Leo the Great, Bishop and Teacher of the Faith, 461
Evening Prayer – Week B
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: Where can I go from your Spirit?
where can I flee from your presence?
Opening (from Psalm 139)
1 I will thank you because I am marvellously made;*
your works are wonderful, and I know it well.
2 My body was not hidden from you,*
while I was being made in secret
and woven in the depths of the earth.
3 How deep I find your thoughts, O God!*
how great is the sum of them!
4 If I were to count them, they would be more in number than the sand;* to count them all, my life span would need to be like yours.
Glory to the Father…
or a suitable hymn
Psalm 106.19-48
19 Israel made a bull-calf at Horeb*
and worshipped a molten image;
20 And so they exchanged their Glory*
for the image of an ox that feeds on grass.
21 They forgot God their saviour,*
who had done great things in Egypt,
22 Wonderful deeds in the land of Ham,*
and fearful things at the Red Sea.
23 So he would have destroyed them,
had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach,*
to turn away his wrath from consuming them.
24 They refused the pleasant land*
and would not believe his promise.
25 They grumbled in their tents*
and would not listen to the voice of the Lord.
26 So he lifted his hand against them,*
to overthrow them in the wilderness,
27 To cast out their seed among the nations,*
and to scatter them throughout the lands.
28 They joined themselves to Baal-Peor*
and ate sacrifices offered to the dead.
29 They provoked him to anger with their actions,*
and a plague broke out among them.
30 Then Phinehas stood up and interceded,*
and the plague came to an end.
30 This was reckoned to him as righteousness*
throughout all generations for ever.
32 Again they provoked his anger at the waters of Meribah,*
so that he punished Moses because of them;
33 For they so embittered his spirit*
that he spoke rash words with his lips.
34 They did not destroy the peoples*
as the Lord had commanded them.
35 They intermingled with the heathen*
and learned their pagan ways,
36 So that they worshipped their idols,*
which became a snare to them.
37 They sacrificed their sons*
and their daughters to evil spirits.
38 They shed innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters,*
which they offered to the idols of Canaan,
and the land was defiled with blood.
39 Thus they were polluted by their actions*
and went whoring in their evil deeds.
40 Therefore the wrath of the Lord was kindled against his people*
and he abhorred his inheritance.
41 He gave them over to the hand of the heathen,*
and those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies oppressed them,*
and they were humbled under their hand.
43 Many a time did he deliver them,
but they rebelled through their own devices,*
and were brought down in their iniquity.
44 Nevertheless, he saw their distress,*
when he heard their lamentation.
45 He remembered his covenant with them*
and relented in accordance with his great mercy.
46 He caused them to be pitied*
by those who held them captive.
47 Save us, O Lord our God,
and gather us from among the nations,*
that we may give thanks to your holy name
and glory in your praise.
48 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting and to everlasting;*
and let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
Hallelujah!
God our Father, remembering your covenant you graciously pardoned those who rebelled against you. Grant that where sin abounds, grace may abound more, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Conclusion (from 1 Timothy 3)
1 Great indeed, we confess,*
is the mystery of our religion.
2 He was manifested in the flesh,*
vindicated in the Spirit,
3 Seen by angels,*
preached among the nations,
4 Believed on in the world;*
taken up in glory.
Glory to the Father…
Antiphon: Where can I go from your Spirit?
where can I flee from your presence?
READING(S)
Luke 15:1-2, 11-32
Now all the tax-collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him.And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’
Then Jesus said, ‘There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.” So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and travelled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, “How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.’ ” So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father said to his slaves, “Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” And they began to celebrate.
‘Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, “Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.” Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, “Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!” Then the father said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.” ’
Response (Ps. 105.5)
Call to mind what wonders he has done!
Call to mind what wonders he has done!
His marvellous acts and the judgements of his mouth.
What wonders he has done!
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Call to mind what wonders he has done!
MAGNIFICAT
Magnificat Antiphon: Show, O Lord, the strength of your arm;* scatter the proud and exalt the lowly.
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: Show, O Lord, the strength of your arm;* scatter the proud and exalt the lowly.
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
O God, our refuge and strength, the very author of devotion: hear the prayers of your Church; and grant that what we seek in faith we may in fact obtain; 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.
