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.
Sing we triumphant hymns of praise,
New hymns to heaven exulting raise:
Christ, by a road before untrod,
Ascendeth to the throne of God.
The holy Apostolic band
Upon the Mount of Olives stand,
And with the Virgin Mother see
Jesu’s resplendent majesty.
O grant us thitherward to tend,
And with unwearied hearts ascend
Toward thy kingdom’s throne, where thou
(As is our faith) art seated now.
All glory, Lord, to thee we pay,
Ascending o’er the stars to-day;
All glory, as is ever meet,
To Father and to Paraclete.
Psalm 122 (123)
The Lord guards his people |
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Our eyes are turned to the Lord; we look for his mercy.
To you I lift up my eyes,
to you who dwell in the heavens.
Like the eyes of a servant watching his master,
like the eyes of a maid on her mistress’s hands,
so we keep our eyes on the Lord our God,
as we wait for his kindness.
Take pity on us, Lord, take pity:
we have had our fill of contempt.
Our souls have had their fill
of the laughter of the rich,
of the contempt of the proud.
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.
Our eyes are turned to the Lord; we look for his mercy.
Psalm 123 (124)
Our help is in the name of the Lord |
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Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
If the Lord had not been with us
(so let Israel sing),
If the Lord had not been with us
when men rose up against us,
they might have skinned us alive,
such was their anger.
The waters could have drowned us,
the torrent poured over us,
the foaming waters poured over us.
Blessed be the Lord, who saved us
from being torn to pieces by their teeth.
We have escaped, like a bird
from the snare of the fowler.
The snare was broken,
and we escaped.
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
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.
Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
When I am lifted up above the earth, I shall draw all men to myself. Alleluia.
Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us, in Christ,
with every spiritual blessing in heaven.
In love, he chose us before the creation of the world,
to be holy and spotless in his sight.
He predestined us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ,
simply because it pleased him to do so.
This he did for the praise of the glory of his grace,
of his free gift to us in his Beloved,
in whose blood we have gained redemption,
and the forgiveness of our sins.
This he did according to the riches of his grace,
which he gave us in abundance,
with all wisdom and discernment,
revealing to us the mysteries of his will,
because it pleased him to do so.
In this action he has planned, in the fulfilment of time,
to bring all things together in Christ,
from the heavens and from the earth.
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.
When I am lifted up above the earth, I shall draw all men to myself. Alleluia.
| Short reading | Hebrews 8:1-3 © |
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Our High Priest has his place at the right of the throne of divine Majesty in the heavens, and he is the minister of the sanctuary and of the true Tent of Meeting which the Lord, and not any man, set up. It is the duty of every high priest to offer gifts and sacrifices.
The Holy Spirit is the Advocate. Alleluia, alleluia.
– The Holy Spirit is the Advocate. Alleluia, alleluia.
He will teach you everything.
– The Holy Spirit is the Advocate. Alleluia, alleluia.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– The Holy Spirit is the Advocate. Alleluia, alleluia.
| My soul rejoices in the Lord |
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Rejoice, you saints, before the face of the Lamb. A kingdom has been prepared for you since the foundation of the world. Alleluia.
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.
Rejoice, you saints, before the face of the Lamb. A kingdom has been prepared for you since the foundation of the world. Alleluia.
| Prayers and Intercessions | |
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Let us thank Christ, who filled the Apostles and the entire Church with the comfort of the Holy Spirit. With all the faithful let us pray:
– Lord, give comfort to the Church.
You are the mediator between God and man; you have chosen priests to work alongside you:
may everyone come to the Father through them.
– Lord, give comfort to the Church.
May rich and poor meet through you, for you are the God of both:
save the rich man from glorying in his riches.
– Lord, give comfort to the Church.
Make your gospel known to all peoples
and may all reach the obedience of faith.
– Lord, give comfort to the Church.
Send forth your Spirit, the bringer of comfort,
to wipe away the tears of those in sorrow.
– Lord, give comfort to the Church.
Purify the souls of the dead
and raise them to join your saints in heaven.
– Lord, give comfort to the Church.
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.
Father, you gave your martyrs Christopher Magallanes and his companions
the courage to die to witness to Christ and the gospel.
By the power of your Holy Spirit,
give us the humility to believe
and the courage to profess the faith for which they gave their lives.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm; and may he lead us to eternal life.
AMEN
The psalms and canticles here are our own translation. The Grail translation of the psalms, which is used liturgically in most of the English-speaking world, cannot be displayed on the Web for copyright reasons. The Universalis downloads do contain the Grail translation of the psalms.
