Thursday 18 March 2021
Thursday of the 4th week of Lent
(optional commemoration of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop, Doctor)
(First Vespers of tomorrow, St Joseph)
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.
________
Hymn
O Blessed Joseph, yours the praise
The choirs of angels sing,
The guardian of the Virgin blest,
And of her Child and King.
The prophets told of God to come:
The Son of God on earth;
Yours was the glory then to be
There at the Saviour’s birth.
To him, the Father’s only Son
You served as father here;
He was subjected to your will
He, whom the heavens revere.
As once you sought and found again
The Christ, the Lord of light;
So may we walk with him, like you
All humble in his sight.
O Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
The God of truth and grace,
By holy Joseph’s prayers grant
That we may see your face.
Stanbrook Abbey Hymnal
________
Psalm 112 (113)
Praise of the Lord's name
“He put down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly” (Lk 1:52).
Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary; of her was born Jesus who is called Christ.
Praise, O servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!
May the name of the Lord be blessed
both now and for evermore!
From the rising of the sun to its setting
praised be the name of the Lord!
High above all nations is the Lord,
above the heavens his glory.
Who is like the Lord, our God,
who has risen on high to his throne
yet stoops from the heights to look down,
to look down upon heaven and earth?
From the dust he lifts up the lowly,
from his misery he raises the poor
to set him in the company of princes,
yes, with the princes of his people.
To the childless wife he gives a home
and gladdens her heart with children.
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.
Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary; of her was born Jesus who is called Christ.
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 145 (146)
The blessedness of those who hope in the Lord
“Let us praise the Lord all our days: that is, in all our conduct” (Arnobius).
The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to the virgin who was betrothed to a man named Joseph.
My soul, give praise to the Lord;
I will praise the Lord all my days,
make music to my God while I live.
Put no trust in princes,
In mortal men in whom there is no help.
Take their breath, they return to clay
and their plans that day come to nothing.
He is happy who is helped by Jacob’s God,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
who alone made heaven and earth,
the seas and all they contain.
It is he who keeps faith for ever,
who is just to those who are oppressed.
It is he who gives bread to the hungry,
the Lord, who sets prisoners free,
the Lord who gives sight to the blind,
who raises up those who are bowed down,
the Lord, who protects the stranger
and upholds the widow and orphan.
It is the Lord who loves the just
but thwarts the path of the wicked.
The Lord will reign for ever,
Sion’s God, from age to age.
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 angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to the virgin who was betrothed to a man named Joseph.
Psalm-prayer
God of glory and power, those who have put all their trust in you are happy indeed. Shine the brightness of your light on us, that we may love you always with a pure heart.
Or:
God, our Father, holy and all-powerful, you have called the poor and the weak, the blind and the lame to your Son’s marriage feast. Do not allow us to be driven from your table by worldly cares, but make us trust only in your goodness, and clothe us with the bright wedding garment, that we may share your generosity in heaven.
________
Canticle
Ephesians 1
God the Saviour
Mary, the mother of Jesus, was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
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.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
________
Short Reading
Colossians 3:23-24
Whatever your work is, put your heart into it as if it were for the Lord and not for men, knowing that the Lord will repay you by making you his heirs. It is Christ the Lord that you are serving.
________
Short Responsory
The virtuous man will bloom like the lily.
– The virtuous man will bloom like the lily.
He will grow for ever before the Lord.
– The virtuous man will bloom like the lily.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– The virtuous man will bloom like the lily.
________
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
Behold the faithful and wise servant, whom the Master placed over his household.
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.
Behold the faithful and wise servant, whom the Master placed over his household.
________
Prayers and intercessions
Let us pray to God our Father, for from him all fatherhood in heaven and on earth takes its name.
– Father, hallowed be your name
Father, in your Son you revealed to Joseph the mystery kept secret for endless ages:
help us to acknowledge your Son as God and man.
– Father, hallowed be your name
Father, you enabled Joseph to spend his life in your service:
set our minds on your kingdom and your justice before all other things.
– Father, hallowed be your name
Father, your will is that every man should accept and answer your call:
by the prayer of Joseph, give us the grace to live in accord with your will.
– Father, hallowed be your name
Creator of all things, you have entrusted your work to our hands:
grant that our labours may prove worthy of you.
– Father, hallowed be your name
Father, in whom all men live, grant to those who have died new life, through your Son;
with Mary, and Joseph, and all your saints for ever.
– Father, hallowed be your name
________
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,
at the beginnings of our salvation,
when Mary conceived your Son and brought him forth in to the world,
you placed them under Joseph’s watchful care.
May his prayer still help your Church
to be an equally faithful guardian of your mysteries
and a sign of Christ to mankind.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
________
The Lord bless us, and keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
Copyright © 1996-2021 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.