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

Darkening night the land doth cover:

Day is over:

We give thanks, O thou most high:

While in song we now adore thee,

And implore thee

For the light that doth not die.

Like a day our short life lasteth;

Soon it wasteth;

Cometh surely its sad eve:

O do thou that eve enlighten,

Save and brighten;

Nor old age of joy bereave.

Come no pain nor pity near it:

Bless and cheer it,

That in peace our peace we win:

As thou wilt, do thou us gather,

Gracious Father,

Freed at last from shame and sin.

Now we pray for rest, that sleeping

In thy keeping,

We may joy in thy sun’s ray:

So through death’s last darkness take us,

So awake us

To the light of heaven’s day.

Psalm 121 (122) Jerusalem, the holy city

Jesus said to Mary: ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?’

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.

Jesus said to Mary: ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?’

Psalm 126 (127) Without the Lord, we labour in vain

They have taken my Lord away and I do not know where they have put him.

If the Lord does not build the house,

its builders labour in vain.

If the Lord does not watch over a city,

its workmen guard it in vain.

It is vain for you to rise before the dawn

and go late to your rest,

eating the bread of toil –

to those he loves, the Lord gives sleep.

The Lord bestows sons as an heirloom,

the fruit of the womb as a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior –

so are the sons of one’s youth.

Happy the man who fills his quiver thus:

when he disputes with his enemies at the gate,

he will not be the loser.

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.

They have taken my Lord away and I do not know where they have put him.

Canticle	Ephesians 1

God the Saviour

Jesus said ‘Mary.’ She turned to him and said ‘Rabbuni’ – which means Master.

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.

Jesus said ‘Mary.’ She turned to him and said ‘Rabbuni’ – which means Master.

Short reading	Romans 8:28-30 ©

We know that by turning everything to their good, God co-operates with all those who love him, with all those he has called according to his purpose. They are the ones he chose specially long ago and intended to become true images of his Son, so that his Son might be the eldest of many brothers. He called those he intended for this; those he called he justified, and with those he justified he shared his glory.

Short Responsory

Mary, stop your weeping: the Lord has risen from the dead.

– Mary, stop your weeping: the Lord has risen from the dead.

Go to my brethren and say the Lord has risen from the dead.

– Mary, stop your weeping: the Lord has risen from the dead.

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

– Mary, stop your weeping: the Lord has risen from the dead.

Canticle	Magnificat

My soul rejoices in the Lord

Mary came, bringing the news that she had seen the Lord. 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.

Mary came, bringing the news that she had seen the Lord. Alleluia.

Prayers and Intercessions

In joyful devotion to Christ, light of the nations and joy of all that lives, we pray: