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 71 (72)
The Messiah's royal power
Give the king your judgement, O God, give the king’s son your righteousness. Let him judge your people with justice and your poor ones with wisdom. Let the mountains bring peace to your people, let the hills bring righteousness. He will give his judgement to the poor among the people, he will rescue the children of the destitute, he will lay low the false accuser. He will endure with the sun, beneath the moon, from generation to generation. He will come down like rain on the pasture, like a shower that waters the earth. In his time, righteousness will flourish and abundance of peace, until the moon itself is no more. He will rule from coast to coast, from the world’s centre to its farthest edge. The desert-dwellers will cast themselves down before him; his enemies will eat dust at his feet. The kings of Tharsis and the islands will bring tribute, the kings of Arabia and Sheba will bring gifts. All the kings will worship him, all nations will serve him. 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 71 (72)

The Messiah's royal power

Give the king your judgement, O God,
give the king’s son your righteousness.
Let him judge your people with justice
and your poor ones with wisdom.

Let the mountains bring peace to your people,
let the hills bring righteousness.
He will give his judgement to the poor among the people,
he will rescue the children of the destitute,
he will lay low the false accuser.
He will endure with the sun, beneath the moon,
from generation to generation.

He will come down like rain on the pasture,
like a shower that waters the earth.
In his time, righteousness will flourish
and abundance of peace,
until the moon itself is no more.
He will rule from coast to coast,
from the world’s centre to its farthest edge.

The desert-dwellers will cast themselves down before him;
his enemies will eat dust at his feet.
The kings of Tharsis and the islands will bring tribute,
the kings of Arabia and Sheba will bring gifts.
All the kings will worship him,
all nations will serve him.

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 71 (72)
Because he has given freedom to the destitute who called to him, to the poor, whom no-one will hear. He will spare the poor and the needy, he will keep their lives safe. He will rescue their lives from oppression and violence, their blood will be precious in his sight. He will live long, and receive gifts of gold from Arabia; they will pray for him always, bless him all through the day. There will be abundance of grain in the land, it will wave even from the tops of the mountains; its fruit will be richer than Lebanon. The people will flourish as easily as grass. Let his name be blessed for ever, let his name endure beneath the sun. All the nations of the earth will be blessed in him, all nations will acclaim his greatness. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone works wonders. Let his majesty be blessed for ever; let it fill all the earth. Amen, amen. 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 71 (72)

Because he has given freedom to the destitute who called to him,
to the poor, whom no-one will hear.
He will spare the poor and the needy,
he will keep their lives safe.
He will rescue their lives from oppression and violence,
their blood will be precious in his sight.

He will live long, and receive gifts of gold from Arabia;
they will pray for him always,
bless him all through the day.
There will be abundance of grain in the land,
it will wave even from the tops of the mountains;
its fruit will be richer than Lebanon.
The people will flourish as easily as grass.

Let his name be blessed for ever,
let his name endure beneath the sun.
All the nations of the earth will be blessed in him,
all nations will acclaim his greatness.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
who alone works wonders.
Let his majesty be blessed for ever;
let it fill all the earth. Amen, amen.

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	Apocalypse 11
The Judgement
We thank you, Lord God Almighty, who are and who were, that you have taken up your great power and begun to reign. The nations were angered, but your anger came, the time for the dead to be judged, the time to reward the prophets and saints, your servants, and those who feared your name, both great and small. Now have come the salvation and might and kingdom of our God, and the power of his Anointed, for the accuser of our brethren has been brought down, who accused them day and night in the sight of God. But they vanquished him through the blood of the Lamb and through their own witness. They did not cling to life, even in the face of death. Therefore rejoice, heavens, and you who dwell in them. 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

Apocalypse 11

The Judgement

We thank you, Lord God Almighty, who are and who were,
that you have taken up your great power and begun to reign.

The nations were angered, but your anger came, the time for the dead to be judged,
the time to reward the prophets and saints, your servants, and those who feared your name, both great and small.

Now have come the salvation and might and kingdom of our God, and the power of his Anointed,
for the accuser of our brethren has been brought down, who accused them day and night in the sight of God.

But they vanquished him through the blood of the Lamb and through their own witness.
They did not cling to life, even in the face of death.
Therefore rejoice, heavens, and you who dwell in them.

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.

Short reading	1 Peter 1:22 - 23 ©
You have been obedient to the truth and purified your souls until you can love like brothers, in sincerity; let your love for each other be real and from the heart – your new birth was not from any mortal seed but from the everlasting word of the living and eternal God.

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

Full of gratitude, let us lift up our souls to our Lord and Saviour, who has blessed his people with every spiritual blessing. Let us ask him for his help: - Lord, bless your people.
O God, look with compassion on our Pope N. and our bishop N.,: and keep them safe in your church.
Lord, in your kindness protect this land we live in,: and keep us free from all evil.
Call your children to join you at your table:: make them follow you more closely, poor, chaste and obedient.
Care for your maidservants who have embraced the vocation of virginity:: let them follow you, Lamb of God, wherever you may go.
Give the dead rest in your eternal peace,: by the sharing of spiritual blessings, keep our bonds with them secure.

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.

As we offer our evening praises we ask you, gentle Lord:
do not let our hearts fall away from contemplation of your Law;
and give us, at the end, the bright reward of eternal life.

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.

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

Thursday, August 09, 2007

Meditation
Matthew 16:13-23

You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. (Matthew 16:16)

Finally, Peter recognized who Jesus is and proclaimed him before all the other apostles. You can almost imagine Jesus crying out, “By Jove, I think he’s got it!” Peter finally grasped the stupendous fact that Jesus was not just a prophet or a wonder-worker but the anointed Messiah of God. And he didn’t come to this knowledge on his own. It came by listening to the Father’s voice.

However, the fact that Peter had received a magnificent revelation about Jesus did not mean he understood everything about Jesus’ mission. Only a short time later, Jesus put this “Rock” of the church in the same league with Satan! Peter couldn’t grasp that the Messiah had to suffer and die like a common criminal. And, despite his having just proclaimed Jesus as the chosen one on a special mission from God, he couldn’t accept Jesus’ words about precisely how that mission was going to be completed.

We should all be able to identify with Peter’s split personality. After all, we have the same kind of conflict within ourselves. We may know the truth about who God is and how we should live, but our words and actions don’t always correspond to it—not to mention our fundamental philosophy of life! The good news is that like Peter, we too are on a learning curve. If we keep trying to live by his inspiration, the Holy Spirit can gradually transform us. If we make it a practice to examine our consciences and repent of our sins, we will find ourselves more apt to fight temptation—and we will grow closer to the Lord.

1 Peter, written decades after Peter’s youthful mistake, is proof that God is capable of transforming us. In this letter, Peter not only speaks of “the sufferings destined for Christ” (1 Peter 1:11); he also tells his readers to rejoice to the extent that they share in these sufferings (4:13). This is the same Peter who said Jesus shouldn’t suffer—the same Peter who was afraid to come to him on the water, and who denied him three times. If he could change this dramatically, we should expect no less for ourselves!

“Lord, thank you that you are as patient with me as you were with Peter! May I always be open to the promptings of your Holy Spirit, and may I grow more like you every day.”

Numbers 20:1-13; Psalm 95:1-2,6-9