~~Vespers 00 Evening Prayer~~

Vespers (Evening Prayer)

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. Alleluia.

A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.

Psalm 140 (141)
Prayer in time of danger
O Lord, I call on you, hurry to my help: listen to my voice when I call. When I make my prayer, let it rise like incense before you; when I raise my hands, let it be like the evening sacrifice. Set a guard on my mouth, Lord, a watch upon my lips. Do not let my heart turn to evil thoughts, to the planning of wicked deeds, to alliance with wrongdoers. Let me not share in their delights. Let the just man strike and rebuke me out of kindness; but sinners shall never anoint me with oil, or I would be an ally in their plans. When they fall into the hands of harsh judges, they will see how kind my words were. Like fragments of spoil after digging, their bones will lie scattered round the mouth of the underworld. To you, Lord, to you my eyes are turned. I take refuge in you – preserve my life. Protect me from the trap they have laid for me, save me from the snares of the wicked. Let them be caught in their own nets, all of them, while I pass by in safety. 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 140 (141)

Prayer in time of danger

O Lord, I call on you, hurry to my help: listen to my voice when I call.
When I make my prayer, let it rise like incense before you; when I raise my hands, let it be like the evening sacrifice.

Set a guard on my mouth, Lord, a watch upon my lips.
Do not let my heart turn to evil thoughts, to the planning of wicked deeds,
to alliance with wrongdoers. Let me not share in their delights.
Let the just man strike and rebuke me out of kindness; but sinners shall never anoint me with oil, or I would be an ally in their plans.

When they fall into the hands of harsh judges, they will see how kind my words were.
Like fragments of spoil after digging, their bones will lie scattered round the mouth of the underworld.

To you, Lord, to you my eyes are turned. I take refuge in you – preserve my life.
Protect me from the trap they have laid for me, save me from the snares of the wicked.
Let them be caught in their own nets, all of them, while I pass by in safety.

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 141 (142)
You are my refuge
My voice cries out to the Lord; my voice cries out its entreaty. I pour out lamentation in his sight, I proclaim my troubles before him. When my spirit is failing within me, still, Lord, you know my paths. On the road I was travelling, they set up a trap for me. I looked about me and saw there was no-one beside me to help. I have nowhere to flee; and no-one will miss me. I have cried to you Lord, I have said: “you are my refuge, my share in the land of the living. Listen to my call for help, for I am crushed down”. “Lead my spirit from prison, so that I may praise your name. The upright will gather around me, because you have restored 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.

Psalm 141 (142)

You are my refuge

My voice cries out to the Lord; my voice cries out its entreaty.
I pour out lamentation in his sight, I proclaim my troubles before him.

When my spirit is failing within me, still, Lord, you know my paths.
On the road I was travelling, they set up a trap for me.
I looked about me and saw there was no-one beside me to help.
I have nowhere to flee; and no-one will miss me.

I have cried to you Lord, I have said: “you are my refuge, my share in the land of the living.
Listen to my call for help, for I am crushed down”.

“Lead my spirit from prison, so that I may praise your name.
The upright will gather around me, because you have restored 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.

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.

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.

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 is our resurrection and our life. Let us faithfully call on him, crying: - son of the living God, look after your people.
We pray to you, Christ, for your catholic Church:: make her holy and establish your kingdom among the nations.
We pray to you for those oppressed by sickness, grief, servitude and exile:: may they receive help and consolation.
We pray for those who wander far from your paths:: let them have the grace of forgiveness, the joy of life renewed.
Our Saviour, you were crucified, you rose from the dead, you will come to judge the world:: look kindly on us sinners.
We pray to you for all who live in this world,: and who all who have left us, hoping in the resurrection.

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

The Word Among Us

Saturday, May 13, 2006

Meditation
Acts 13:44-52

What tremendous opposition Paul and the other apostles faced—they preached to people who not only saw them as radical weirdos but who actually wanted to kill them! Though you and I probably will never face that degree of hostility, don’t we sometimes find ourselves in situations where it’s uncomfortable to be witnesses for Christ? Maybe we get intimidated because someone expresses a contrary opinion, or an argument erupts over what exactly the “true” gospel is. The apostles’ example can help us here. They never allowed opposition to get them down. Rather, they “shook the dust off their feet” and moved ahead (Acts 13:51), trusting God for better things.

We can also learn from what the apostles did not do. First, they did not condemn their opponents, but left judgment to God. No doubt, they knew that being judgmental would only be an obstacle to evangelism. And perhaps, having experienced God’s mercy for themselves, they knew that it might eventually prevail even in situations where their own labors had produced no obvious results. We should have such hearts of mercy, too. After all, God doesn’t want anyone to perish but keeps working to reach them.

Second, the apostles never took it personally when people rejected their message about Jesus. Do we? There’s no reason to feel personally rejected. These people’s problem is with God, not with us! Besides, our dignity comes from God and not from how successful we have been in converting people to the faith. So if lack of success at evangelizing ever makes you feel worthless and rejected, examine your focus. Are you seeking your own glory or God’s?

One final lesson: We can be sure that the apostles prayed for everyone they evangelized. Let’s do the same. Our God is faithful, so let’s never lose hope in the seeds he has led us to plant. Though you may never see the results of your words or acts of kindness, they may have set something stirring deep in someone’s heart. Who knows? Maybe something else will come along to water that seed, so that it will spring up and grow and produce the fruit that will last.

“Lord Jesus, have your way in the hearts of all those I meet today. Fill them with such love for you that all their objections fall away.”

Psalm 98:1-4; John 14:7-14