ST. STEPHEN

Evening Prayer




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
-
When Stephen, full of power and grace,
Went forth throughout the land,
He bore no shield before his face,
No weapon in his hand;
But only in his heart a flame
And on his lips a sword
Wherewith he smote and overcame
The foemen of the Lord.

When Stephen preached against the laws
And by those laws was tried,
He had no friend to plead his cause,
No spokesman at his side;
But only in his heart a flame
And in his eyes a light
Wherewith God's daybreak to proclaim
And rend the veils of night.

When Stephen, young and doomed to die,
Fell crushed beneath the stones,
He had no curse nor vengeful cry
For those who broke his bones;
But only in his heart a flame
And on his lips a prayer
That God, in sweet forgiveness' name
Should understand and spare.

Or:

-
A Child is born in Bethlehem, alleluia;
O come, rejoice Jerusalem, alleluia, alleluia.

Refrain:
Let grateful hearts now sing,
A song of joy and holy praise
To Christ the new-born King.

Though found within a manger poor, alleluia,
His Kingdom shall for e'er endure, alleluia, alleluia.

Refrain

As brother in the flesh he came, alleluia,
Our King whose name we now proclaim, alleluia, alleluia.

Refrain

Melody: Gregorian, Mode I; Music: Traditional, Gregorian; Text: Puer Natus in Bethlehem; Translator: J.W. Hewitt, 1959, alt.


PSALMODY

Antiphon: You have been endowed from your birth with princely gifts; in eternal splendor, before the dawn of light on earth, I have begotten you.


Psalm 110:1-5,7    

The Lord's revelation to my Master:
"Sit on my right:
your foes I will put beneath your feet."

The Lord will yield from Zion
your scepter of power:
rule in the midst of all your foes.

A prince from the day of your birth
on the holy mountains;
from the womb before the dawn I begot you.

The Lord has sworn an oath he will not change.
"You are a priest for ever,
a priest like Melchizedeck of old."

The Master standing at your right hand
will shatter kings in the day of his wrath.

He shall drink from the stream by the wayside
and therefore he shall lift up his head. Glory...

Antiphon:You have been endowed from your birth with princely gifts; in eternal splendor, before the dawn of light on earth, I have begotten you.


Antiphon: With the Lord is unfailing love; great is his power to save.

Psalm 130

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord,
Lord, hear my voice!
O let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleading.

If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt,
Lord, who would survive?
But with you is found forgiveness:
for this we revere you.

My soul is waiting for the Lord.
I count on his word.
My soul is longing for the Lord
more than watchman for daybreak.
Let the watchman count on daybreak
and Israel on the Lord.

Because with the Lord there is mercy
and fullness of redemption,
Israel indeed he will redeem
from all its iniquity. Glory...

Antiphon: With the Lord is unfailing love; great is his power to save.


Antiphon: In the beginning, before time began, the Word was God; today he is born, the Savior of the world.


Canticle                                                      Colossians 1:12-20
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...

Antiphon: In the beginning, before time began, the Word was God; today he is born, the Savior of the world.


READING                                                      1 John 1:5b,7
God is light,
and in him there is no darkness at all.
If we walk in the light as he is in the light,
then we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin.


RESPONSORY          
The Word was made flesh, alleluia, alleluia.
 - The Word was made flesh, alleluia, alleluia.
He lived among us.
 - Alleluia, alleluia.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
 - The Word was made flesh, alleluia, alleluia.


MAGNIFICAT
(Canticle of Mary)
Antiphon:When the earth was rapt in silence and night only half through its course, your almighty Word, O Lord, came down from his royal throne.


INTERCESSIONS
By living among us the Word of God opened for us the path to eternal life. We humbly pray to him:

                        Free us, Lord, from every evil.

By the mystery of your incarnation, by your birth and childhood;
  -  by the whole course of your life, dedicated to the Father:

By your labours, your journeys, and your preaching;
  -  by your keeping company with sinners:

By your agony and passion, by your desolation on the cross;
  -  by your suffering, death and burial:

By your resurrection and ascension, by the gift of the Holy Spirit, by your eternal joy and glory,
  -  give deliverance, O Lord, to our deceased brethren.


Our Father...


COLLECT
Grant, Lord, we pray,
that we may imitate what we worship,
and so learn to love even our enemies,
for we celebrate the heavenly birthday
of a man who knew how to pray even for his persecutors.
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.


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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