Sunday 2 February 2020
The Presentation of the Lord - Feast
Vespers (Evening Prayer)
Introduction (without Invitatory)
If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, use the version with the Invitatory Psalm instead.
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.
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Hymn
Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;
To his feet your tribute bring;
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
Who like me his praise should sing?
Praise him! Praise him!
Praise him! Praise him!
Praise the everlasting King.
Praise him for his grace and favour,
To our fathers in distress;
Praise him still the same for ever,
Slow to chide and swift to bless,
Praise him! Praise him!
Praise him! Praise him!
Glorious in his faithfulness.
Fatherlike, he tends and spares us;
Well our feeble frame he knows;
In his hands he gently bears us,
Rescues us from all our foes.
Praise him! Praise him!
Praise him! Praise him!
Widely as his mercy flows.
Angels, help us to adore him;
Ye behold him face to face;
Sun and moon bow down before him,
Dwellers all in time and space.
Praise him! Praise him!
Praise him! Praise him!
Praise with us the God of grace.
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Psalm 109 (110)
The Messiah, king and priest
“He must be king so that he may put all his enemies under his feet” (1 Cor 15:25).
The Holy Spirit had revealed to Simeon that he would not see death until he had set eyes on the Lord.
The Lord’s revelation to my Master:
‘Sit on my right:
your foes I will put beneath your feet.’
The Lord will wield from Sion
your sceptre of power:
rule in the midst of all your foes.
A prince from the day of your birth
on the holy mountains;
from the womb before the dawn I begot you.
The Lord has sworn an oath he will not change.
‘You are a priest for ever,
a priest like Melchizedek of old.’
The Master standing at your right hand
will shatter kings in the day of his wrath.
He shall drink from the stream by the wayside
and therefore he shall lift up his head.
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 Holy Spirit had revealed to Simeon that he would not see death until he had set eyes on the Lord.
Psalm-prayer
Father, we ask you to give us victory and peace. In Jesus Christ, our Lord and King, we are already seated at your right hand. We look forward to praise you in the fellowship of all your saints in our heavenly homeland.
Or:
Almighty God, bring the kingdom of Christ, your anointed one, to its fullness. May the perfect offering of your Son, eternal priest of the new Jerusalem, be offered in every place to your name and make all nations a holy people for you.
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Psalm 129 (130)
Out of the depths
“He will save his people from their sins” (Mt 1:21).
They went to offer to the Lord what the Law ordered: a pair of turtle-doves or a pair of pigeons.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord,
Lord, hear my voice!
O let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleading.
If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt,
Lord, who would survive?
But with you is found forgiveness:
for this we revere you.
My soul is waiting for the Lord.
I count on his word.
My soul is longing for the Lord
more than watchman for daybreak.
Let the watchman count on daybreak
and Israel on the Lord.
Because with the Lord there is mercy
and fullness of redemption,
Israel indeed he will redeem
from all its iniquity.
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.
They went to offer to the Lord what the Law ordered: a pair of turtle-doves or a pair of pigeons.
Psalm-prayer
Listen with compassion to our prayers, Lord. The forgiveness of sins is yours. Do not look on the wrong we have done, but grant us your merciful kindness.
Or:
God of might and compassion, you sent your Word into the world, a watchman to announce to men the dawn of salvation. Do not leave us in the depths of our sins but listen to your Church pleading with you. Respond to her trust, and pour out in her the fullness of your redeeming grace.
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Canticle
(Colossians 1)
Christ, firstborn of all creatures and firstborn from the dead
My eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all the nations to see.
Let us give thanks to the Father,
who has qualified us to share
in the inheritance of the saints in light.
He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness
and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption,
the forgiveness of sins.
He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation,
for in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible.
All things were created
through him and for him.
He is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the body, the Church;
he is the beginning,
the firstborn from the dead,
that in everything he might be pre-eminent.
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile to himself all things,
whether on earth or in heaven,
making peace by the blood of his cross.
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.
My eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all the nations to see.
________
Short Reading
Hebrews 4:15-16
It is not as if we had a high priest who was incapable of feeling our weaknesses with us; but we have one who has been tempted in every way that we are, though he is without sin. Let us be confident, then, in approaching the throne of grace, that we shall have mercy from him and find grace when we are in need of help.
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Short Responsory
The Lord has made known his saving power.
– The Lord has made known his saving power.
Which he prepared in the sight of all the peoples.
– The Lord has made known his saving power.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– The Lord has made known his saving power.
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Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
Today the blessed Virgin Mary presented the child Jesus in the temple; there Simeon took him in his arms and gave thanks to God.
My soul glorifies the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God, my Saviour.
He looks on his servant in her lowliness;
henceforth all ages will call me blessed.
The Almighty works marvels for me.
Holy his name!
His mercy is from age to age,
on those who fear him.
He puts forth his arm in strength
and scatters the proud-hearted.
He casts the mighty from their thrones
and raises the lowly.
He fills the starving with good things,
sends the rich away empty.
He protects Israel, his servant,
remembering his mercy,
the mercy promised to our fathers,
to Abraham and his sons 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.
Today the blessed Virgin Mary presented the child Jesus in the temple; there Simeon took him in his arms and gave thanks to God.
________
Prayers and intercessions
We celebrate the presentation of Jesus in the temple. He has established a new covenant and is himself the temple of the living God. Let us acclaim him as our Saviour:
– Our eyes have seen your salvation.
You are the true light that enlightens all men:
help us to know and accept you as our Lord and God.
– Our eyes have seen your salvation.
You are the glory of your Church:
in the fidelity of your people, let men see your saving power.
– Our eyes have seen your salvation.
Your Holy Spirit rested on Simeon and he recognized your coming:
let your Spirit dwell with us, that we may recognize you in our lives.
– Our eyes have seen your salvation.
At your presentation, Simeon prophesied that our Lady would be pierced to the heart:
grant us the constancy and love she showed at the foot of the cross.
– Our eyes have seen your salvation.
Many have seen your promise and died in your peace:
may they share now the glory you prepared for all the nations.
– Our eyes have seen your salvation.
________
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.
________
Almighty, ever-living God,
on this day your Only-Begotten Son
was presented in the Temple,
in flesh and blood like ours.
Purify us in mind and heart
that we may meet you in your glory.
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.
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The Lord bless us, and keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
Copyright © 1996-2020 Universalis Publishing Limited: see www.universalis.com. Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible are published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc, and used by permission of the publishers. Text of the Psalms: Copyright © 1963, The Grail (England). Used with permission of A.P. Watt Ltd. All rights reserved.