The Birth of Mary, Mother of the Lord
Evening Prayer – Week A
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: O Lord my God, how excellent is your greatness!*
you are clothed with majesty and splendour. (Ps. 104.1)
Opening (from Psalm 104)
1 You appointed the moon to mark the seasons,*
and the sun knows the time of its setting.
2 You make darkness that it may be night,*
in which all the beasts of the forest prowl.
3 May the glory of the Lord endure for ever;*
may the Lord rejoice in all his works.
4 May these words of mine please him;*
I will rejoice in the Lord.
Glory to the Father…
or a suitable hymn
Psalm 105.23-45
23 Israel came into Egypt,*
and Jacob became a sojourner in the land of Ham.
24 The Lord made his people exceedingly fruitful;*
he made them stronger than their enemies;
25 Whose heart he turned, so that they hated his people,*
and dealt unjustly with his servants.
26 He sent Moses his servant,*
and Aaron whom he had chosen.
27 They worked his signs among them,*
and portents in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness, and it grew dark;*
but the Egyptians rebelled against his words.
29 He turned their waters into blood*
and caused their fish to die.
30 Their land was overrun by frogs,*
in the very chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke, and there came swarms of insects*
and gnats within all their borders.
32 He gave them hailstones instead of rain,*
and flames of fire throughout their land.
33 He blasted their vines and their fig trees*
and shattered every tree in their country.
34 He spoke, and the locusts came,*
and young locusts without number,
35 Which ate up all the green plants in their land*
and devoured the fruit of their soil.
36 He struck down the firstborn of their land,*
the firstfruits of all their strength.
37 He led out his people with silver and gold;*
in all their tribes there was not one that stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad of their going,*
because they were afraid of them.
39 He spread out a cloud for a covering*
and a fire to give light in the night season.
40 They asked, and quails appeared,*
and he satisfied them with bread from heaven.
41 He opened the rock, and water flowed,*
so the river ran in the dry places.
42 For God remembered his holy word*
and Abraham his servant.
43 So he led forth his people with gladness,*
his chosen with shouts of joy.
44 He gave his people the lands of the nations,*
and they took the fruit of others’ toil,
45 That they might keep his statutes*
and observe his laws.
Hallelujah!
God of our salvation, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, you have fulfilled your promise to our ancestors in the faith to redeem the world from slavery and to lead us into the promised land. Grant us living water from the rock and bread from heaven, that we may survive our desert pilgrimage and praise you for ever, through Jesus Christ our Redeemer.
Conclusion (from 1 John 4)
1 Beloved let us love one another,*
for love is of God;
2 And those who love are born of God*
and know God.
3 Those who do not love do not know God,*
for God is love.
4 In this the love of God was made manifest among us,*
that God sent his only Son into the world
so that we might live through him.
5 In this is love: not that we loved God,*
but that God loved us and sent his Son
to be the expiation for our sins.
6 Beloved, if God so loved us,*
we also ought to love one another.
Glory to the Father…
Antiphon: O Lord my God, how excellent is your greatness!
you are clothed with majesty and splendour.
READING(S)
Acts 1:12-14
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.
Luke 1:26-38
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.’But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.’ Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.
Response (Ps. 119.105)
Your word is a lantern to my feet.
Your word is a lantern to my feet.
A light upon my path
A lantern to my feet.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Your word is a lantern to my feet.
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 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.
