Saturday 25 April 2020
Saint Mark, Evangelist - Feast
(First Vespers of tomorrow, 3rd Sunday of Easter)
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.
________
Hymn
The Lamb’s high banquet we await,
In snow-white robes of royal state;
And now, the Red Sea’s channel past,
To Christ our Prince we sing at last.
Upon the altar of the Cross
His body hath redeemed our loss;
And tasting of his scarlet blood,
Our life is hid with him in God.
Now Christ our paschal Lamb is slain,
The Lamb of God that knows no stain,
The true oblation offered here,
Our own unleavened bread sincere.
O thou, from whom hell’s monarch flies,
O great, O very Sacrifice,
Thy captive people are set free,
And endless life restored in thee.
To thee who, dead, again dost live,
All glory, Lord, thy people give:
All glory, as is ever meet,
To Father and to Paraclete.
________
Psalm 112 (113)
Praise of the Lord's name
“He put down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly” (Lk 1:52).
The Lord God is high above the heavens; and from the dust he lifts up the lowly, alleluia.
Práise, O sérvants of the Lórd, *
práise the náme of the Lórd!
May the náme of the Lórd be bléssed *
both nów and for évermóre!
From the rísing of the sún to its sétting *
práised be the náme of the Lórd!
Hígh above all nátions is the Lórd, *
abóve the héavens his glóry.
Whó is like the Lórd, our Gód, *
who has rísen on hígh to his thróne
yet stóops from the héights to look dówn, *
to look dówn upon héaven and éarth?
From the dúst he lífts up the lówly, *
from his mísery he ráises the póor
to sét him in the cómpany of prínces, *
yés, with the prínces of his péople.
To the chíldless wífe he gives a hóme *
and gláddens her héart with chíldren.
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 God is high above the heavens; and from the dust he lifts up the lowly, alleluia.
Psalm-prayer
Almighty Father, we praise and bless your name and ask you to join us together through your enduring love in the bosom of Mother Church.
Or:
Lord Jesus, Word of God, surrendering the brightness of your glory you became man so that we might be raised from the dust to share your very being. May there be innumerable children of the Church to offer homage to your name from the rising of the sun to its setting.
________
Psalm 115 (116B)
Thanksgiving in the Temple
“Through him [Christ], let us offer God an unending sacrifice of praise” (Heb 13:15).
You have loosened my bonds, Lord: a sacrifice of praise I will make to you, alleluia.
I trústed, éven when I sáid: *
‘I am sórely afflícted,’
and whén I sáid in my alárm: *
‘No mán can be trústed.’
How cán I repáy the Lórd *
for his góodness to mé?
The cúp of salvátion I will ráise; *
I will cáll on the Lórd’s name.
My vóws to the Lórd I will fulfíl *
befóre all his péople.
O précious in the éyes of the Lórd *
is the déath of his fáithful.
Your sérvant, Lord, your sérvant am Í; *
you have lóosened my bónds.
A thánksgiving sácrifice I máke; *
I will cáll on the Lórd’s name.
My vóws to the Lórd I will fulfíl *
befóre all his péople,
in the cóurts of the hóuse of the Lórd, *
in your mídst, O Jerúsalem.
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 have loosened my bonds, Lord: a sacrifice of praise I will make to you, alleluia.
Psalm-prayer
Lord, accept the prayers of your faithful people. Help us always to offer you a sacrifice of praise. Quickly break the bonds that hold your children down, and we will fulfil our vows and praise you every day.
Or:
Father, precious in your sight is the death of the saints, but precious above all is the love with which Christ suffered to redeem us. In this life we fill up in our own flesh what is still lacking in the sufferings of Christ; accept this as our sacrifice of praise, and we shall even now taste the joy of the new Jerusalem.
________
Canticle
Philippians 2
Christ, God's servant
The Son of God learned to obey through suffering, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. Alleluia.
Though he was in the form of God, *
Jesus did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.
He emptied himself, †
taking the form of a servant, *
being born in the likeness of men.
And being found in human form, †
he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, *
even death on a cross.
Therefore God has highly exalted him *
and bestowed on him the name which is above every name,
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, *
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
And every tongue confess that 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 Son of God learned to obey through suffering, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. Alleluia.
________
Short Reading
1 Peter 2:9-10
You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people set apart to sing the praises of God who called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people at all and now you are the People of God; once you were outside the mercy and now you have been given mercy.
________
Short Responsory
The disciples rejoiced, alleluia, alleluia.
– The disciples rejoiced, alleluia, alleluia.
They saw the Lord, alleluia, alleluia.
– The disciples rejoiced, alleluia, alleluia.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– The disciples rejoiced, alleluia, alleluia.
________
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
Stay with us, Lord, for evening is approaching and the day is almost over, alleluia.
My soul glórifies the Lórd, *
my spirit rejóices in Gód, my Sáviour.
He looks on his sérvant in her lówliness; *
henceforth all áges will cáll me bléssed.
The Almíghty works márvels for me. *
Hóly his náme!
His mércy is from age to áge, *
on thóse who féar him.
He púts forth his árm in stréngth *
and scátters the proud-héarted.
He casts the míghty from their thrónes *
and ráises the lówly.
He fills the stárving with good thíngs, *
sends the rích away émpty.
He protects Ísrael, his sérvant, *
remémbering his mércy,
the mercy prómised to our fáthers, *
to Ábraham and his sóns for éver.
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.
Stay with us, Lord, for evening is approaching and the day is almost over, alleluia.
________
Prayers and intercessions
Let us pray to Christ, our life and our resurrection.
– Son of the living God, protect your people.
We pray for your Catholic Church:
may she reveal among the nations your kingdom of justice and holiness.
– Son of the living God, protect your people.
We pray for the sick, the sorrowful, captives and exiles:
show them your power and compassion.
– Son of the living God, protect your people.
We pray for those who have lost you in the maze of life:
let them know once more the joy of coming home.
– Son of the living God, protect your people.
Crucified and risen Saviour, you will come again in judgement:
be merciful to us sinners.
– Son of the living God, protect your people.
We pray for all the living,
and for those who have left this world in the hope of the resurrection.
– Son of the living God, protect your people.
________
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.
________
Lord God,
grant your people constant joy
in the renewed vigour of their souls.
They rejoice because you have restored them
to the glory of your adopted children:
let them look forward gladly
in the certain hope of resurrection.
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.
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.