Corpus Christi - Evening Prayer I

Evening Prayer I
Feast of Corpus Christi

O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.

Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One.
Have mercy on us (3x)

Opening Sentence:
The blessing-cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ, and the bread that we break is a communion with the body of Christ. The fact that there is only one loaf means that, though there are many of us, we form a single body because we all have a share in this one loaf.- Col 4:10

Phos Hilaron
O gracious light,
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!

Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing your praised, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of Life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.

The Psalter

Ant. 1: The gracious and merciful Lord provides food for those who fear him,/ in remembrance of his wonderful works

Psalm 111

Confitebor tibi

1: Hallelujah!
I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, *
in the assembly of the upright, in the congregation.
2: Great are the deeds of the LORD! *
they are studied by all who delight in them.
3: His work is full of majesty and splendor, *
and his righteousness endures for ever.
4: He makes his marvelous works to be remembered; *
the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.
5: He gives food to those who fear him; *
he is ever mindful of his covenant.
6: He has shown his people the power of his works *
in giving them the lands of the nations.
7: The works of his hands are faithfulness and justice; *
all his commandments are sure.
8: They stand fast for ever and ever, *
because they are done in truth and equity.
9: He sent redemption to his people;
he commanded his covenant for ever; *
holy and awesome is his Name.
10: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; *
those who act accordingly have a good understanding;
his praise endures for ever.

Ant. 1: The gracious and merciful Lord provides food for those who fear him,/ in remembrance of his wonderful works

Ant. 2: Truly I say to you: + Moses did not give you bread from heaven; / My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.

Psalm 147

Laudate Domine

1: Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God! *
how pleasant it is to honor him with praise!
2: The LORD rebuilds Jerusalem; *
he gathers the exiles of Israel.
3: He heals the brokenhearted *
and binds up their wounds.
4: He counts the number of the stars *
and calls them all by their names.
5: Great is our LORD and mighty in power; *
there is no limit to his wisdom.
6: The LORD lifts up the lowly, *
but casts the wicked to the ground.
7: Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; *
make music to our God upon the harp.
8: He covers the heavens with clouds *
and prepares rain for the earth;
9: He makes grass to grow upon the mountains *
and green plants to serve mankind.
10: He provides food for flocks and herds *
and for the young ravens when they cry.
11: He is not impressed by the might of a horse; *
he has no pleasure in the strength of a man;

Ant. 2: Truly I say to you: + Moses did not give you bread from heaven; / My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.

Ant. 3: He who makes peace + in the Church's borders is the Lord,/ who fills us with the finest of wheat.
12: But the LORD has pleasure in those who fear him, *
in those who await his gracious favor.
13: Worship the LORD, O Jerusalem; *
praise your God, O Zion;
14: For he has strengthened the bars of your gates; *
he has blessed your children within you.
15: He has established peace on your borders; *
he satisfies you with the finest wheat.
16: He sends out his command to the earth, *
and his word runs very swiftly.
17: He gives snow like wool; *
he scatters hoarfrost like ashes.
18: He scatters his hail like bread crumbs; *
who can stand against his cold?
19: He sends forth his word and melts them; *
he blows with his wind, and the waters flow.
20: He declares his word to Jacob, *
his statutes and his judgments to Israel.
21: He has not done so to any other nation; *
to them he has not revealed his judgments.
Hallelujah!

Ant. 3: He who makes peace + in the Church's borders is the Lord,/ who fills us with the finest of wheat.

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.

First Reading
Exodus 12:21-28
Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go, select lambs for your families, and slaughter the passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood in the basin. None of you shall go outside the door of your house until morning. For the Lord will pass through to strike down the Egyptians; when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over that door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you down. You shall observe this rite as a perpetual ordinance for you and your children. When you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this observance. And when your children ask you, 'What do you mean by this observance?' you shall say, 'It is the passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt, when he struck down the Egyptians but spared our houses.' " And the people bowed down and worshipped.

The Israelites went and did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.

Canticle
Benedictus es, Domine

Glory to you, Lord God of our fathers; *
you are worthy of praise; glory to you.

Glory to you for the radiance of your holy Name; *
we will praise you and highly exalt you for ever.

Glory to you in the splendor of your temple; *
on the throne of your majesty, glory to you.

Glory to you, seated between the Cherubim; *
we will praise you and highly exalt you for ever.

Glory to you, beholding the depths; *
in the high vault of heaven, glory to you.

Glory to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; *
we will praise you and highly exalt you 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.

Second Reading
Mark 14:12-26

On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, his disciples said to him, "Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?" So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there." So the disciples set out and went to the city, and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.

When it was evening, he came with the twelve. And when they had taken their places and were eating, Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me." They began to be distressed and to say to him one after another, "Surely, not I?" He said to them, "It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the bowl with me. For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born."

While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, "Take; this is my body." Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."

When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Second Canticle
Magnificat

Antiphon: To show kindness to your people, O Lord,+ you give them that sweetest bread from heaven, / fill the hungry with good things and send the rich and scornful away empty, alleluia.

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 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.

Antiphon: To show kindness to your people, O Lord,+ you give them that sweetest bread from heaven, / fill the hungry with good things and send the rich and scornful away empty, alleluia.

Collect
O God, in a wonderful sacrament you have left us a memorial of your passion: grant us so to venerate the sacred mysteries of your Body and Blood, that we may always perceive within ourselves the fruit of your redemption; for you live and reign for ever and ever. Amen.

Intercessions

God sent his Son as an example for our lives and as our Saviour. Humbly we pray to him:
  -  Lord, may your people sing your praises.
We give you thanks because you have chosen us to be the first-fruits of your salvation;
    you have called us to be a new people to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. (R.)
May all who profess your holy name be at one in the truth of your teaching,
    and on fire with the flame of your love. (R.)
You are the creator of all things; your Son chose to work with his hands, among men and with men.
    Remember the workers who earn their bread by the sweat of their brow. (R.)
Remember also those who devote themselves to the service of their brethren:
    may neither failure nor the failings of others distract them from their chosen task. (R.)
Grant your mercy to our deceased brethren:
    do not hand them over to the power of the devil. (R.)

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 that trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

O God, you have given us a wonderful sacrament as an abiding memorial of your passion.
Grant, we pray you, that we may celebrate the sacred mysteries of your body and blood
in such a way that we constantly feel within us the effects of your redemption.

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.