Prayer for the Evening

 

Christ is God’s love for us made flesh:

come, let us adore!

 

Glory to the Father…. Alleluia!

 

HYMN

 

O Christ, the Healer, we have come

To pray for health, to plead for friends.

How can we fail to be restored,

When reached by love that never ends.

 

From every ailment flesh endures

Our bodies clamor to be freed;

Yet in our hearts we would confess

That wholeness is our deepest need.

 

Grant that we all, made one in faith,

In your community may find

The wholeness that, enriching us,

Shall reach the whole of humankind.

 

PSALM 30:3-4, 9-13

 

Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. (Mt 10:8)

Like Simon’s mother-in-law, who opened her house so that others might receive the healing that she had been given, Saint Paul felt the burden and the privilege of handing on to others the Gospel of salvation which he had received. As we have received, so let us give!

 

O Lord, I cried to you for help

and you, my God, have healed me.

O Lord, you have raised my soul from the dead,

restored me to life from those who sink into the grave.

 

To you, Lord, I cried,

to my God I made appeal:

“What profit would my death be, my going to the grave?

Can dust give you praise or proclaim your truth?”

 

The Lord listened and had pity.

The Lord came to my help.

For me you have changed my mourning into dancing,

you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.

So my soul sings psalms to you unceasingly.

O Lord my God, I will thank you for ever.

 

Glory to the Father….

 

Word of God (Isaiah 49:3-4)

 

You are my servant, he said to me,/ Israel, through whom I show my glory.

Though I thought I had toiled in vain,/ and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength,/ Yet my reward is with the Lord,/ my recompense is with my God.

 

The just live forever,/ and in the Lord is their

recompense,/ and the thought of them is

with the Most High. (Wis 5:15)

 

CANTICLE OF MARY

 

Tell them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, ready to share. (1 Tm 6:18)

 

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

 

Let us pray with grateful hearts:

R/As you have done for us, may we also do.

You have loved us without limit: R/

You have heard us in our every need: R/

You have borne our burdens even unto death: R/

 

(Personal intentions)

 

Our Father….

 

May mercy, peace, and love be ours in abundance. Amen. (cf. Jude 2)

 

MARIAN ANTIPHON

 

Antiphon for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, February 2

 

Today the Blessed Virgin Mary

presented the Child Jesus in the Temple;

and Simeon, filled with the Holy Spirit,

took him into his arms,

and blessed God forever.

 

 

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.

 

Ave, Regina caelorum,

Ave, Domina angelorum,

Salve, radix, salve, porta,

Ex qua mundo lux est orta.

 

Gaude, Virgo gloriosa,

Super omnes speciosa;

Vale, O valde decora,

Et pro nobis Christum exora.

 

Hail, O Queen of heaven enthroned.

Hail, by angels mistress owned.

Root of Jesse, Gate of morn

Whence the world’s true light was born:

 

Glorious Virgin, joy to thee,

Loveliest whom in heaven they see;

Fairest thou, where all are fair,

Plead with Christ our souls to spare.

Prayer for the Evening

 

Let us take up the cup of salvation

and call on the name of the Lord!

 

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

 

Bleeding and bound in the prison, behold!

Peter restored the sweet lamb to his fold;

Gladly she faces the torture again,

Rising in triumph o’er evil and pain.

 

Even the strangers, who knew not the Lord,

Flying destruction, were saved by her word;

Surely to those who are marked with his seal,

She will bring graces to help and to heal.

 

Glorious Agatha, now as a bride,

Raised by your Savior, you stand at his side;

Hear us and plead for us, keeping your day,

Lift us and lead us to Jesus, we pray.

 

PSALM 116:10-19

 

Jesus said, “The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized.” (cf. Mk 10:39)

The Lord strengthened Saint Agatha to take up with courage the cup of salvation, the cup of his blood, the blood of the new covenant, poured out for our redemption. Let us pray that he will grant us a share in her courage and her fidelity.

 

I trusted, even when I said:

“I am sorely afflicted,”

and when I said in my alarm:

“No man can be trusted.”

 

How can I repay the Lord

for his goodness to me?

The cup of salvation I will raise;

I will call on the Lord’s name.

