Monday 20 December 2021
20 December
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 come, now Rod of Jesse’s stem,
From every foe deliver them
That trust your mighty power to save,
And give them vict’ry o’er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!
O come, now Key of David, come,
And open wide our heav’nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!
O come, now Day-spring from on high,
And cheer us by your drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadow put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!
O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid now our sad divisions cease,
And be yourself our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!
________
Psalm 135 (136):1-9
A paschal hymn
“To tell of the works of the Lord is to give praise” (Cassiodorus).
Behold, the Lord, the ruler of the kings of the earth, will come. Happy are those who are ready to meet him.
O give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
for his love endures for ever.
Give thanks to the God of gods
for his love endures for ever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his love endures for ever;
who alone has wrought marvellous works,
for his love endures for ever;
whose wisdom it was made the skies,
for his love endures for ever;
who fixed the earth firmly on the seas,
for his love endures for ever.
It was he who made the great lights,
for his love endures for ever;
the sun to rule in the day,
for his love endures for ever;
the moon and stars in the night,
for his love endures 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 Lord, the ruler of the kings of the earth, will come. Happy are those who are ready to meet him.
________
Psalm 135 (136):10-26
Sing a new song to the Lord, his praise to the end of the earth.
The first-born of the Egyptians he smote,
for his love endures for ever.
He brought Israel out from their midst,
for his love endures for ever;
arm outstretched, with power in his hand,
for his love endures for ever.
He divided the Red Sea in two,
for his love endures for ever;
he made Israel pass through the midst,
for his love endures for ever;
he flung Pharaoh and his force in the sea,
for his love endures for ever.
Through the desert his people he led,
for his love endures for ever.
Nations in their greatness he struck,
for his love endures for ever.
Kings in their splendour he slew,
for his love endures for ever.
Sihon, king of the Amorites,
for his love endures for ever;
and Og, the king of Bashan,
for his love endures for ever.
He let Israel inherit their land,
for his love endures for ever.
On his servant their land he bestowed,
for his love endures for ever.
He remembered us in our distress,
for his love endures for ever.
And he snatched us away from our foes,
for his love endures for ever.
He gives food to all living things,
for his love endures for ever.
To the God of heaven give thanks,
for his love endures 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.
Sing a new song to the Lord, his praise to the end of the earth.
Psalm-prayer
Almighty God, remember our lowliness and have mercy. Once you gave our fathers a foreign land to inherit. Free us today from sin and give us a share in your inheritance.
Or:
God of everlasting love, in and through your Son you made all things in heaven and on earth. You have opened to us the Easter path from death to life. Listen to the song of the universe, the hymn of resurrection, sung by your Church. May we gain life from your bread and inherit a place in heaven.
________
Canticle
Ephesians 1
God the Saviour
When the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth?
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 the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth?
________
Short Reading
(1 Corinthians 1:7-9)
We are waiting for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed; and he will keep you steady and without blame until the last day, the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, because God by calling you has joined you to his Son, Jesus Christ; and God is faithful.
________
Short Responsory
Come to us and save us, Lord God almighty.
– Come to us and save us, Lord God almighty.
Let your face smile on us and we shall be safe.
– Come to us and save us, Lord God almighty.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– Come to us and save us, Lord God almighty.
________
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
O key of David and sceptre of Israel, what you open no one else can close again; what you close, no one can open. O come and lead the captive from prison; free those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.
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.
O key of David and sceptre of Israel, what you open no one else can close again; what you close, no one can open. O come and lead the captive from prison; free those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.
________
Prayers and intercessions
The Lord God said: ‘I shall look for the lost one, bring back the stray, bandage the wounded and make the weak strong,’
– Lord our God, come to save us.
Lord God, you made us and sustain us with your love:
help us to recognize that you are in our midst.
– Lord our God, come to save us.
You are close to each one of us:
open our hearts to love you.
– Lord our God, come to save us.
We pray for those who find their lives a burden too heavy to bear:
Lord, be their strength and their hope.
– Lord our God, come to save us.
You are Life, and the enemy of death:
rescue us and all the faithful departed from eternal darkness.
– Lord our God, come to save us.
________
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, at the angel’s message
Mary, the immaculate Virgin,
became the temple of God
and was filled with the light of the Holy Spirit
when she received your divine Word.
Grant that, after her example,
we may humbly and steadfastly follow your will.
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.