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
Receive, O Mary, Virgin pure,
within your chaste and blessed womb
the saving Word proclaimed for all,
proceeding from the Father’s mouth.
The fruitful Spirit’s shadow comes
and fills you now with heaven’s light,
that you may carry Christ the Lord,
the Father’s own coequal Son.
She is the sacred temple gate,
for ever sealed and barred to all;
yet for the heav’nly Prince alone
the blessed threshold opens wide.
Foretold by prophets long ago
and born before the morning star,
the one proclaimed by Gabriel
is Christ the Lord come down to earth.
Rejoice together, angel hosts!
Let all the peoples sing for joy.
The Most High comes, a humble child,
to save and ransom what was lost.
To you, O Christ, most loving King,
and to the Father, glory be,
one with the Spirit Paraclete,
from age to age for evermore. Amen.
Tune: WINCHESTER NEW, 8 8 8 8
Music: adapted from a chorale in Musicalisches Hand-Buch, Hamburg 1690
or Mode IV, melody 71; Antiphonale Sacrosanctæ Ecclesiæ Romanæ, Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, 1912
Text: Verbum salutis omnium, ca. 12th c., © 2023 ICEL
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 The Lord, the mighty God, will come forth from Zion to set his people free.
Psalm 126
Joyful hope in God
Just as you share in sufferings so you will share in the divine glory (2 Corinthians 1:7).
When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage, *
it seemed like a dream.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter, *
on our lips there were songs.
The heathens themselves said: “What marvels *
the Lord worked for them!”
What marvels the Lord worked for us! *
Indeed we were glad.
Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage *
as streams in dry land.
Those who are sowing in tears *
will sing when they reap.
They go out, they go out, full of tears, *
carrying seed for the sowing:
they come back, they come back, full of song, *
carrying their sheaves.
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, you have raised us from the earth; may you let the seeds of justice, which we have sown in tears, grow and increase in your sight. May we reap in joy the harvest we hope for patiently.
Ant. The Lord, the mighty God, will come forth from Zion to set his people free.
Ant. 2 I shall not cease to plead with God for Zion until he sends his Holy One in all his radiant beauty.
Psalm 127
Apart from God our labors are worthless
You are God’s building (1 Corinthians 3:9).
If the Lord does not build the house, *
in vain do its builders labor;
if the Lord does not watch over the city, *
in vain does the watchman keep vigil.
In vain is your earlier rising, *
your going later to rest,
you who toil for the bread you eat: *
when he pours gifts on his beloved while they slumber.
Truly sons are a gift from the Lord, *
a blessing, the fruit of the womb.
Indeed the sons of youth *
are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.
O the happiness of the man *
who has filled his quiver with these arrows!
He will have no cause for shame *
when he disputes with his foes in the gateways.
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 command the seed to rise, Lord God, though the farmer is unaware. Grant that those who labor for you may trust not in their own work but in your help. Remembering that the land is brought to flower not with human tears but with those of your Son, may the Church rely only upon your gifts.
Ant. I shall not cease to plead with God for Zion until he sends his Holy One in all his radiant beauty.
Ant. 3 The Spirit of the Lord rests upon me; he has sent me to preach his joyful message to the poor.
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. The Spirit of the Lord rests upon me; he has sent me to preach his joyful message to the poor.
READING
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
May the God of peace make you perfect in holiness. May he preserve you whole and entire, spirit, soul, and body, irreproachable at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is trustworthy, therefore he will do it.
RESPONSORY
Lord, show us your mercy and love.
— Lord, show us your mercy and love.
And grant us your salvation.
— Your mercy and love.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
— Lord, show us your mercy and love.
GOSPEL CANTICLE
Ant. O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet gentle care. Come and show your people the way to salvation.
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. O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet gentle care. Come and show your people the way to salvation.
INTERCESSIONS
Jesus Christ is the joy and happiness of all who look forward to his coming. Let us call upon him and say:
Come, Lord, and do not delay!
In joy, we wait for your coming,
— come, Lord Jesus.
Come, Lord, and do not delay!
Before time began, you shared life with the Father,
— come now and save us.
Come, Lord, and do not delay!
You created the world and all who live in it,
— come to redeem the work of your hands.
Come, Lord, and do not delay!
You did not hesitate to become man, subject to death,
— come to free us from the power of death.
Come, Lord, and do not delay!
You came to give us life to the full,
— come and give us your unending life.
Come, Lord, and do not delay!
You desire all people to live in love in your kingdom,
— come and bring together those who long to see you face to face.
Come, Lord, and do not delay!
THE LORD’S PRAYER
(With longing for the coming of God’s kingdom, let us offer our prayer to the Father:)
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
Father,
creator and redeemer of mankind,
you decreed, and your Word became man,
born of the Virgin Mary.
