Evening Prayer
INTRODUCTION
God, + come to my assistance.
— Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
— as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.
HYMN
Alternate Hymn
O gracious God, who fashioned day
resplendent with your radiant light,
we beg you for your glory, Lord,
as day rolls downward into dusk.
For now, hard pressed by eventide,
the waning sun begins to set:
enfolding all the world in night,
it keeps its own well-ordered course.
But you, O Lord and God most high,
let not the shadows of the night
surround and crush your servants here,
fatigued and worn by daily toil,
That hearts may not be left in gloom
when day withdraws from life and soul,
but shielded by your holy grace,
we may behold a happy dawn.
Most loving Father, hear our prayer,
and you, O Christ, coequal Son,
who with the Spirit Paraclete
now reign for all eternity. Amen.
Tune: OLD HUNDRETH, 8 8 8 8
Music: from the Genevan Psalter, 1551
or Mode I, melody 27; Liber Hymnarius, Solesmes, 1983
Text: Deus, qui claro lumine, 7-8th c., © 2023 ICEL
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 He is my comfort and my refuge. In him I put my trust.
Psalm 144
Prayer for victory and peace
Christ learned the art of warfare when he overcame the world, as he said: “I have overcome the world” (Saint Hilary).
I
Blessed be the Lord, my rock †
who trains my arms for battle, *
who prepares my hands for war.
He is my love, my fortress; *
he is my stronghold, my savior,
my shield, my place of refuge. *
He brings peoples under my rule.
Lord, what is man that you care for him, *
mortal man, that you keep him in mind;
man, who is merely a breath, *
whose life fades like a shadow?
Lower your heavens and come down; *
touch the mountains; wreathe them in smoke.
Flash your lightnings; rout the foe, *
shoot your arrows and put them to flight.
Reach down from heaven and save me; *
draw me out from the mighty waters,
from the hands of alien foes †
whose mouths are filled with lies, *
whose hands are raised in perjury.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son: *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. He is my comfort and my refuge. In him I put my trust.
Ant. 2 Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord.
II
To you, O God, will I sing a new song; *
I will play on the ten-stringed harp
to you who give kings their victory, *
who set David your servant free.
You set him free from the evil sword; *
you rescued him from alien foes
whose mouths were filled with lies, *
whose hands were raised in perjury.
Let our sons then flourish like saplings *
grown tall and strong from their youth:
our daughters graceful as columns, *
adorned as though for a palace.
Let our barns be filled to overflowing *
with crops of every kind;
our sheep increasing by thousands, †
myriads of sheep in our fields, *
our cattle heavy with young,
no ruined wall, no exile, *
no sound of weeping in our streets.
Happy the people with such blessings; *
happy the people whose God is the Lord.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son: *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Psalm Prayer
Lord, God of strength, you gave your Son victory over death. Direct your Church’s fight against evil in the world. Clothe us with the weapons of light and unite us under the one banner of love, that we may receive our eternal reward after the battle of earthly life.
Ant. Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord.
Ant. 3 Now the victorious reign of our God has begun.
Canticle: Revelation 11:17-18; 12:10b-12a
The judgment of God
We praise you, the Lord God Almighty, *
who is and who was.
You have assumed your great power, *
you have begun your reign.
The nations have raged in anger, *
but then came your day of wrath
and the moment to judge the dead: *
the time to reward your servants the prophets
and the holy ones who revere you, *
the great and the small alike.
Now have salvation and power come, †
The reign of our God and the authority *
of his Anointed One.
For the accuser of our brothers is cast out, *
who night and day accused them before God.
They defeated him by the blood of the Lamb †
and by the word of their testimony; *
love for life did not deter them from death.
So rejoice, you heavens, *
and you that dwell therein!
Glory to the Father, and to the Son: *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Now the victorious reign of our God has begun.
READING
See Colossians 1:23
You must hold fast to faith, be firmly grounded and steadfast in it, unshaken in the hope promised you by the gospel you have heard. It is the gospel which has been announced to every creature under heaven.
RESPONSORY
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall want for nothing.
— The Lord is my shepherd, I shall want for nothing.
He has brought me to green pastures.
— I shall want for nothing.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
— The Lord is my shepherd, I shall want for nothing.
GOSPEL CANTICLE
Ant. If you hunger for holiness, God will satisfy your longing, good measure, and flowing over.
Canticle of Mary
Luke 1:46-55
The soul rejoices in the Lord
My + soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, †
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior *
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: †
the Almighty has done great things for me, *
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him *
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm, *
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, *
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel *
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. If you hunger for holiness, God will satisfy your longing, good measure, and flowing over.
INTERCESSIONS
Let us pray to Christ, the light of the nations and the joy of every living creature:
Give us light, peace and security, Lord.
Brilliant Light, Word of the Father, you came to save all men,
— lead the catechumens of your Church into your marvelous light.
Give us light, peace and security, Lord.
Overlook our sins, Lord,
— for you are the source of forgiveness.
Give us light, peace and security, Lord.
Lord, it is your will that men use their minds to unlock nature’s secrets and master the world,
— may the arts and sciences advance your glory and the happiness of all peoples.
Give us light, peace and security, Lord.
Look kindly on those who have dedicated themselves to the service of their fellow men,
— may they fulfill their work freely and completely.
Give us light, peace and security, Lord.
Lord, you open the way and no one can close it,
— lead into your light those who have fallen asleep in the hope of resurrection.
Give us light, peace and security, Lord.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
(Gathering our prayer and praises into one, let us offer the prayer Christ himself taught 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.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Lord,
hear the evening prayers we bring before you:
help us to follow in the footsteps of your Son
so that we may produce an abundant harvest of goodness
in patience and in faith.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
— Amen.
DISMISSAL
If a priest or deacon presides, he dismisses the people:
The Lord be with you.
— And with your spirit.
May almighty God bless you,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
— Amen.
Another form of the blessing may be used, as at Mass.
Then he adds:
Go in peace.
— Thanks be to God.
In the absence of a priest or deacon and in individual recitation, Evening Prayer concludes:
May the Lord + bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
— Amen.
******
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Let all things now living a song of thanksgiving
To God our Creator triumphantly raise;
Who fashioned and made us, protected and stayed us,
Who guideth us on to the end of our days.
His banners are o’er us, his light goes before us,
A pillar of fire shining forth in the night:
Till shadows have vanished and darkness is banished,
As forward we travel from light into Light.
His law he enforces, the stars in their courses,
The sun in his orbit obediently shine,
The hills and the mountains, the rivers and fountains,
The depths of the ocean proclaim him divine.
We, too, should be voicing our love and rejoicing.
With glad adoration, a song let us raise:
Till all things now living unite in thanksgiving,
To God in the highest, Hosanna and praise.
Tune: The Ash Grove 12.11.12.11 D
Music: Welsh Melody
Text: Anonymous
Continue with the Psalmody
