Sunday 19 June 2022
Corpus Christi - 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.
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Hymn
Of the glorious Body telling,
O my tongue, its mysteries sing,
And the Blood, all price excelling,
Which the world’s eternal King,
In a noble womb once dwelling,
Shed for this world’s ransoming.
Given for us, for us descending,
Of a Virgin to proceed,
Man with man in converse blending,
Scattered he the Gospel seed,
Till his sojourn drew to ending
Which he closed in wondrous deed.
At the last great Supper lying
Circled by his brethren’s band,
Meekly with the law complying,
First he finished its command,
Then, immortal Food supplying,
Gave himself with his own hand.
Word made Flesh, by word he maketh
Very bread his Flesh to be;
Man in wine Christ’s Blood partaketh:
And if senses fail to see,
Faith alone the true heart waketh
To behold the mystery.
Humbly we, before him bending,
This great Sacrament revere;
Types and shadows have their ending,
For the newer rite is here;
Faith, our outward sense befriending,
Makes the inward vision clear.
Glory let us give, and blessing
To the Father and the Son;
Honour, might and praise addressing,
While eternal ages run;
Ever too his love confessing,
Who, from both, with both is one.
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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).
Christ the Lord is a priest for ever. Like Melchizedek he made an offering of bread and wine.
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.
Christ the Lord is a priest for ever. Like Melchizedek he made an offering of bread and wine.
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 115 (116B)
Thanksgiving in the Temple
“Through him [Christ], let us offer God an unending sacrifice of praise” (Heb 13:15).
I will take the chalice of salvation and offer a thanksgiving sacrifice.
I trusted, even when I said:
‘I am sorely afflicted,’
and when I said in my alarm:
‘No man can be trusted.’
How can I repay the Lord
for his goodness to me?
The cup of salvation I will raise;
I will call on the Lord’s name.
My vows to the Lord I will fulfil
before all his people.
O precious in the eyes of the Lord
is the death of his faithful.
Your servant, Lord, your servant am I;
you have loosened my bonds.
A thanksgiving sacrifice I make;
I will call on the Lord’s name.
My vows to the Lord I will fulfil
before all his people,
in the courts of the house of the Lord,
in your midst, O 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 will take the chalice of salvation and offer a thanksgiving sacrifice.
Psalm-prayer
Lord, accept the prayers of your faithful people. Help us always to offer you a sacrifice of praise. Quickly break the bonds that hold your children down, and we will fulfil our vows and praise you every day.
Or:
Father, precious in your sight is the death of the saints, but precious above all is the love with which Christ suffered to redeem us. In this life we fill up in our own flesh what is still lacking in the sufferings of Christ; accept this as our sacrifice of praise, and we shall even now taste the joy of the new Jerusalem.
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Canticle
(Apocalypse 19)
The wedding of the Lamb
You are the Way, you are the Truth; you, Lord, are the life of the world.
Alleluia.
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
his judgements are true and just.
Alleluia.
Alleluia.
Praise our God, all you his servants,
you who fear him, small and great.
Alleluia.
Alleluia.
The Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns,
let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory.
Alleluia.
Alleluia.
The marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
Alleluia.
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 are the Way, you are the Truth; you, Lord, are the life of the world.
________
Short Reading
1 Corinthians 11:23-25
This is what I received from the Lord, and in turn passed on to you: that on the same night that he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread, and thanked God for it and broke it, and he said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this as a memorial of me.’ In the same way he took the cup after supper, and said, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it, do this as a memorial of me.’
________
Short Responsory
He gave them the bread of heaven to eat, alleluia, alleluia.
– He gave them the bread of heaven to eat, alleluia, alleluia.
Man has tasted the food of angels.
– He gave them the bread of heaven to eat, alleluia, alleluia.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– He gave them the bread of heaven to eat, alleluia, alleluia.
________
Canticle
Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
O sacred feast, in which we partake of Christ: his sufferings are remembered, our minds are filled with his grace and we receive a pledge of the glory that is to be ours, 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.
O sacred feast, in which we partake of Christ: his sufferings are remembered, our minds are filled with his grace and we receive a pledge of the glory that is to be ours, alleluia.
________
Prayers and intercessions
At the supper to which all are invited, Christ gives his body and blood for the life of the world. Earnestly we beseech him, saying:
– Lord Jesus Christ, give us the bread of eternal life.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, you have commanded us to celebrate the eucharistic meal in remembrance of you:
enrich your Church with the worthy celebration of these mysteries.
– Lord Jesus Christ, give us the bread of eternal life.
Lord Jesus Christ, eternal high priest, you have committed to your priests the ministration of your sacraments:
help them to do their part in your work with the unfailing gladness of genuine charity.
– Lord Jesus Christ, give us the bread of eternal life.
Lord Jesus Christ, manna from heaven, you make into one all who share the one bread:
grant peace and concord to all who believe in you.
– Lord Jesus Christ, give us the bread of eternal life.
Lord Jesus Christ, heavenly physician, you give an eternal remedy and a pledge of resurrection to those who eat your bread:
grant health to the ailing and a real hope to sinners.
– Lord Jesus Christ, give us the bread of eternal life.
Lord Jesus Christ, king who is to come, we know that whenever we celebrate these mysteries, we proclaim your death until you come again:
bring all those who have died in you to share your resurrection.
– Lord Jesus Christ, give us the bread of eternal life.
________
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 Jesus Christ,
you gave your Church an admirable sacrament
as the abiding memorial of your passion.
Teach us so to worship the sacred mystery of your Body and Blood
that its redeeming power may sanctify us always.
Who live and reign with God the Father
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 © 1996-2022 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.