Tuesday 4 January 2022
Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
on Tuesday after Epiphany Sunday
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
For all the saints who from their labours rest,
Who thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy name, O Jesu, be for ever blest.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Thou wast their rock, their fortress and their might;
Thou, Lord, their captain in the well-fought fight;
Thou in the darkness drear their one true Light.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
O may thy soldiers, faithful, true and bold,
Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old,
And win, with them, the victor’s crown of gold.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
O blest communion! fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
Yet all are one in thee, for all are thine.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
________
Psalm 48 (49):2-13
The uselessness of riches
“The rich man will find it very hard to enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 19:23).
You cannot serve both God and wealth.
Hear this, all you peoples,
give heed, all who dwell in the world,
men both low and high,
rich and poor alike!
My lips will speak words of wisdom.
My heart is full of insight.
I will turn my mind to a parable,
with the harp I will solve my problem.
Why should I fear in evil days
the malice of the foes who surround me,
men who trust in their wealth,
and boast of the vastness of their riches?
For no man can buy his own ransom,
or pay a price to God for his life.
The ransom of his soul is beyond him.
He cannot buy life without end,
nor avoid coming to the grave.
He knows that wise men and fools must both perish
and leave their wealth to others.
Their graves are their homes for ever,
their dwelling place from age to age,
though their names spread wide through the land.
In his riches, man lacks wisdom;
he is like the beasts that are destroyed.
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 cannot serve both God and wealth.
________
Psalm 48 (49):14-21
Store up treasure for yourselves in heaven, says the Lord.
This is the lot of those who trust in themselves,
who have others at their beck and call.
Like sheep they are driven to the grave,
where death shall be their shepherd
and the just shall become their rulers.
With the morning their outward show vanishes
and the grave becomes their home.
But God will ransom me from death
and take my soul to himself.
Then do not fear when a man grows rich,
when the glory of his house increases.
He takes nothing with him when he dies,
his glory does not follow him below.
Though he flattered himself while he lived:
‘Men will praise me for all my success,’
yet he will go to join his fathers,
who will never see the light any more.
In his riches, man lacks wisdom;
he is like the beasts that are destroyed.
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.
Store up treasure for yourselves in heaven, says the Lord.
Psalm-prayer
Make our mouths speak your wisdom, Lord Jesus, and help us to remember that you became man and redeemed us from death that we might merit the beauty of your light.
Or:
You condemned the rich, Lord Jesus, because they have already received their reward, and you proclaimed the poor blessed because the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Teach us to seek for imperishable goods and to have confidence in your blood, poured out as the price of our redemption.
________
Canticle
Apocalypse 4,5
The song of the redeemed
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive glory and honour.
Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honour and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.
Worthy are you, O Lord,
to take the scroll and to open its seals,
for you were slain,
and by your blood you ransomed men for God
from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
You have made us a kingdom and priests to our God,
and we shall reign on earth.
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
to receive power and wealth
and wisdom and might
and honour and glory and blessing.
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.
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive glory and honour.
________
Short Reading
Romans 8:28-30
We know that by turning everything to their good, God co-operates with all those who love him, with all those he has called according to his purpose. They are the ones he chose specially long ago and intended to become true images of his Son, so that his Son might be the eldest of many brothers. He called those he intended for this; those he called he justified, and with those he justified he shared his glory.
________
Short Responsory
God has chosen her. He chose her before she was born.
– God has chosen her. He chose her before she was born.
He brought her to live in his holy dwelling-place.
– God has chosen her. He chose her before she was born.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– God has chosen her. He chose her before she was born.
________
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
You have left all things and have followed me; you will be repaid a hundred times over, and gain eternal life.
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.
You have left all things and have followed me; you will be repaid a hundred times over, and gain eternal life.
________
Prayers and intercessions
Through the holy women let us pray to the Lord for all the needs of his Church.
– Lord, remember your Church.
Through the women martyrs who overcame death with undying courage,
strengthen your Church in time of trial.
– Lord, remember your Church.
Through the married women who graced the lives of the human family,
renew the Church in her apostolic mission.
– Lord, remember your Church.
Through all the widows who sanctified loneliness with prayer and hospitality,
make your Church a telling sign of your love for all the world.
– Lord, remember your Church.
Through all the mothers who introduced their children to the kingdom of God and true human life in society,
may your Church bring all men to eternal life and salvation.
– Lord, remember your Church.
Through all the holy women who live in the light of your glory,
grant to the faithful departed the everlasting vision of happiness.
– Lord, remember your Church.
________
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, you blessed Elizabeth Seton
with gifts of grace as wife and mother, educator and foundress,
so that she might spend her life in service to your people.
Through her example and prayers
may we learn to express our love for you in love for others.
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.