Evening Prayer: Friday 8 December 2017

December 8, 2017

Conception of Mary, Mother of the Lord
Friday after the First Sunday of Advent
Evening Prayer – Anticipation

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

Glory to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.
Amen. 

PSALMODY

Antiphon: My eyes are turned to you, Lord God;*
in you I take refuge; do not strip me of my life. (Ps. 141.8)

Opening (from 140 and 141)

1 I have said to the Lord, ‘You are my God;*
listen, O Lord, to my supplication.’
2 O Lord, I call to you; come to me quickly;*
hear my voice when I cry to you.
3 I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the poor*
and render justice to the needy.
4 Surely, the righteous will give thanks to your name,*
and the upright shall continue in your sight.

Glory to the Father…

or a suitable hymn

Psalm 102
1 Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come before you;*
hide not your face from me in the day of my trouble.
2 Incline your ear to me;*
when I call, make haste to answer me,
3 For my days drift away like smoke,*
and my bones are hot as burning coals.
4 My heart is smitten like grass and withered,*
so that I forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of the voice of my groaning*
I am but skin and bones.
6 I have become like a vulture in the wilderness,*
like an owl among the ruins.
7 I lie awake and groan;*
I am like a sparrow, lonely on a house-top.
8 My enemies revile me all day long,*
and those who scoff at me have taken an oath against me.
9 for I have eaten ashes for bread*
and mingled my drink with weeping.
10 Because of your indignation and wrath*
you have lifted me up and thrown me away.
11 My days pass away like a shadow,*
and I wither like the grass.
12 But you, O Lord, endure for ever,*
and your name from age to age.
13 You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
for it is time to have mercy upon her;*
indeed, the appointed time has come.
14 For your servants love her very rubble,*
and are moved to pity even for her dust.
15 The nations shall fear your name, O Lord,*
and all the kings of the earth your glory.
16 For the Lord will build up Zion,*
and his glory will appear.
17 He will look with favour on the prayer of the homeless;*
he will not despise their plea.
18 Let this be written for a future generation,*
so that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord.
19 For the Lord looked down from his holy place on high;*
from the heavens he beheld the earth;
20 That he might hear the groan of the captive*
and set free those condemned to die;
21 That they may declare in Zion the name of the Lord,*
and his praise in Jerusalem;
22 When the peoples are gathered together,*
and the kingdoms also, to serve the Lord.
23 He has brought down my strength before my time;*
he has shortened the number of my days;
24 And I said, ‘O my God,
do not take me away in the midst of my days;*
your years endure throughout all generations.
25 In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,*
and the heavens are the work of your hands;
26 They shall perish, but you will endure;
they all shall wear out like a garment;*
as clothing you will change them,
and they shall be changed;
27 But you are always the same,*
and your years will never end.
28 The children of your servants shall continue,*
and their offspring shall stand fast in your sight.’

God of unchanging mercy, look with compassion upon all who suffer: the sick and the friendless, the homeless and the captive, the weary and the depressed. Be present to them in the power of your healing love; give them health, comfort, and hope; and bring them to share in the life of your risen Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Conclusion Revelation 22

1 ‘Behold, I am coming soon*
to repay everyone for what he has done.
2 ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last,*
the beginning and the end.
3 ‘I am the root and offspring of David,*
the bright morning star.’
4 The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come’;*
let anyone who hears, say, ‘Come’,
5 Let anyone who is thirsty come;*
let anyone who desires take the water of life without price.
6 The Lord says, ‘Surely I am coming soon’.*
Amen; come, Lord Jesus!

Glory to the Father…

Antiphon: My eyes are turned to you, Lord God;
in you I take refuge; do not strip me of my life.

READING(S)

Matthew 22.1-14

Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, “Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.” But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, maltreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, “The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.” Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.

‘But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?” And he was speechless.Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” For many are called, but few are chosen.’

 

Response Ps. 28.11

Save your people and bless your inheritance.
Save your people and bless your inheritance.
Shepherd them and carry them for ever.
Bless your inheritance.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Save your people and bless your inheritance.

MAGNIFICAT

Magnificat Antiphon: Look up and raise your heads,* because your redemption is
drawing near. (Luke 21, 28)

1 My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,*
my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour;
2 for he has looked with favour on his lowly servant;*
from this day all generations will call me blessed.
3 The Almighty has done great things for me*
and holy is his name.
4 He has mercy on those who fear him*
in every generation.
5 He has shown the strength of his arm;*
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
6 He has cast down the mighty from their thrones*
and has lifted up the lowly.
7 He has filled the hungry with good things,*
and the rich he has sent away empty.
8 He has come to the help of his servant Israel,*
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
9 the promise he made to our forebears,*
to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory to the Father… (may be said by all)

Magnificat Antiphon: Look up and raise your heads,* because your redemption is
drawing near. (Luke 21, 28)

PRAYERS

Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Do not bring us to the time of trial,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and for ever.
Amen.

Collect of the Day

Almighty God,
who looked with favour on your servant Mary
and called her to be the mother of your Son:
grant us, we pray,
the humility which found favour in your sight;
that we, with her, may proclaim the greatness of your name,
and find the mercy shown to those who stand in awe of you;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end. Amen.

Lord God almighty, come and dispel the darkness from our hearts, that in the radiance of your brightness we may know you, the only unfading light, glorious in all eternity. Amen.

Let us bless the Lord:
Thanks be to God!

The God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing:
through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.