 

My vows to the Lord I will fulfill

before all his people.

O precious in the eyes of the Lord

is the death of his faithful.

 

Your servant, Lord, your servant am I;

you have loosened my bonds.

A thanksgiving sacrifice I make:

I will call on the Lord’s name.

 

My vows to the Lord I will fulfill

before all his people,

in the courts of the house of the Lord,

in your midst, O Jerusalem.

 

Glory to the Father….

 

Word of God (2 Corinthians 4:17–5:2)

 

This momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal.

 

For we know that if our earthly dwelling, a tent, should be destroyed, we have a building from God, a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven. For in this tent we groan, longing to be further clothed with our heavenly habitation.

 

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. (Ps 25:1)

 

CANTICLE OF MARY

 

I am already being poured out like a libation. (2 Tm 4:6)

 

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 (cf. Litany of the Precious Blood)

 

Redeemed by the blood of Christ, we pray:

 

R/Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world:

have mercy on us!

 

Blood of Christ, Only Begotten Son of the eternal Father, save us. R/

 

Blood of Christ, Incarnate Word of God, save us. R/

 

Blood of Christ, of the new and eternal covenant,

save us. R/

 

Blood of Christ, poured out on the cross, save us. R/

 

Blood of Christ, price of our salvation, save us. R/

 

Blood of Christ, shed anew in the martyrs, save us. R/

 

(Personal intentions)

 

Our Father….

 

May the all-powerful God protect us from all evil and bring us to life everlasting. Amen.

 

MARIAN ANTIPHON

 

Antiphon for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, February 2

 

Today the Blessed Virgin Mary

presented the Child Jesus in the Temple;

and Simeon, filled with the Holy Spirit,

took him into his arms,

and blessed God forever.

 

 

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.

 

Ave, Regina caelorum,

Ave, Domina angelorum,

Salve, radix, salve, porta,

Ex qua mundo lux est orta.

 

Gaude, Virgo gloriosa,

Super omnes speciosa;

Vale, O valde decora,

Et pro nobis Christum exora.

 

Hail, O Queen of heaven enthroned.

Hail, by angels mistress owned.

Root of Jesse, Gate of morn

Whence the world’s true light was born:

 

Glorious Virgin, joy to thee,

Loveliest whom in heaven they see;

Fairest thou, where all are fair,

Plead with Christ our souls to spare.

Prayer for the Evening

 

In prayer and in praise, let us seek the Lord.

 

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

 

When Mary brought her Treasure

Unto the Holy Place,

No eye of man could measure

The joy upon her face.

He was but six weeks old,

Her plaything and her pleasure,

Her silver and her gold.

 

Then Simeon on him gazing

With wonder and with love,

His aged voice up-raising,

Gave thanks to God above:

Now welcome, sweet release!

For I, my Savior praising,

May die at last in peace.

 

And she, all sorrow scorning,

Rejoiced in Jesus’ fame;

The Child her arms adorning

Shone softly like a flame

That burns the whole night through,

And keeps from dusk till morning

Its vigil clear and true.

 

As by the sun in splendor

The flags of night are furled,

So darkness shall surrender

To Christ who lights the world:

To Christ the star of day,

Who once was small and tender,

A candle’s gentle ray.

 

PSALM 27:1, 4, 6b-8, 13-14

 

My soul is longing for the Lord/ more than watchman for daybreak. (Ps 130:6)

Simeon and Anna waited in patient faith for the dawning of the Sun of Justice. Let us seek the Lord with all our hearts as they did, so that we too may recognize him when he comes into our lives.

 

The Lord is my light and my help;

whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life;

before whom shall I shrink?

 

There is one thing I ask of the Lord,

for this I long,

to live in the house of the Lord,

all the days of my life,

to savor the sweetness of the Lord,

to behold his temple.

 

I shall offer within his tent

a sacrifice of joy.

I will sing and make music for the Lord.

 

O Lord, hear my voice when I call;

have mercy and answer.

Of you my heart has spoken:

“Seek his face.”

It is your face, O Lord, that I seek.

 

I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness

in the land of the living.

Hope in him, hold firm and take heart.

Hope in the Lord!

 

Glory to the Father….

