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

In the beginning God created heaven,

The dark and empty earth;

His Spirit moved across the sombre waters

And stirred them with his breath.

Then God created light, and with its coming

The dark was swept away;

The morning came, and then the quiet evening:

The end of God’s first day.

To God the Father of the world give glory,

With Christ his only Son,

Who with the Spirit govern all creation:

Blest Trinity in One.

Stanbrook Abbey Hymnal

Psalm 112 (113)
Praise of the Lord's name

From the rising of the sun to its setting, great is the name of the Lord.

Praise, servants of the Lord,

praise the name of the Lord.

Let the Lord’s name be blessed,

now and for ever.

From the sun’s rising to its setting,

the Lord’s name is to be praised.

The Lord is high over all peoples,

his glory is above the heavens.

Who is like the Lord our God, who lives on high,

who bends down to watch over heaven and earth?

He raises the weak from the ground,

the poor from the dunghill,

raises them among the princes,

the princes of his people.

He gives the barren woman a household,

makes her the happy mother of children.

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.

From the rising of the sun to its setting, great is the name of the Lord.

Psalm 115 (116B)
Thanksgiving in the Temple

I will take the chalice of salvation, and I will call on the name of the Lord.

Still I trusted, even when I said

“I am greatly afflicted,”

when I said in my terror,

“all men are liars.”

How shall I repay the Lord

for all he has done for me?

I will take up the cup of salvation

and call on the name of the Lord.

I will fulfil my vows to the Lord

before all his people.

Precious in the sight of the Lord

is the death of his faithful.

O Lord, I am your servant,

your maidservant’s son.

You have torn apart my chains:

I will make you a sacrifice of praise,

I will call on the name of the Lord.

I will fulfil my vows to the Lord

before all his people,

in the courts of the house of the Lord,

within your walls, 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.

I will take the chalice of salvation, and I will call on the name of the Lord.

Canticle	Philippians 2

Christ, God's servant

The Lord Jesus humbled himself: therefore God has highly exalted him for ever.

Jesus Christ, although he shared God’s nature,

did not try to cling to his equality with God;

but emptied himself, took on the form of a slave,

and became like a man:

not in appearance only,

for he humbled himself by accepting death,

even death on a cross.

For this, God has raised him high,

and given him the name that is above every name,

so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bend,

in heaven, on earth, and under the earth,

and every tongue will proclaim

“Jesus Christ is Lord,”

to the glory of God the Father.

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 Jesus humbled himself: therefore God has highly exalted him for ever.

Scripture Reading
Hebrews 13:20-21

I pray that the God of peace, who brought our Lord Jesus back from the dead to become the great Shepherd of the sheep by the blood that sealed an eternal covenant, may make you ready to do his will in any kind of good action; and turn us all into whatever is acceptable to himself through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever, Amen.

Short Responsory

How great are your works, O Lord.

– How great are your works, O Lord.

In wisdom you have made them all.

– How great are your works, O Lord.

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

– How great are your works, O Lord.

Canticle	Magnificat

My soul rejoices in the Lord

When Jesus was returning from the district of Tyre, they brought him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they asked him to lay his hand on him. (Year B)

Or: Where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in their midst, says the Lord.

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.

When Jesus was returning from the district of Tyre, they brought him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they asked him to lay his hand on him. (Year B)

Or: Where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in their midst, says the Lord.

Prayers and intercessions

Christ our Lord is mindful of all who need him, and does great things for love of them. Let us not be afraid to ask him for all our needs.