Vespers (Evening Prayer)

Introduction

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.

Hymn

O blest Creator of the light,

Who mak’st the day with radiance bright,

And o’er the forming world didst call

The light from chaos first of all.

Whose wisdom joined in meet array

The morn and eve, and named them day;

Night comes with all its darkling fears;

Regard thy people’s prayers and tears.

Lest, sunk in sin and ’whelmed with strife

They lose the gift of endless life;

While thinking but the thoughts of time,

They weave new chains of woe and crime.

But grant them grace that they may strain

The heavenly gate and prize to gain;

Each harmful lure aside to cast,

And purge away each error past.

O Father, that we ask be done

Through Jesus Christ, thine only Son,

Who, with the Holy Ghost and thee,

Doth live and reign eternally.

Psalm 109 (110) The Messiah, king and priest

The Lord said to my lord: ‘Sit at my right hand.’ Alleluia.

The Lord has said to my lord:

“Sit at my right hand

while I make your enemies your footstool.”

From Zion the Lord will give you a sceptre,

and you will rule in the midst of your foes.

Royal power is yours in the day of your strength,

among the sacred splendours.

Before the dawn, I begot you from the womb.

The Lord has sworn, and he will not repent:

“You are a priest for ever,

a priest of the priesthood of Melchisedech.”

The Lord is at your right hand,

and on the day of his anger he will shatter kings.

He will drink from the stream as he goes –

he will hold his head high.

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.

The Lord said to my lord: ‘Sit at my right hand.’ Alleluia.

Psalm 110 (111) Great are the works of the Lord

The compassionate Lord keeps alive the memory of the wonders he has worked. Alleluia.

I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart

in the council of the upright and the assembly.

Great are the works of the Lord,

to be studied by all who delight in them.

His works are splendour and majesty,

his righteousness lasts for ever and ever.

He gives us a record of the wonders he has worked,

the Lord, the kind and compassionate.

He gives food to those who fear him:

for all ages he will remember his covenant.

He has shown to his people the power of his deeds,

he has given them the inheritance of the nations.

Steadfastness and justice

are the works of the Lord.

All his precepts are to be trusted,

they stand firm for ever and ever:

they were laid down in faithfulness and justice.

He has sent deliverance to his people;

he has set up his covenant for ever.

Holy is his name, and much to be feared.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

To those who fear him comes true understanding,

and his praise endures for ever and 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.

The compassionate Lord keeps alive the memory of the wonders he has worked. Alleluia.

Canticle	(Apocalypse 19)

The wedding of the Lamb

God reigns: our Lord, the Almighty. Alleluia.

Alleluia.

Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,

because his judgements are true and just.

Alleluia.

Praise our God, all his servants,

and you who fear him, small and great.

Alleluia.

For the Lord reigns, our God, the Almighty:

let us rejoice and exult and give him glory.

Alleluia.

The marriage of the Lamb has come,

and his spouse has made herself ready.

Alleluia.

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.

God reigns: our Lord, the Almighty. Alleluia.

Short reading	1 Peter 1:3-5 ©

Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy has given us a new birth as his sons, by raising Jesus Christ from the dead, so that we have a sure hope and the promise of an inheritance that can never be spoilt or soiled and never fade away, because it is being kept for you in the heavens. Through your faith, God’s power will guard you until the salvation which has been prepared is revealed at the end of time.

Short Responsory

Blessed are you, Lord, in the vault of heaven.

– Blessed are you, Lord, in the vault of heaven.

Praise and glory are yours for ever.

– Blessed are you, Lord, in the vault of heaven.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

– Blessed are you, Lord, in the vault of heaven.

Canticle	Magnificat

My soul rejoices in the Lord

‘Who do you think proved himself a neighbour to the man who fell into the brigands‘ hands?’ ‘The one who took pity on him,’ the lawyer replied. Jesus said to him, ‘Go, and do the same yourself.’

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

God, creator of the world, re-created it through the Redemption and renews it daily through his love. With joy we pray: