Evening Prayer I

MARY, MOTHER OF GOD

Evening Prayer I

God, come to my assistance.
- Lord, make haste to help me.

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.

HYMN

Virgin-born, we bow before you:
Blessed was the womb that bore you;
Mary, Mother meek and mild,
Blessed was she in her Child.
Blessed was the breast that fed you;
Blessed was the hand that led you;
Blessed was the other's eye
Watching o'er your infancy.

Blessed she by all creation,
Who brought forth the world's salvation.
Blessed they who ever blest,
Love you most and serve you best.
Virgin-born, we bow before you;
Blessed was the womb that bore you;
Mary, Mother meek and mild,
Blessed was she in her Child.
Melody: Mon Dieu, Prete Moi L'Orielle 88-77D (Genevan Psalm 86); Music: German Psalter, 1543; Text: R. Heber, 1783-1826, alt.

PSALMODY

Antiphon: O marvelous exchange! Our Creator has become man, born of a virgin. We have been made sharers in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity.

Psalm 113
Laudate, pueri

Praise, O servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!

May the name of the Lord be blessed
both now and for evermore!

From the rising of the sun to its setting
praised be the name of the Lord!

High above all nations is the Lord,
above the heavens his glory.

Who is like the Lord, our God,
who has risen on high to his throne

yet stoops from the heights to look down,
to look down upon heaven and earth?

From the dust he lifts up the lowly,
from the dungheap he raises the poor

to set them in the company of princes,
yes, with the princes of his people.

To the childless wife he gives a home
and gladdens her heart with children. Glory...

Antiphon: O marvelous exchange! Our Creator has become man, born of a virgin. We have been made sharers in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity.

Antiphon: By your miraculous birth of the Virgin you have fulfilled the Scriptures: like a gentle rain falling upon the earth you have come down to save your people, O God.

Psalm 114:12-20
Lauda, Jerusalem

O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
Zion praise your God!

He has strengthened the bars of your gates
he has blessed the children within you.

He established peace on your borders,
he feeds you with finest wheat.

He sends out his word to the earth
and swiftly runs his command.

He showers down snow white as wool,
he scatters hoar-frost like ashes.

He hurls down hailstones like crumbs.
The waters are frozen at his touch;

he sends forth his word and it melts them:
at the breath of his mouth the waters flow.

He makes his word known to Jacob,
to Israel his laws and decrees.

He has not dealt thus with other nations;
he has not taught them his decrees. Glory...

Antiphon:By your miraculous birth of the Virgin you have fulfilled the Scriptures: like a gentle rain falling upon the earth you have come down to save your people, O God.

Antiphon:Your blessed and fruitful virginity is like the bush, flaming yet unburned, which Moses saw on Sinai. Pray for us, Mother of God.

Canticle – Ephesians 1:3-10

Praised be the God and Father *
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has bestowed on us in Christ *
every spiritual blessing in the heavens.

God chose us in him *
before the world began
to be holy *
and blameless in his sight.

He predestined us *
to be his adopted sons through Jesus Christ,
such was his will and pleasure, †
that all might praise the glorious favor *
he has bestowed on us in his beloved.

In him and through his blood, we have been redeemed, *
and our sins forgiven,
so immeasurably generous *
is God's favor to us.

God has given us the wisdom *
to understand fully the mystery,
the plan he was pleased *
to decree in Christ.

A plan to be carried out *
in Christ, in the fullness of time,
to bring all things into one in him, *
in the heavens and on earth. Glory...

Antiphon:Your blessed and fruitful virginity is like the bush, flaming yet unburned, which Moses saw on Sinai. Pray for us, Mother of God.

READING                                                       Galatians 4:3-7
While we were not of age, we were enslaved to the elemental powers of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption. As proof that you are children, God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!" So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

RESPONSORY
The Word was made flesh; and lived among us.
- The Word was made flesh and lived among us.
From his fullness we have all received,
- and he lived among us.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
- The Word was made flesh and lived among us.

MAGNIFICAT (Canticle of Mary)
Antiphon: In his great love for us, God sent his Son in the likeness of our sinful nature, born of a woman and subject to the law.

INTERCESSIONS
Blessed be the Lord Jesus, who brings us peace. He came to unite what had been separated. Let us pray to him:

                                Lord, give your peace to all.

By your coming you revealed your goodness and humanity to mankind:
     - let us remain forever grateful for what you have done for us.

You filled Mary your Mother with grace:
     - pour out an abundance of grace on us all.

You came to announce the Good News of God to the world:
     - may ever more people proclaim your word, and ever more people hear it.

You condescended to become our brother by being born of the Virgin Mary:
     - teach men to love one another as brothers.

You appeared to the world like the sun at dawn:
     - may the dead see with their own eyes the brightness of your face.

Our Father...

COLLECT
O God, who through the fruitful virginity of Blessed Mary
bestowed on the human race
the grace of eternal salvation,
grant, we pray,
that we may experience the intercession of her,
through whom we were found worthy
to receive the author of life,
our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.

May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.

The English translation of Psalm Responses, Alleluia Verses, Gospel Verses from Lectionary for Mass © 1969, 1981, 1997, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation (ICEL); the English translation of Antiphons, Invitatories, Responsories, Intercessions, Psalm 95, the Canticle of the Lamb, Psalm Prayers, Non-Biblical Readings from The Liturgy of the Hours © 1973, 1974, 1975, ICEL; excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, ICEL. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

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