Monday 27 April 2020
Monday of the 3rd week of Eastertide
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
O Christ, the heavens’ eternal King,
Creator, unto thee we sing,
With God the Father ever One,
Co-equal, co-eternal Son.
Thy hand, when first the world began,
Made in thine own pure image man,
And linked to fleshly form of earth
A living soul of heavenly birth.
And when the envious crafty foe
Had marred thy noblest work below,
Thou didst our ruined state repair
By deigning flesh thyself to wear.
Once of a virgin born to save,
And now new born from death’s dark grave,
O Christ, thou bidd’st us rise with thee
From death to immortality.
Eternal Shepherd, thou art wont
To cleanse Thy sheep within the font,
That mystic bath, that grave of sin,
Where ransomed souls new life begin.
Divine Redeemer, thou didst deign
To bear for us the cross of pain,
And freely pay the precious price
Of all thy blood in sacrifice.
Jesu, do thou to every heart
Unceasing Paschal joy impart;
From death of sin and guilty strife
Set free the new born sons of life.
All praise be thine, O risen Lord,
From death to endless life restored;
All praise to God the Father be
And Holy Ghost eternally.
________
Psalm 122 (123)
The Lord guards his people
“The two blind men cried out, ‘Lord, have pity on us, Son of David’” (Mt 20:30).
The Lord will be your everlasting light, your God will be your glory, alleluia.
To yóu have I lífted up my éyes, *
you who dwéll in the héavens;
my éyes, like the éyes of sláves *
on the hánd of their lórds.
Líke the éyes of a sérvant *
on the hánd of her místress,
so our éyes are on the Lórd our Gód *
till he shów us his mércy.
Have mércy on us, Lórd, have mércy. *
We are fílled with contémpt.
Indéed all too fúll is our sóul †
with the scórn of the rích, *
with the próud man’s disdáin.
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 will be your everlasting light, your God will be your glory, alleluia.
Psalm-prayer
Father in heaven, we lift our eyes to you and pray: confound the scorn of the proud and graciously show us your mercy.
Or:
Lord Jesus Christ, you will wait on the servants who have kept faithful watch for you. Teach us to keep our eyes fixed on every trace of the work of your hands, so that we may watch for your coming and enter your home, our lamps radiant with light.
________
Psalm 123 (124)
Our help is in the name of the Lord
“The Lord said to Paul, ‘Do not fear; for I am with you’” (Acts 18:9,10).
The snare has been broken and we have escaped, alleluia.
‘If the Lórd had not béen on our síde,’ *
this is Ísrael’s sóng.
‘If the Lórd had not béen on our síde *
when mén rose up agáinst us,
thén would they have swállowed us alíve *
when their ánger was kíndled.
‘Thén would the wáters have engúlfed us, *
the tórrent gone óver us;
óver our héad would have swépt *
the ráging wáters.’
Bléssed be the Lórd who did not gíve us *
a préy to their téeth!
Our lífe, like a bírd, has escáped *
from the snáre of the fówler.
Indéed the snáre has been bróken *
and wé have escáped.
Our hélp is in the náme of the Lórd, *
who made héaven and éarth.
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 snare has been broken and we have escaped, alleluia.
Psalm-prayer
Lord Jesus, you foretold that your disciples would be despised on account of your name, but that not a hair of their heads is ever forgotten. In times of persecution, defend and revive us by the power and comfort of the Holy Spirit, so that we can be freed from our enemies and praise your saving help.
________
Canticle
Ephesians 1
God the Saviour
When I am lifted up above the earth, I shall draw all men to myself. Alleluia.
Blessed be the God and Father *
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ *
with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
He chose us in him *
before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy *
and blameless before him.
He destined us in love *
to be his sons through Jesus Christ,
according to the purpose of his will, †
to the praise of his glorious grace *
which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
In him we have redemption through his blood, *
the forgiveness of our trespasses,
according to the riches of his grace *
which he lavished upon us.
He has made known to us †
in all wisdom and insight *
the mystery of his will,
according to his purpose *
which he set forth in Christ.
His purpose he set forth in Christ *
as a plan for the fullness of time,
to unite all things in him, *
things in heaven and things on 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.
When I am lifted up above the earth, I shall draw all men to myself. Alleluia.
________
Short Reading
Hebrews 8:1-3
Our High Priest has his place at the right of the throne of divine Majesty in the heavens, and he is the minister of the sanctuary and of the true Tent of Meeting which the Lord, and not any man, set up. It is the duty of every high priest to offer gifts and sacrifices.
________
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
This is the work that God requires: believe in the one whom he has sent. 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.
This is the work that God requires: believe in the one whom he has sent. Alleluia.
________
Prayers and intercessions
Let us pray to Christ, who was raised up by the Holy Spirit in his living and life-giving body.
– Lord, renew the whole of your creation.
Christ, Saviour of the world, king of the new creation, you are enthroned at God’s right hand;
set our hearts on the things that are of heaven.
– Lord, renew the whole of your creation.
Lord, you are living always in your Church:
lead her through the Holy Spirit into the fullness of your truth.
– Lord, renew the whole of your creation.
Have pity on the sick, the distressed and the dying;
strengthen, comfort and sustain them.
– Lord, renew the whole of your creation.
Christ, unfailing light, accept our devotion at the close of this day;
shed the radiance of your glory on the faithful departed.
– Lord, renew the whole of your creation.
________
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.
________
God and Father,
to those who go astray
you reveal the light of your truth
and enable them to return to the right path.
Grant that all who have received the grace of baptism
may strive to be worthy of their Christian calling
and reject everything opposed to it.
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.