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.
HYMN
Alternate Hymns
O Jesus, you have set apart
these forty days for abstinence
and you decreed a lenten fast
to heal and save our mind and heart.
Now come, be present to your Church,
be near and aid our penitence,
as we bow down before you, Lord,
and beg you wash away our sins.
Remit and pardon with your grace
misdeeds from which we turn aside;
from future perils keep us safe
by your most meek and gentle guard,
That, filled with sorrow for our sins
and cleansed by yearly penitence,
we may press on to celebrate
the Paschal Feast with worthy praise.
Let all your works adore you, Lord,
O merciful and Triune God.
Renewed by pardon, let us sing
a new song to your holy name. Amen.
Tune: JENA, 8 8 8 8
Music: later form of melody by Melchior Vulpius, ca. 1570-1615, composed in 1609
or Mode IV, melody 81; Liber Hymnarius, Solesmes, 1983
Text: Iesu, quadragenariæ, ca. 10th c., © 2023 ICEL
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 Lord, how wonderful is your wisdom, so far beyond my understanding.
Psalm 139:1-18, 23-24
God sees all that is
Who has known the mind of God, who has been his counselor? (Romans 11:34).
I
O Lord, you search me and you know me, †
you know my resting and my rising, *
you discern my purpose from afar.
You mark when I walk or lie down, *
all my ways lie open to you.
Before ever a word is on my tongue *
you know it, O Lord, through and through.
Behind and before you besiege me, *
your hand ever laid upon me.
Too wonderful for me, this knowledge, *
too high, beyond my reach.
O where can I go from your spirit, *
or where can I flee from your face?
If I climb the heavens, you are there. *
If I lie in the grave, you are there.
If I take the wings of the dawn *
and dwell at the sea’s furthest end,
even there your hand would lead me, *
your right hand would hold me fast.
If I say: “Let the darkness hide me *
and the light around me be night,”
even darkness is not dark for you *
and the night is as clear as the day.
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. Lord, how wonderful is your wisdom, so far beyond my understanding.
Ant. 2 I am the Lord: I search the mind and probe the heart; I give to each one as his deeds deserve.
II
For it was you who created my being, *
knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I thank you for the wonder of my being, *
for the wonders of all your creation.
Already you knew my soul, *
my body held no secret from you
when I was being fashioned in secret *
and molded in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw all my actions, *
they were all of them written in your book;
every one of my days was decreed *
before one of them came into being.
To me, how mysterious your thoughts, *
the sum of them not to be numbered!
If I count them, they are more than the sand; *
to finish, I must be eternal, like you.
O search me, God, and know my heart. *
O test me and know my thoughts.
See that I follow not the wrong path *
and lead me in the path of life eternal.
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
You watch over heaven and earth, Lord Jesus. Your death brought light to the dead; your resurrection gave joy to the saints; your ascension made the angels rejoice. Your power exceeds all power. Lead us to life eternal, and watch over us with your love. May your friends be filled with honor and join you in heaven.
Ant. I am the Lord: I search the mind and probe the heart; I give to each one as his deeds deserve.
Ant. 3 Through him all things were made; he holds all creation together in himself.
Canticle: Colossians 1:12-20
Christ the first-born of all creation and the first-born from the dead
Let us give thanks to the Father *
for having made you worthy
to share the lot of the saints *
in light.
He rescued us *
from the power of darkness
and brought us *
into the kingdom of his beloved Son.
Through him we have redemption, *
the forgiveness of our sins.
He is the image of the invisible God, *
the first-born of all creatures.
In him everything in heaven and on earth was created, *
things visible and invisible.
All were created through him; *
all were created for him.
He is before all else that is. *
In him everything continues in being.
It is he who is head of the body, the church! *
he who is the beginning,
the first-born of the dead, *
so that primacy may be his in everything.
It pleased God to make absolute fullness reside in him *
and, by means of him, to reconcile everything in his person,
both on earth and in the heavens, *
making peace through the blood of his cross.
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. Through him all things were made; he holds all creation together in himself.
