Evening Prayer I - Presentation of the Lord

PRESENTATION OF THE LORD

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

When Mary brought her treasure
Unto the holy place,
No eye of man could measure
The joy upon her face.
He was but six weeks old,
Her plaything and her pleasure,
Her silver and her gold.

Then Simeon, on him gazing
With wonder and with love,
His aged voice up-raising
Gave thanks to God above:
'Now welcome sweet release!
For I, my saviour praising,
May die at last in peace.'

And she, all sorrow scorning,
Rejoiced in Jesus' fame.
The child her arms adorning
Shone softly like a flame
That burns the long night through,
And keeps from dusk till morning
Its vigil clear and true.

As by the sun in splendour
The flags of night are furled,
So darkness shall surrender
To Christ who lights the world:
To Christ the star of day,
Who once was small and tender,
A candle's gentle ray.
Words: Jan Struther; Tune: Es Ist Ein Ros Entsprungen

PSALMODY

Antiphon 1: The parents of Jesus brought him to Jerusalem to present him to 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 The parents of Jesus brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.

Antiphon 2 Zion, prepare your wedding chamber to receive Christ the King.

Psalm 147:12-20

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 2 Zion, prepare your wedding chamber to receive Christ the King.

Antiphon 3 Blessed are you, good Simeon; you held in your arms Christ the Lord, the Savior of his people.

Canticle - Philippians 2:6-11

Though he was in the form of God,
Jesus did not deem equality with God
something to be grasped at.

Rather, he emptied himself
and took the form of a slave,
being born in the likeness of men.

He was known to be of human estate
and it was thus that he humbled himself,
obediently accepting even death,
death on a cross!

Because of this,
God highly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
above every other name,

So that at Jesus' name
every knee must bend
in the heavens, on the earth,
and under the earth,
and every tongue proclaim
to the glory of God the Father:
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD! Glory..

Antiphon 3 Blessed are you, good Simeon; you held in your arms Christ the Lord, the Savior of his people.

READING     Hebrews 10:5-7
  On coming into the world, Jesus said:
"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
  but a body you prepared for me;
holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight in.
Then I said, 'As is written of me in the book,
  I have come to do your will, O God.'"

RESPONSORY
The Lord has made known his saving power.
- The Lord has made known his saving power.
Which he has prepared in the sight of every people.
- His saving power.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
- The Lord has made known his saving power.

MAGNIFICAT (Canticle of Mary)
Antiphon: The old man carried the child, +but the child was the old man's Lord. The Virgin gave birth to the child yet remained a virgin forever. She knelt in worship before her child.

INTERCESSIONS
Today our Savior was presented in the temple. Let us adore him as we say:

                    Lord, may our eyes see your saving power.

Christ Jesus, you are the light that enlightens all nations,
- shine upon those who do not know you, that they may come to believe in you, the one, true God.

You are the redeemer and glory of your people Israel,
- may your Church proclaim your salvation to the ends of the earth.

Jesus, desire of the nations, Simeon, the just man, rejoiced at your coming,
- lead all men to recognize that you still come to them.

Lord, when you were presented in the temple, Simeon foretold that a sword of sorrow would pierce your mother's heart,
- strengthen us to accept the sufferings we endure for the sake of your name.

Christ Jesus, joy of all the saints, Simeon longed to see you before he died, and his prayer was answered,
- hear our plea for all the dead who still yearn to see you face to face.

Our Father...

COLLECT
Almighty ever-living God,
we humbly implore your majesty
that, just as your Only Begotten Son
was presented on this day in the Temple
in the substance of our flesh,
so, by your grace,
we may be presented to you with minds made pure.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of 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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