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Arch Bishop Micheal Ralph Vendegna S.O.S.M.A.

Liturgy of the Hours


  • Sunday 24 May 2020

    The Ascension of the Lord - Solemnity 


    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

    Sing we triumphant hymns of praise,
    New hymns to heaven exulting raise:
    Christ, by a road before untrod,
    Ascendeth to the throne of God.

    The holy Apostolic band
    Upon the Mount of Olives stand,
    And with the Virgin Mother see
    Jesu’s resplendent majesty.

    O grant us thitherward to tend,
    And with unwearied hearts ascend
    Toward thy kingdom’s throne, where thou
    (As is our faith) art seated now.

    All glory, Lord, to thee we pay,
    Ascending o’er the stars to-day;
    All glory, as is ever meet,
    To Father and to Paraclete.


    ________

    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).

    He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. Alleluia.

    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.

    He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. Alleluia.


    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.


    ________

    Psalm 46 (47)
    The Lord is King


    “He is seated at the right hand of the Father, and his kingdom will have no end.”

    God goes up with shouts of joy; the Lord ascends with trumpet blast. Alleluia.

    All peoples, clap your hands,
    cry to God with shouts of joy!
    For the Lord, the Most High, we must fear,
    great king over all the earth.

    He subdues peoples under us
    and nations under our feet.
    Our inheritance, our glory, is from him,
    given to Jacob out of love.

    God goes up with shouts of joy;
    the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.
    Sing praise for God, sing praise,
    sing praise to our king, sing praise.

    God is king of all the earth,
    sing praise with all your skill.
    God is king over the nations;
    God reigns on his holy throne.

    The princes of the peoples are assembled
    with the people of Abraham’s God.
    The rulers of the earth belong to God,
    to God who reigns over all.

    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.

    God goes up with shouts of joy; the Lord ascends with trumpet blast. Alleluia.


    Psalm-prayer

    God, King of all peoples and all ages, it is your victory we celebrate as we sing with all the skill at our command. Help us always to overcome evil by good, that we may rejoice in your triumph for ever.


    Or:

    Lord Jesus, to you belongs the dominion of heaven, earth, and all things under the earth, for you have ascended on high and are seated on the throne prepared for you by the Father. May all peoples be gathered into your Church to form a holy nation, a kingly priesthood, your own chosen heritage, to praise and adore your divine majesty, now and for ever.


    ________

    Canticle
    Apocalypse 11
    The Judgement

    Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and in him God has been glorified, alleluia.

    We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
    who are and who were,
    that you have taken your great power
    and begun to reign.

    The nations raged,
    but your wrath came,
    and the time for the dead to be judged,
    for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints,
    and those who fear your name,
    both small and great.

    Now the salvation and the power
    and the kingdom of our God
    and the authority of his Christ have come,
    for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down,
    who accuses them day and night before our God.

    And they have conquered him
    by the blood of the Lamb
    and by the word of their testimony,
    for they loved not their lives even unto death.
    Rejoice, then, O heaven,
    and you that dwell therein.

    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.

    Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and in him God has been glorified, alleluia.


    ________

    Short Reading
    1 Peter 3:18,21-22

    Christ himself, innocent though he was, had died once for sins, died for the guilty, to lead us to God. In the body he was put to death, in the spirit he was raised to life. And now you are saved, not by the washing off of physical dirt but by a pledge made to God from a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has entered heaven and is at God’s right hand, now that he has made the angels and Dominations and Powers his subjects.


    ________

    Short Responsory

    I am ascending to my Father and your Father, alleluia, alleluia.
    – I am ascending to my Father and your Father, alleluia, alleluia.
    I go to my God and your God.
    – I am ascending to my Father and your Father, alleluia, alleluia.
    Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
    – I am ascending to my Father and your Father, alleluia, alleluia.


    ________

    Canticle
    Magnificat
    My soul rejoices in the Lord

    King of Glory, Lord Almighty, today you have ascended victoriously above the heavens. Do not leave us as orphans without a guide, but send us the one whom you promised, the gift of the Father, the Spirit of Truth. Alleluia.

    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.

    King of Glory, Lord Almighty, today you have ascended victoriously above the heavens. Do not leave us as orphans without a guide, but send us the one whom you promised, the gift of the Father, the Spirit of Truth. Alleluia.


    ________

    Prayers and intercessions

    Rejoicing, let us pray to Christ who is seated at the right hand of the Father.
    – You, Christ, are the king of glory.

    King of glory, in you our mortal flesh has been lifted to the heights:
    deliver us from the corruption of sin and restore us to immortal life.
    – You, Christ, are the king of glory.

    Following the path of love, you came down to us from heaven:
    let us follow that same path in our ascent to you.
    – You, Christ, are the king of glory.

    You promised to draw all men to yourself:
    do not let any of us be separated from your body.
    – You, Christ, are the king of glory.

    You have ascended into heaven:
    let us be there with you in our minds and hearts.
    – You, Christ, are the king of glory.

    We await your coming in majesty on the great day of judgement:
    may we then gaze upon your glory, with all the faithful departed.
    – You, Christ, are the king of glory.


    ________

    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 God,
    fill us with a holy joy;
    teach us how to thank you with reverence and love
    on account of the ascension of Christ your Son.
    You have raised us up with him:
    where he, the head, has preceded us in glory,
    there we, the body, are called in hope.
    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.