Evening Prayer: Friday 12 December 2025

Friday 12 December 2025

This is the new revised order for Daily Prayer authorised for experimental use. You can find the 2006 Revised version here.

Friday after Second Sunday of Advent
Advent

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

Glory to God, Source of all Being, Eternal Word, and 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.
(Psalm 141.8)

Opening (from Psalms 140 and 141)

1. I have said to the Lord, ”You are my God;
listen, O Lord, to my supplication.”

2. 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 ...
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 you, 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 you would have destroyed them, had not Moses your chosen stood before you in the breach, *
to turn away your wrath from consuming them.

24. They refused the pleasant land *
and would not believe your promise.

25. They grumbled in their tents *
and would not listen to the voice of the Lord.

26. So you lifted your 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 you 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.

31. This was reckoned to him as righteousness *
throughout all generations for ever.

32. Again they provoked your anger at the waters of Meribah, *
so that you 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 your wrath was kindled against your people *
and you abhorred your inheritance.

41. You 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 you deliver them, but they rebelled through their own devices, *
and were brought down in their iniquity.

44. Nevertheless, you saw their distress, *
when you heard their lamentation.

45. You remembered your covenant with them *
and relented in accordance with your great mercy.

46. You 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!

Glory …

Conclusion


Revelation 22

1. I am the Alpha and the Omega, *
says the Lord.

2. 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 …

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

READING(S)

Matthew 23:27-39

‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth. So you also on the outside look righteous to others, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. ‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, and you say, “If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.” Thus you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your ancestors. You snakes, you brood of vipers! How can you escape being sentenced to hell? Therefore I send you prophets, sages, and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town, so that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly I tell you, all this will come upon this generation. ‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you, desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.” ’

Silence

Response (Psalm 28.9)

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.

SONG OF MARY

Song of Mary Antiphon: Prepare the way of the Lord,* make his paths straight. All flesh shall see the salvation of God. (Luke 3.4,6)

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)

Song of Mary Antiphon: Prepare the way of the Lord,* make his paths straight. All flesh shall see the salvation of God. (Luke 3.4,6)

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

Stir up our hearts, Lord,
to prepare the way of your only-begotten Son:
that, in his coming,
we might serve you with our hearts made pure;
through the same 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.