me.”
Your favor had set me on a mountain fastness,
*then you hid your face and I was put to confusion.
To you, Lord, I cried,
*to my God I made appeal:
“What profit would my death be, my going to the grave?
*Can dust give you praise or proclaim your truth?”
The Lord listened and had pity.
*The Lord came to my help.
For me you have changed my mourning into dancing,
*you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.
So my soul sings psalms to you unceasingly.
*O Lord my God, I will thank you for ever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
*and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
*and will be for ever. Amen.
Psalm Prayer
God our Father, glorious in giving life, and even more glorious in restoring it, when his last night on earth came, your Son shed tears of blood, but dawn brought incomparable gladness. Do not turn away from us, or we shall fall back into dust, but rather turn our mourning into joy by raising us up with Christ.
Ant. You have turned my mourning into joy, alleluia.
Ant. 2 You have been reconciled to God by the death of his Son, alleluia.
Psalm 32
They are happy whose sins are forgiven
David speaks of the happiness of the man who is holy in God’s eyes not because of his own worth, but because God has justified him (Romans 4:6).
Happy the man whose offense is forgiven,
*whose sin is remitted.
O happy the man to whom the Lord
†imputes no guilt,
*in whose spirit is no guile.
I kept it secret and my frame was wasted.
*I groaned all the day long
for night and day your hand
*was heavy upon me.
Indeed, my strength was dried up
*as by the summer’s heat.
But now I have acknowledged my sins;
*my guilt I did not hide.
I said: “I will confess
*my offense to the Lord.”
And you, Lord, have forgiven
*the guilt of my sin.
So let every good man pray to you
*in the time of need.
The floods of water may reach high
*but him they shall not reach.
You are my hiding place, O Lord;
you save me from distress.
*You surround me with cries of deliverance.
I will instruct you and teach you
*the way you should go;
I will give you counsel
*with my eye upon you.
Be not like horse and mule, unintelligent,
*needing bridle and bit,
else they will not approach you.
*Many sorrows has the wicked
but he who trusts in the Lord,
*loving mercy surrounds him.
Rejoice, rejoice in the Lord,
*exult, you just!
O come, ring out your joy,
*all you upright of heart.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
*and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
*and will be for ever. Amen.
Psalm Prayer
You desired, Lord, to keep from us your indignation and so did not spare Jesus Christ, who was wounded for our sins. We are your prodigal children, but confessing our sins we come back to you. Embrace us that we may rejoice in your mercy together with Christ your beloved Son.
Ant. You have been reconciled to God by the death of his Son, alleluia.
Ant. 3 Lord, who is your equal in power? Who is like you, majestic in holiness? alleluia.
Canticle: Revelation 11:17-18; 12:10b-12a
The judgment of God
We praise you, the Lord God Almighty,
*who is and who was.
You have assumed your great power,
*you have begun your reign.
The nations have raged in anger,
*but then came your day of wrath
and the moment to judge the dead:
*the time to reward your servants the prophets
and the holy ones who revere you,
*the great and the small alike.
Now have salvation and power come,
†the reign of our God and the authority
*of his Anointed One.
For the accuser of our brothers is cast out,
*who night and day accused them before God.
They defeated him by the blood of the Lamb
†and by the word of their testimony;
*love for life did not deter them from death.
So rejoice, you heavens,
*and you that dwell therein!
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
*and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
*and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Lord, who is your equal in power? Who is like you, majestic in holiness? alleluia.
READING
1 Peter 3:18, 22
The reason why Christ died for sins once for all, the just man for the sake of the unjust, was that he might lead you to God. He was put to death insofar as fleshly existence goes, but was given life in the realm of the spirit. He went to heaven and is at God’s right hand, with angelic rulers and powers subjected to him.
RESPONSORY
The disciples rejoiced, alleluia, alleluia.
– The disciples rejoiced, alleluia, alleluia.
When they saw the risen Lord,
– alleluia, alleluia.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
– The disciples rejoiced, alleluia, alleluia.
CANTICLE OF MARY
Ant. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete, alleluia.
Luke 1:46-55The soul rejoices in the Lord
My
+ soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
†my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
*for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
†the Almighty has done great things for me,
*and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
*in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
*he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
*and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
*and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
*for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
*to Abraham and his children for ever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
*and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
*and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete, alleluia.
INTERCESSIONS
Christ rose from the dead as the first fruits of those who sleep. In our joy let us praise him, and say:
Firstborn from the dead, hear our prayer.
Lord Jesus, remember your holy Church, built on the apostles and reaching to the ends of the earth,
– and let your blessing rest on all who believe in you.
Firstborn from the dead, hear our prayer.
You are the healer of soul and body,
– come to our aid, and save us in your love.
Firstborn from the dead, hear our prayer.
Raise up the sick and give them strength,
– free them from their infirmities.
Firstborn from the dead, hear our prayer.
Help those in distress of mind or body,
– and in your compassion lift up those in need.
Firstborn from the dead, hear our prayer.
Through your cross and resurrection you opened for all the way to immortality,
– grant to our deceased brothers and sisters the joys of your kingdom.
Firstborn from the dead, hear our prayer.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
(Gathering our prayer and praises into one, let us offer the prayer Christ himself taught 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.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Father,
in your love you have brought us
from evil to good and from misery to happiness.
Through your blessings
give the courage of perseverance
to those you have called and justified in faith.
Grant this through Jesus Christ our Lord.
– Amen.
Or:
O God, by whose grace,
though sinners, we are made just
and, though pitiable, made blessed,
stand, we pray, by your works,
stand by your gifts,
that those justified by faith
may not lack the courage of perseverance.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.
DISMISSAL
May the Lord
+ bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
– Amen.
For the Memorial of Saint Damien de Veuster:
Let us pray.
Father of mercy,
who gave us in Saint Damien
a shining witness of love for the poorest and most abandoned,
grant that, by his intercession,
as faithful witnesses of the heart of your Son Jesus,
we too may be servants of the most needy and rejected.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.
