PRAYER FOR THIS EVENING (FRIDAY, JANUARY 15)

Prayer for the Evening

Jesus Christ is the source of life:

come, let us adore him!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,

and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning,

is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia!

HYMN

Lord, let my evening prayer

As incense sweet ascend;

And while I lift my hands to you,

From heaven in mercy bend.

For in your name I hope,

And brightness floods my way;

The night departs, and clouds that roll,

And threaten with dismay.

And in your name I trust,

To find your promise sure;

Your cov’nant like the mountains strong,

That evermore endure.

Now, at this evening hour,

My hope and trust renew;

Refresh me as the earth that drinks

The cool refreshing dew.

PSALM 49:6-10, 17-21

Store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. (Mt 6:20-21)

Where we invest our trust and our hope, we invest our lives. Let us choose to invest in the true source of life, Jesus Christ!

Why should I fear in evil days

the malice of the foes who surround me,

men who trust in their wealth,

and boast of the vastness of their riches?

For no man can buy his own ransom,

or pay a price to God for his life.

The ransom of his soul is beyond him.

He cannot buy life without end,

nor avoid coming to the grave.

Then do not fear when a man grows rich,

when the glory of his house increases.

He takes nothing with him when he dies,

his glory does not follow him below.

Though he flattered himself while he lived:

“Men will praise me for all my success,”

yet he will go to join his fathers,

who will never see the light any more.

In his riches, man lacks wisdom:

he is like the beasts that are destroyed.

Glory to the Father….

Word of God (1 Peter 1:17-21)

Now if you invoke as Father him who judges impartially according to each one’s works, conduct yourselves with reverence during the time of your sojourning, realizing that you were ransomed from your futile conduct, handed on by your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ as of a spotless unblemished lamb. He was known before the foundation of the world but revealed in the final time for you, who through him ­believe in God who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

The Son of Man came to give his life

as a ransom for many.

(cf. Mk 10:45)

CANTICLE OF MARY

Peter said, “I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, [rise and] walk.” (Acts 3:6)

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior

for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:

the Almighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him

in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,

he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,

and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel

for he has remembered his promise of mercy,

the promise he made to our fathers,

to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory to the Father…

INTERCESSIONS

To Christ our life, we pray:

R/Ransom us, O Lord.

When we are tempted to compromise Christian principles out of fear of the rich and powerful: R/

When we are tempted to drain our time, energy, and love from family and friends for the sake of material gain: R/

When we are tempted to trust in our own resources rather than in you as the source of life: R/

(Personal intentions)

Our Father….

In the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification by the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling with the blood of Jesus Christ: may grace and peace be ours in abundance. Amen. (cf. 1 Pt 1:2)

MARIAN ANTIPHON

Antiphon for the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, January 1

The root of Jesse has budded,

a star has arisen from Jacob;

a Virgin has brought forth the Savior;

we praise you, our God.

Alma Redemptoris Mater, quae pervia caeli

porta manes, et stella maris, succurre cadenti,

surgere qui curat, populo: tu quae genuisti,

natura mirante, tuum sanctum Genitorem,

Virgo prius ac posterius, Gabrielis ab ore

sumens illud Ave, peccatorum miserere.

Loving mother of the Redeemer,

gate of heaven, star of the sea,

assist your people who have fallen yet strive to rise again.

To the wonderment of nature you bore your Creator,

yet remained a virgin after as before.

You who received Gabriel’s joyful greeting,

have pity on us, poor sinners.

V/ Pray for us, O holy Mother of God,

R/ That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae;

vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.

Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Evae.

Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes

in hac lacrimarum valle.

Eia ergo, advocata nostra,

illos tuos misericordes oculos

ad nos converte.

Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,

nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.

O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.

Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy,

our life, our sweetness, and our hope.

To you do we cry,

poor banished children of Eve.

To you do we send up our sighs,

mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.

Turn then, O most gracious advocate,

your eyes of mercy toward us,

and after this our exile

show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus.

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

V/ Pray for us, O holy Mother of God,

R/ That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.