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
Now let the heavens with joy resound,
And earth the chant re-echo round;
Nor heaven nor earth too high can raise
The great Apostles’ glorious praise.
Theirs was the steadfast faith of saints,
The unconquered hope that never faints,
The perfect love of Christ to know,
That lays the praise of this world low.
In them the Father’s glory shone,
In them the Spirit’s will was done;
The Son’s glad praise to them is given,
With joy resound the courts of heaven.
To thee, Redeemer, now we cry,
That with this glorious band on high,
Through endless ages, by thy grace,
Thy servants also may have place.
Psalm 115 (116B)
Thanksgiving in the Temple
I boast freely of my weakness, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
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 boast freely of my weakness, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
Psalm 125 (126)
Gladness and hope in the Lord
I planted, Apollos watered, but it was God who gave the increase.
When the Lord gave Zion back her captives, we became like dreamers.
Our mouths were filled with gladness and our voices cried in exultation.
Among the Gentiles they were saying,
“By his deeds the Lord has shown himself great.”
The Lord’s deeds showed forth his greatness,
and filled us with rejoicing.
Give us back our captives, O Lord,
as you renew the dry streams in the desolate South.
Those who sow in tears will rejoice at the harvest.
They wept as they went, went with seed for the sowing;
but with joy they will come, come bearing the sheaves.
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 planted, Apollos watered, but it was God who gave the increase.
Canticle
Ephesians 1
God the Saviour
For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain: I must glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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.
For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain: I must glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Short Reading
1 Corinthians 15:9-10
©
I am the least of the apostles; in fact, since I persecuted the Church of God, I hardly deserve the name apostle; but by God’s grace that is what I am, and the grace that he gave me has not been fruitless. On the contrary, I have worked harder than any of the others: or rather, not I but the grace of God that is with me.
Short Responsory
I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart.
– I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart.
I will tell of your name among the peoples.
– I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart.
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
St Paul, apostle, preacher of the truth and teacher of the nations, pray for us to God, who chose 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.
St Paul, apostle, preacher of the truth and teacher of the nations, pray for us to God, who chose you.
Prayers and intercessions
Since we are part of a building that has the apostles for its foundation, let us pray to the Father for his holy people.
– Lord, remember your Church.
Father, when your Son rose from the dead, you showed him first to the apostles;
let us make him known, near and far.
– Lord, remember your Church.
You sent your Son into the world to proclaim the good news to the poor:
grant that we may bring his gospel into the darkness of men’s lives.
– Lord, remember your Church.
You sent your Son to plant in men’s hearts the seed of imperishable life;
may we labour to sow his word and reap a harvest of joy.
– Lord, remember your Church.
You sent your Son to reconcile the world with yourself by the shedding of his blood;
let us become his fellow workers in restoring men to your friendship.
– Lord, remember your Church.
You placed your Son at your own right hand in heaven;
receive the dead into the happiness of your kingdom.
– Lord, remember your 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.
Today, Lord, we celebrate the conversion of Saint Paul,
your chosen vessel for carrying your name to the whole world.
Help us to make our way towards you by following in his footsteps,
and by witnessing to your truth before the men and women of our day.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
The Lord bless us, and keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
