[Salvation]

Vespers -- Evening Prayer

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

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 134 (135)
Praise the Lord, the wonder-worker

The Lord is great: our God is great above all gods.

Praise the name of the Lord:

  praise it, servants of the Lord,

you who stand in the house of the Lord,

  in the courts of the house of our God.

Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;

  sing to his name, for it brings happiness.

For the Lord chose Jacob for his own,

  he chose Israel for his possession.

I know how great is the Lord,

  how great is our God above all gods.

The Lord accomplishes all that he wills,

  in the heavens and on the earth,

  in the sea and the depths of the oceans.

He brings in clouds from the ends of the earth,

  makes lightning for the rain-clouds,

  from his storehouse he calls forth the winds.

He struck down the first-born of Egypt,

  of man and of beast alike.

He sent signs and wonders among them,

  to Pharaoh and all his servants.

He shattered nation after nation,

  killed powerful kings:

Sihon, king of the Amorites,

  Og, the king of Bashan,

  all the kingdoms of Canaan.

He gave their lands as a birthright,

  as a birthright for Israel his people.

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 is great: our God is great above all gods.

---

Psalm 134 (135)

House of Israel, bless the Lord, sing psalms to his name.

Lord, your name is for ever;

  Lord, your name will be remembered

  by generation after generation.

For the Lord will give judgement for his people,

  he will look with kindness upon his servants.

The idols of the nations are silver and gold,

  the work of the hands of men.

They have mouths but will not speak,

  they have eyes and will not see.

They have ears and will not hear,

  there is no breath in their mouths.

They will be like them, those who make them;

  and all who put their trust in them.

House of Israel, bless the Lord;

  house of Aaron, bless the Lord;

house of Levi, bless the Lord;

  you who fear the Lord, bless the Lord.

Blessed be the Lord from Zion,

  whose abode is Jerusalem.

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.

House of Israel, bless the Lord, sing psalms to his name.

---

Canticle	Apocalypse 15

A hymn of adoration

Let us sing to the Lord, for his triumph is glorious. Alleluia.

Great and wonderful are your works, Lord God Almighty;

  just and true are your ways, King of all nations!

Who, Lord, will not revere and glorify your name?

  For you alone are holy.

All nations will come and worship in your presence,

  for your judgements have been seen by all.

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.

Let us sing to the Lord, for his triumph is glorious. Alleluia.

---

Short reading	Galatians 5:16,22-23,25 ©

If you are guided by the Spirit you will be in no danger of yielding to self-indulgence. What the Spirit brings is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control. Since the Spirit is our life, let us be directed by the Spirit.

---

Short Responsory

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.

---

Canticle	Magnificat

My soul rejoices in the Lord

With one mind they all persevered together in prayer together with Mary, the mother of Jesus. 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.

With one mind they all persevered together in prayer together with Mary, the mother of Jesus. Alleluia.

---

Prayers and Intercessions

Let us bless the Father, who has poured out the grace of the Spirit upon all nations, and let us pray that this grace may always abound:

– Lord, spread the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Lord, you sent your Chosen One as a light to enlighten the nations:

  open the eyes of the blind and lead out of their prison those who sit in darkness.

– Lord, spread the grace of the Holy Spirit.

You anointed Christ with the power of the Holy Spirit and sent him out on his ministry of salvation:

  grant that he may once more pass through the world, bringing good and healing to all.

– Lord, spread the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Send your Spirit, who is the light that shines in the heart,

  to strengthen the faith of those who doubt.

– Lord, spread the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Send your Spirit, who is rest after labour,

  to lift up the exhausted and broken-hearted.

– Lord, spread the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Fulfil the hope of the dead,

  and give them resurrection at the coming of Christ.

– Lord, spread the grace of the Holy Spirit.

---

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.

---

O God, you opened up for us the way to eternity

  when you took your Son up in glory

  and enlightened us by the Holy Spirit.

Grant that these great gifts

  may deepen our faith

  and increase our devotion to you.

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.

AMEN

[Salvation]

Regnum Christi

Love Demands a Loving Response

INTERNATIONAL | SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

Friday, 7th week of Easter

May 21, 2010
Father Walter Schu, LC

John 21:15-19
After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and eaten breakfast with them, he said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." He then said to him a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, "Follow me."

Introductory Prayer:  Lord, I believe in you and all that you have revealed for our salvation. I hope in you because of your overflowing mercy. Every single act of yours on this earth demonstrated your love for us. Your ascent into heaven before the eyes of the Apostles inspires my hope of one day joining you there. I love you and wish you to be the center of my life.

Petition: Lord, help me to respond with love to your self-giving love.

1. “Do You Love Me?”  The moment for which Christ has been preparing ever since his Resurrection has arrived. He is alone with Peter. Their last encounter before Jesus’ death was that sad occasion when Christ looked at Peter, forgiving him after his threefold denial. Now Christ takes Peter a little apart from the others and gives him the opportunity to affirm a threefold pledge of his love. The one, supreme condition for Christ to renew Peter’s commission to tend his sheep is Peter’s love for his Master. Love is the one, supreme condition for each of us who aspires to be an apostle. Peter’s love has been purified by his betrayal of Christ during the Passion: It has been chastened and humbled. Now Peter entrusts everything -- even his love -- into Christ’s hands: “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Do my failures enable me to love Christ more, with greater trust?

2. “Can Love Be Commanded?”  Pope Benedict XVI poses a provocative question in his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est (God is Love). How can Christ demand love from us in order for us to be his followers, his apostles? Pope Benedict clarifies, “Love cannot be commanded; it is ultimately a feeling that is either there or not, nor can it be produced by the will” (no. 16). The response to this apparent quandary is twofold. In the first place, love can be commanded because it has first been given. “God does not demand of us a feeling which we ourselves are incapable of producing. He loves us, he makes us see and experience his love, and since he has ‘loved us first,’ love can also blossom as a response within us” (no. 17). Secondly, “it is clearly revealed that love is not merely a sentiment. Sentiments come and go. A sentiment can be a marvelous first spark, but it is not the fullness of love” (no. 17).

3. “Love in Its Most Radical Form”  What, then, is the essence of love, that love which Christ first gave to us and which he in turn demands of us as his followers? “It is characteristic of a mature love that it calls into play all man’s potentialities; it engages the whole man, so to speak. Contact with the visible manifestations of God’s love can awaken within us a feeling of joy born of the experience of being loved. But this encounter also engages our will and our intellect. Acknowledgment of the living God is one path towards love, and the ‘yes’ of our will to his will unites our intellect, will and sentiments in the all-embracing act of love” (Deus Caritas Est, no. 17). As Pope John Paul Great has phrased it so many times, true love is the gift of one’s entire self.

Conversation with Christ:  Thank you, Lord, for helping me to see, through Pope John Paul the Great and Pope Benedict XVI, the meaning of authentic love. Thank you for your limitless love for me. Your love is the standard to which my own poor love must rise.

Resolution:  I will give myself to Christ today in acts of love that embrace my whole person: intellect, will and sentiments.