READING
Philippians 2:12b-15a
Work with anxious concern to achieve your salvation. It is God who, in his good will toward you, begets in you any measure of desire or achievement. In everything you do, act without grumbling or arguing; prove yourselves innocent and straightforward, children of God without reproach.
RESPONSORY
To you, O Lord, I make my prayer for mercy.
— To you, O Lord, I make my prayer for mercy.
Heal my soul, for I have sinned against you.
— I make my prayer for mercy.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
— To you, O Lord, I make my prayer for mercy.
GOSPEL CANTICLE
Ant. By myself, says the Lord, I can do nothing. I judge as I am told to judge, and my sentence is just.
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. By myself, says the Lord, I can do nothing. I judge as I am told to judge, and my sentence is just.
INTERCESSIONS
All glory and honor to God, for in the blood of Christ he has ratified a new and everlasting covenant with his people, and renews it in the sacrament of the altar. Let us lift our voices in prayer:
Bless your people, Lord.
Lord, guide the minds and hearts of peoples and all in public office,
— may they seek the common good.
Bless your people, Lord.
Renew the spirit of dedication in those who have left all to follow Christ,
— may they give clear witness to the holiness of the Church.
Bless your people, Lord.
You have made all men and women in your image,
— may they always uphold human dignity.
Bless your people, Lord.
Lead back to your friendship and truth all who have gone astray,
— teach us how to help them.
Bless your people, Lord.
Grant that the dead may enter into your glory,
— to praise you for ever.
Bless your people, Lord.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
(Remember us, Lord, when you come to your kingdom and teach us how to pray:)
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,
you reward virtue
and forgive the repentant sinner.
Grant us your forgiveness
as we come before you confessing our guilt.
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.
Or:
O God, who reward the merits of the just
and offer pardon to sinners who do penance,
have mercy, we pray, on those who call upon you,
that the admission of our guilt
may serve to obtain your pardon for our sins.
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.
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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Lord, who throughout these forty days
For us did fast and pray,
Teach us with you to mourn our sins,
And close by you to stay.
As you with Satan did contend
And did the vict’ry win,
O give us strength in you to fight,
In you to conquer sin.
As you did hunger and did thirst,
So teach us, gracious Lord,
To die to self and so to live
By your most holy word.
Abide with us that through this life
Of suff’ring and of pain
An Easter of unending joy
We may at last attain.
Tune: St. Flavian C.M.
Music: Day’s Psalter, 1562
Text: Claudia Hernaman, 1838-1898, alt.
Continue with the Psalmody
Or:
Take up your cross, the Savior said,
If you would my disciple be;
Deny yourself, the world forsake,
And humbly follow after me.
Take up your cross, let not its weight
Fill your weak spirit with alarm;
His strength shall bear your spirit up,
Shall brace your heart and nerve your arm.
Take up your cross then in his strength,
And ev’ry danger calmly brave,
To guide you to a better home,
And vict’ry over death and grave.
Take up your cross and follow Christ,
Nor think till death to lay it down;
For only he who bears the cross
May hope to wear the glorious crown.
To you, great Lord, the One in three,
All praise for evermore ascend;
O grant us here below to see
The heav’nly life that knows no end.
Tune: Breslau or Winchester New L.M.
Music: (Breslau) As Hymnodus Sacer, 1625, or (Winchester New) Musikalisches Handbuch, Hamburg, 1690
Text: Charles William Everest, 1814-1877, adapted by Anthony G. Petti
Continue with the Psalmody
Or:
Forty days and forty nights
You were fasting in the wild;
Forty days and forty nights
Tempted and yet undefiled.
Shall not we your sorrow share
And from worldly joys abstain,
Fasting with unceasing prayer,
Strong with you to suffer pain?
Then if Satan on us press,
Flesh or spirit to assail,
Victor in the wilderness,
Grant we may not faint nor fail!
So shall we have peace divine:
Holier gladness ours shall be;
Round us, too, shall angels shine,
Such as served you faithfully.
Keep, O keep us, Savior dear,
Ever constant by your side;
That with you we may appear
At the ’ternal Eastertide.
Tune: Heinlein 77.77
Music: Attributed to Martin Herbst, 1654-1681
Text: George Hunt Smyttan 1822-1870
Continue with the Psalmody
