Evening Prayer - the Nativity of John the Baptist

NATIVITY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
June 24

Evening Prayer I

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

The great forerunner of the morn,
The herald of the Word, is born:
And faithful hearts shall never fail
With thanks and praise his light to hail.

With heavenly message Gabriel came,
That John should be that herald's name,
And with prophetic utterance told
His actions great and manifold.

John, still unborn, yet gave aright
His witness to the coming Light;
And Christ, the Sun of all of all the earth,
Fulfilled that witness at His birth.

Of woman born shall never be
A greater prophet than was he,
Whose mighty deeds exalt his fame
To greater than a prophet's name.

All praise to God the Father be,
All praise, eternal Son, to Thee,
Whom with the Spirit we adore
Forever and forevermore.
Words: The Venerable Bede (673-735) (Praecursor altus luminis); translated by John M. Neale in The Hymnal Noted, 1854.

PSALMODY

Antiphon 1: Elizabeth, the wife of Zechariah, gave birth to a great man, John the Baptist, who prepared the way for the Lord.

Psalm 113

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 1: Elizabeth, the wife of Zechariah, gave birth to a great man, John the Baptist, who prepared the way for the Lord.

Antiphon 2: John, the forerunner of the Lord, was born of an old and childless couple.

Psalm 146

My soul, give praise to the Lord;
I will praise the Lord all my days,
make music to my God while I live.

Put no trust in princes,
In mortal men in whom there is no help.
Take their breath, they return to clay
and their plans that day come to nothing.

He is happy who is helped by Jacob's God,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
who alone made heaven and earth,
the seas and all they contain.

It is the Lord who keeps faith for ever,
who is just to those who are oppressed.
It is he who gives bread to the hungry,
the Lord, who sets prisoners free,

the Lord who gives sight to the blind,
who raises up those who are bowed down,
the Lord, who protects the stranger
and upholds the widow and orphan.

It is the Lord who loves the just
but thwarts the path of the wicked.
The Lord will reign for ever,
Zion's God, from age to age. Glory...

Antiphon 2: John, the forerunner of the Lord, was born of an old and childless couple.

Antiphon 3: There is no man born of women greater than John the Baptist.

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 fulness of time,
to bring all things into one in him,
in the heavens and on earth. Glory...

Antiphon 3: There is no man born of women greater than John the Baptist.

READING Acts 13:23-25
To keep his promise, God has raised up for Israel one of David's descendants, Jesus, as Saviour, whose coming was heralded by John when he proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the whole people of Israel. Before John ended his career he said, 'I am not the one you imagine me to be; that one is coming after me and I am not fit to undo his sandal.'

RESPONSORY
Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight his paths.
- Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight his paths.
He who is to come after me existed before me;
- make straight his paths
Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit
- Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight his paths.

MAGNIFICAT (Canticle of Mary)
Antiphon: Zechariah entered the temple of the Lord, and the angel Gabriel appeared to him, standing on the right of the altar of incense.

INTERCESSIONS
Let us pray joyfully to God our Father who called John the Baptist to proclaim the coming of the kingdom of Christ:

O Lord, guide our feet into the way of peace.

You called John the Baptist from his mother's womb to prepare the way of your Son,
- help us to follow in the path which the Baptist opened before the Lord Jesus.

May your Church, in imitation of the Baptist, fearlessly point out the Lamb of God,
- so that people in every age may acknowledge that the Lord comes to them.

John the Baptist did not exalt himself but acknowledged his role as the forerunner of Christ,
- teach us to acknowledge that you are the giver of all our good gifts and that we must use them in your service.

You called John the Baptist to give testimony to you by his life and even by his death,
- help us to imitate his unceasing witness to you truth.

Remember those who have died,
- give them a place of light, happiness and peace.

Our Father...

PRAYER
All powerful God,
help your people to walk the path to salvation.
By following the teaching of John the Baptist,
may we come to your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

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

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