VESPERS (Evening Prayer)

http://www.universalis.com/cgi-bin/display/vespers.htm ^

[Litany]

The Lord has truly risen, alleluia.

O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.

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.

(A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.)

Psalm 121(122)
Jerusalem, the holy city

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.

Psalm 129(130)
Out of the depths
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.

Canticle: Philippians 2

Christ, God's servant
Jesus Christ, although he shared God's nature, did not try to seize equality with God for himself; 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.

(A short Bible reading and responsory may follow here)

Canticle: Magnificat

My soul rejoices in the Lord

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

Prayers and Intercessions

Christ, by rising from the dead, destroyed death and renewed life itself. Let us cry out to him:
- Ever-living Christ, listen to us.
You, the stone the builders rejected, have become the cornerstone:
use us, as living stones, to build your Church.
You, the first-born from the dead, are a true and faithful witness:
make your Church bear witness to you always.
Like Eve from Adam's rib, the Church, your bride, grew from your wounded side.
Let us be witnesses at the solemnisation of your marriage.
You, the first and the last, were dead and now live:
make the baptized be faithful until death, make them win the crown of victory.
You are the true light, the lamp of God's holy city:
shine on our dead, let them be part of your kingdom forever.

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 that trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

(A concluding prayer may follow here.)

May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm; and may he lead us to eternal life.

A M E N

[Litany]

Call to evening prayer.

[NYer]

Evening prayer bump!

[NYer]

Out of the depths I have cried to you, Lord: Lord, hear my voice.

Thank you for posting these Evening Vespers.

[Litany]

Beautiful....thank you!

[Siobhan]

Evening Prayer Bump.

[livius]

Thanks for posting! We used to say Compline (which actually had pretty much the same prayers as the current Vespers) in a lay group to which I belonged way back in the late 60's - early 70's, and I still remember the reader, who had a heavy Pittsburgh accent, loudly reminding us that "the Dewil wike a woawing lion goes about seeking whom he may dewouer."

It was a beautiful time of day, dark and cozy in the winter, and in the summer, with golden evening light coming across the Hudson and hitting the beams in the small section of the gym that we used as a chapel. It was always a moment of perfection in the day, regardless of how the day had been.

And I also remember the beautiful Orthodox vespers I used to go to in San Francisco, years later, after the Catholic Church had virtually dropped these prayers.

I would love to see this be encouraged again among Catholics, including lay people.

[Litany]

I am from Pittsburgh !

[livius]

LOL! Then you would know the accent. This man, Stanley Wishniewski, was in his 60's when I knew him, which was was some years ago, and had a really dense pre-TV regional accent. My son-in-law is also from Pittsburgh, but he's in his 20s and doesn't have that old style accent. (It sounded sort of like a Brooklyn accent, for those who don't know.)

And I can never think of those lines without hearing them exactly the way he used to read them night after night! There was something very comforting about it, somehow.