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 48 (49)
The uselessness of riches
You cannot serve both God and wealth.
All peoples, listen –
all who live in the world, hear what I have to say:
humble and great together,
rich and poor alike!
My mouth will speak wisdom,
my inmost thoughts will bring good counsel.
I will turn my ears to a mystery,
I will expound a riddle on the lyre.
Why should I be fearful in times of trouble,
when the crimes of usurpers hem me in?
They trust in their own strength
and glory in their great riches.
But, after all, man cannot redeem himself,
he cannot ransom himself before God.
The price of his soul’s redemption is too great, he cannot pay it –
the price of eternal death avoided.
He will see that even the wise die;
the foolish and the stupid too will perish,
and their riches will pass to others.
Their tombs will be homes to them for ever,
their dwelling-place for all generations,
even if the lands they owned are named after them.
Though he be full of honour, man will not endure:
he is like the beasts of burden, that die;
he is like the beasts that perish.
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.
You cannot serve both God and wealth.
Psalm 48 (49)
Build up treasure for yourselves in heaven, says the Lord.
Those who trust in themselves – this is the road they take.
This is the end of those who boast.
Like sheep they go down into the underworld,
and death is their shepherd.
They will fall headlong into the grave:
their faces will be eaten away,
and the underworld will be their dwelling-place.
But God will ransom my life;
truly he will lift me from the grasp of the underworld.
Do not fear, when a man becomes rich
and the glory of his house increases.
When he dies, he will not take it with him,
his glory will not follow him down to the grave.
Even if he calls himself blessed,
says “see how they praise me for my success,”
still he will join his fathers,
cut off from light, for ever.
Though he be full of honour, yet he does not understand.
He is like the beasts of burden, that die;
he is like the beasts that perish.
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.
Build up treasure for yourselves in heaven, says the Lord.
Canticle
Apocalypse 4,5
The song of the redeemed
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive glory and honour.
You are worthy, our Lord and our God,
to receive glory and honour and power;
for you made all things,
and it is by your will that they exist and were created.
You are worthy, Lord,
to receive the book and open its seals,
for you were killed,
and with your blood you have ransomed people
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and made them rulers and priests for God;
and they will rule over the earth.
The Lamb is worthy, who was killed,
to receive power and riches and wisdom,
strength and honour, glory and blessing.
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.
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive glory and honour.
Short Reading
Colossians 1:3-6
©
We have never failed to remember you in our prayers and to give thanks for you to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ever since we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you show towards all the saints because of the hope which is stored up for you in heaven. It is only recently that you heard of this, when it was announced in the message of the truth. The Good News which has reached you is spreading and bearing fruit all over the world.
Short Responsory
Tell of the glory of the Lord; announce it among the nations.
– Tell of the glory of the Lord; announce it among the nations.
Speak of his wonderful deeds to all the peoples.
– Tell of the glory of the Lord; announce it among the nations.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– Tell of the glory of the Lord; announce it among the nations.
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
The entire assembly kept silence, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul describing all the signs and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles.
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.
The entire assembly kept silence, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul describing all the signs and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles.
Prayers and intercessions
O God the Father of light, you called us to the true faith through the gospel of your Son. We pray to him now for all his holy people, saying:
– Remember your Church, O Lord.
Father, you raised your Son from the dead to be the Shepherd of a huge flock;
make us his witnesses to the ends of the earth.
– Remember your Church, O Lord.
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.
– Remember your Church, O Lord.
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.
– Remember your Church, O Lord.
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.
– Remember your Church, O Lord.
You placed your Son at your own right hand in heaven;
receive the dead into the happiness of your kingdom.
– Remember your Church, O Lord.
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.
Let us pray.
Lord God,
you filled Saint Barnabas with faith and the Holy Spirit
and set him apart for the conversion of the nations.
Grant that the gospel of Christ,
which he preached so strenuously,
may, in our day, be faithfully proclaimed
by word and deed.
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.
