Vespers (Evening Prayer)

INTRODUCTION

O God, come to our aid.

O Lord, make haste to help us.

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 Christ, the Father’s only Son,

Whose death for all redemption won,

Before the worlds, of God Most High,

Begotten all ineffably.

The Father’s Light and Splendour thou,

Their endless Hope to thee that bow;

Accept the prayers and praise today

That through the world thy servants pay.

Salvation’s Author, call to mind

Thou took’st the form of humankind,

When of the Virgin undefiled

Thou in man’s flesh becam’st a Child.

Thus testifies the present day

Through every year in long array,

That thou, salvation’s source alone,

Proceedest from the Father’s throne.

All honour, laud, and glory be,

O Jesu, Virgin-born, to thee;

All glory, as is ever meet,

To Father and to Paraclete.

Psalm 109 (110)
The Messiah, king and priest

All authority and dominion are yours on the day of your strength; you are resplendent in holiness. From the womb before the dawn I begot you.

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.

All authority and dominion are yours on the day of your strength; you are resplendent in holiness. From the womb before the dawn I begot you.

Psalm 129 (130)
Out of the depths

With the Lord there is unfailing love. Great is his power to set men free.

Out of the depths I have cried to you, Lord:

Lord, hear my voice.

Let your ears listen out

for the voice of my pleading.

If you took notice of our transgressions, Lord –

Lord, who would be left?

But with you is forgiveness,

and for this we revere you.

I rely on you, Lord,

my spirit relies on your promise;

my soul hopes in the Lord,

more than the watchman for daybreak.

More than the watchman for daybreak,

let Israel hope in the Lord:

for with the Lord there is kindness

and abundant redemption.

He himself will redeem Israel

from all its transgressions.

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 the Lord there is unfailing love. Great is his power to set men free.

Canticle	(Colossians 1)

Christ, firstborn of all creatures and firstborn from the dead

The Word was God in the beginning and before all time. Today he is born to us, the Saviour of the world.

Let us give thanks to God the Father,

who has made us worthy to share in the light that is the saints’ inheritance.

He has rescued us from the power of the shadows

and brought us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,

in whom we have redemption

and the forgiveness of sins.

He is the image of the invisible God,

the first-born of all creation,

for in him all things were created,

in heaven and on earth,

visible and invisible,

thrones and dominations,

principalities and powers.

All things were created through him and for him:

he is before all things,

and in him all things hold together.

And he is the head of the body, the Church.

He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead,

and so he is pre-eminent above all.

For it was the Father’s will that the fullness of God should dwell in him,

and that through him all things should be reconciled to himself.

Through the blood of the Cross he brought peace to all things,

both on Earth and in the heavens.

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 Word was God in the beginning and before all time. Today he is born to us, the Saviour of the world.

Scripture Reading	(2 Peter 1:3-4)

By his divine power, Christ has given us all the things that we need for life and for true devotion, bringing us to know God himself, who has called us by his own glory and goodness. In making these gifts, he has given us the guarantee of something very great and wonderful to come: through them you will be able to share the divine nature and to escape corruption in a world that is sunk in vice.

Short Responsory

The Word became flesh. Alleluia, alleluia.

– The Word became flesh. Alleluia, alleluia.

And he lived among us. Alleluia, alleluia.

– The Word became flesh. Alleluia, alleluia.

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

– The Word became flesh. Alleluia, alleluia.

Canticle	Magnificat

My soul rejoices in the Lord

We glorify you, Mother of God; for Christ was born of you. Keep safe from harm all those who honour you.

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.

We glorify you, Mother of God; for Christ was born of you. Keep safe from harm all those who honour you.

Prayers and intercessions

Let us acclaim Christ with joy, for out of Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, came a leader who guides his holy people.