May we come to share the divinity of Christ,
who humbled himself to share our human nature,
for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
— Amen.
Or:
O God, Creator and Redeemer of human nature,
who willed that your Word should take flesh
in an ever-virgin womb,
look with favor on our prayers,
that your only Begotten Son,
having taken to himself our humanity,
may be pleased to grant us a share in his divinity.
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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Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming
From tender stem has sprung!
Of Jesse’s lineage coming
As seers of old have sung.
It came a blossom bright,
Amid the cold of winter
When half-spent was the night.
Isaiah ‘twas foretold it,
The Rose I have in mind.
With Mary we behold it,
The Virgin Mother kind.
To show God’s love aright,
She bore to us a Savior,
When half spent was the night.
O Flow’r, whose fragrance tender
With sweetness fills the air,
Dispel in glorious splendor
The darkness everywhere;
True man, yet very God,
From sin and death now save us;
And share our every load.
Tune: Es ist ein Ros Entsprungen 76.76.676
Music: Michael Praetorius, Speier Gesangbuch, 1599
Text: In the public domain
Or:
Once in royal David’s city
Stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her baby
In a manger for his bed:
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ her little child.
He came down to earth from heaven,
Who is God and Lord of all,
And his shelter was a stable,
And his cradle was a stall;
With the poor, the scorned, the lowly,
Lived on earth our Savior holy.
And, through all his wondrous childhood,
He would honor and obey,
Love and watch the lowly maiden
In whose gentle arms he lay:
Christian people all must be
Mild, obedient, good as he.
For he is our childhood’s pattern,
Day by day like us he grew;
He was little, weak and helpless,
Tears and smiles like us he knew.
And he feels for all our sadness,
And he shares in all our gladness.
And our eyes at last shall see him,
Through his own redeeming love;
For that Child who seemed so helpless
Is our Lord in heaven above;
And he leads his children on
To the place where he is gone.
Not in that poor lowly stable,
With the oxen standing round,
We shall see him; but in heaven,
Set at God’s right hand on high;
When like stars his children crowned,
All in white shall wait around.
Tune: Irby 87.87.87
Music: Henry John Gauntlett, 1805-1876
Text: Cecil Frances Alexander 1818-1895, alt.
Or:
O quickly come, great Judge of all;
For glorious will your advent be,
All shadows from the truth will fall,
O come and heal that we may see!
O quickly come, for doubt and fear
Like clouds dissolve when you are near.
O quickly come, great King of all;
Reign all around us and within;
Let sin no more our souls enthrall,
Let pain and sorrow die with sin:
O quickly come, for you alone
Can make your scattered people one.
O quickly come, true Life of all,
For death is mighty all around;
On ev’ry home its shadows fall,
On ev’ry heart its mark is found:
O quickly come, for grief and pain
Cannot obscure your glorious reign.
O quickly come, sure Light of all,
For gloomy night broods o’er our way;
And weakened souls begin to fall
With weary watching for the day:
O quickly come, for round your throne
No eye is blind, no night is known.
Tune: Das Neugeborne Kindelein (Jena) or Melita (Dykes) 88.88.88.
Music: Melchior Vulpius, c. 1560-1616 (Jena) John Bacchus Dykes 1823-1876 (Dykes)
Text: Lawrence Tuttiette, 1825-1897, Hymns for Churchmen, 1854, alt
Or:
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice! O Israel
To you shall come Emmanuel!
O come, O wisdom from on high,
And order all things far and nigh;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.
Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice! O Israel
To you shall come Emmanuel!
O come, O come, O Lord of might,
Who to your tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times did give the law,
In cloud, and majesty, and awe.
Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice! O Israel
To you shall come Emmanuel!
O come, O rod of Jesse’s stem,
From ev’ry foe deliver them
That trust your mighty power to save,
And give them vict’ry o’er the grave.
Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice! O Israel
To you shall come Emmanuel!
O come, O key of David, come,
And open wide our heav’nly home,
Make safe the way that leads on high,
That we no more have cause to sigh.
Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice! O Israel
To you shall come Emmanuel!
O come, O Dayspring from on high,
And cheer us by your drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death’s dark shadow put to flight.
Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice! O Israel
To you shall come Emmanuel!
O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of humankind;
Bid every strife and quarrel cease
And fill the world with heaven’s peace.
Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice! O Israel
To you shall come Emmanuel!
Tune: Veni, Veni, Emmanuel 88.88 with Refrain
Music: Thomas Helmore, 1811-1890, adapted from a first Mode Responsory in a fifteenth century French Processional
Text: Veni, Veni, Emmanuel, a paraphrase of the Latin twelfth-thirteenth century “Great O” antiphons in Psalteriolum Cantionum Catholicarum
Translation: Thomas Helmore, 1811-1890, John Mason Neale, 1818-1866, and others