Saturday 8 January 2022
Saturday after Epiphany Sunday
(First Vespers of tomorrow, The Baptism of the Lord)
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.
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Hymn
In the beginning God created heaven,
The dark and empty earth;
His Spirit moved across the sombre waters
And stirred them with his breath.
Then God created light, and with its coming
The dark was swept away;
The morning came, and then the quiet evening:
The end of God’s first day.
To God the Father of the world give glory,
With Christ his only Son,
Who with the Spirit govern all creation:
Blest Trinity in One.
Stanbrook Abbey Hymnal
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Psalm 134 (135):1-12
Praise the Lord, the wonder-worker
“You are a chosen race. Sing the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Pet 2:9).
John appeared in the wilderness. He baptized and preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Praise the name of the Lord,
praise him, servants of the Lord,
who stand in the house of the Lord
in the courts of the house of our God.
Praise the Lord for the Lord is good.
Sing a psalm to his name for he is loving.
For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself
and Israel for his own possession.
For I know the Lord is great,
that our Lord is high above all gods.
The Lord does whatever he wills,
in heaven, on earth, in the seas.
He summons clouds from the ends of the earth;
makes lightning produce the rain;
from his treasuries he sends forth the wind.
The first-born of the Egyptians he smote,
of man and beast alike.
Signs and wonders he worked
in the midst of your land, O Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
Nations in their greatness he struck
and kings in their splendour he slew.
Sihon, king of the Amorites,
Og, the king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan.
He let Israel inherit their land;
on his people their land he bestowed.
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.
John appeared in the wilderness. He baptized and preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
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Psalm 134 (135):13-21
I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
Lord, your name stands for ever,
unforgotten from age to age,
for the Lord does justice for his people;
the Lord takes pity on his servants.
Pagan idols are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
They have mouths but they cannot speak;
they have eyes but they cannot see.
They have ears but they cannot hear;
there is never a breath on their lips.
Their makers will come to be like them
and so will all who trust in them!
Sons of Israel, bless the Lord!
Sons of Aaron, bless the Lord!
Sons of Levi, bless the Lord!
You who fear him, bless the Lord!
From Sion may the Lord be blessed,
he who dwells in Jerusalem!
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.
I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
Psalm-prayer
Father, your name and your memory last for ever. We stand to pray in your house and praise you with psalms of joy. We ask you in your kindness to have mercy on us in our lowliness.
Or:
Father, you shattered the powers of darkness, with all their evil plots, to give strength to your servants and make them magnanimous in the struggle for eternal life. Have mercy on us and do not permit us to be deceived by false idols. May we praise your name for ever and receive the eternal gift of our inheritance.
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Canticle
(1 Timothy 3)
The mystery and glory of Christ
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and suddenly the heavens opened for him.
℟. O praise the Lord, all you nations!
He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated in the Spirit.
℟. O praise the Lord, all you nations!
He was seen by angels,
preached among the nations.
℟. O praise the Lord, all you nations!
He was believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.
℟. O praise the Lord, all you nations!
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.
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and suddenly the heavens opened for him.
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Short Reading
Acts 10:37-38
You must have heard about the recent happenings in Judaea; about Jesus of Nazareth and how he began in Galilee, after John had been preaching baptism. God had anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him, Jesus went about doing good and curing all who had fallen into the power of the devil.
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Short Responsory
Lord God, hear the cry of your people.
– Lord God, hear the cry of your people.
Open the spring of living water for them.
– Lord God, hear the cry of your people.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– Lord God, hear the cry of your people.
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Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
The Saviour came to be baptized. He, the second Adam, renewed our corrupted nature by the waters of baptism, and he clothed us in a garment which can never perish.
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.
The Saviour came to be baptized. He, the second Adam, renewed our corrupted nature by the waters of baptism, and he clothed us in a garment which can never perish.
________
Prayers and intercessions
Let us pray to our Redeemer who humbled himself to receive baptism at the hands of John.
– Lord, send us your Spirit.
Christ, servant of the Father and pleasing to him,
send forth your Spirit among us.
– Lord, send us your Spirit.
Chosen One of God, you did not break the crushed reed nor quench the wavering flame:
let all men know your compassion for our world of weakness.
– Lord, send us your Spirit.
You were anointed with the Holy Spirit to be our Saviour;
lead all men to believe in you and so come to eternal life.
– Lord, send us your Spirit.
You are God’s light to the nations;
open the eyes of the blind in the baptismal waters of the new covenant.
– Lord, send us your Spirit.
You are the hope of all peoples;
receive the faithful departed into your heavenly kingdom.
– Lord, send us your Spirit.
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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, ever-living God,
when Christ was baptized in the river Jordan
the Holy Spirit came upon him
and your voice proclaimed from heaven, ‘This is my beloved Son.’
Grant that we,
who by water and the Holy Spirit are your adopted children,
may continue steadfast in your love.
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.
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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.