 

Word of God (Romans 8:24-25)

 

In hope we were saved. Now hope that sees for itself is not hope. For who hopes for what one sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait with endurance.

In you we hope; for you we wait.

 

CANTICLE OF MARY

 

Coming forward at that very time, Anna gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem. (cf. Lk 2:38)

 

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

 

The world awaits the full revelation of God’s mercy in Jesus Christ, as Simeon and Anna waited.

 

R/It is your face, O Lord, that we seek.

 

You came to the people that had long awaited you:

– come to those who serve you in patient hope. R/

 

You were brought to the Temple as an offering from and for the poor:

– come to those who have pledged to you their poverty. R/

 

You were offered in the Temple as you would offer yourself on the cross:

– come to those who have offered themselves to you through religious vows. R/

 

You joined your Mother’s offering to your own:

– remember those who take part in your Passion. R/

 

(Personal intentions)

 

Our Father….

 

The Lord bless us and keep us!/ The Lord let his face shine upon us, and be gracious to us!/ The Lord look upon us kindly and give us peace! Amen. (cf. Nm 6:24-26)

 

MARIAN ANTIPHON

 

Antiphon for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, February 2

 

Today the Blessed Virgin Mary

presented the Child Jesus in the Temple;

and Simeon, filled with the Holy Spirit,

took him into his arms,

and blessed God forever.

 

 

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.

 

Ave, Regina caelorum,

Ave, Domina angelorum,

Salve, radix, salve, porta,

Ex qua mundo lux est orta.

 

Gaude, Virgo gloriosa,

Super omnes speciosa;

Vale, O valde decora,

Et pro nobis Christum exora.

 

Hail, O Queen of heaven enthroned.

Hail, by angels mistress owned.

Root of Jesse, Gate of morn

Whence the world’s true light was born:

 

Glorious Virgin, joy to thee,

Loveliest whom in heaven they see;

Fairest thou, where all are fair,

Plead with Christ our souls to spare.

Prayer for the Evening

 

In Christ is the source of life; in his light, we see light:
let us give thanks and praise.

 

Glory to the Father…. Alleluia!

 

HYMN

 

A noble son of noble race

And born of house enriched with fame,

The youthful Thomas, led by grace,

Within the Preachers’ Order came.

 

Applaud, O Mother Church, and praise

The happy end that Thomas made:

By merit of Life’s word and ways

He reached the joys that never fade.

 

Then be to Father and to Son

And Holy Spirit praise confessed;

May we through merit Thomas won

Be joined in heaven with the blest.

 

CANTICLE (Sirach 14:20-21, 24-27; 15:4-6)

 

Whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God. (Jn 3:21)

Saint Thomas lived in the truth of Christ and so came to know the incomparable light of God’s revelation. That was his unfailing joy.

 

Happy the man who meditates on wisdom,

and reflects on knowledge;

Who ponders her ways in his heart,

and understands her paths;

Who encamps near her house,

and fastens his tent pegs next to her walls;

 

Who pitches his tent beside her,

and lives as her welcome neighbor;

Who builds his nest in her leafage,

and lodges in her branches;

Who takes shelter with her from the heat,

and dwells in her home.

 

He will lean upon her and not fall,

he will trust in her and not be put to shame.

She will exalt him above his fellows;

in the assembly she will make him eloquent.

 

Joy and gladness he will find,

an everlasting name inherit.

 

Glory to the Father….

 

Word of God (Wisdom 6:22)

 

Now what Wisdom is, and how she came to be, I shall relate;/ and I shall hide no secrets from you,/ But from the very beginning I shall search out/ and bring to light knowledge of her,/ nor shall I diverge from the truth.

 

Light produces every kind of goodness

and righteousness and truth. (Eph 5:9)

 

Canticle of Mary

 

God has made known to us the mystery of his will in accord with his favor that he set forth in Christ. (cf. Eph 1:9)

 

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

 

Jesus Christ is the fountain of all truth. Let us pray to him, saying:

 

R/Keep on loving those who know you!

 

You are the center of our life:

– surround us and fill us with your redeeming grace. R/

 

You are the reason for our being:

– enlighten our minds and direct our wills to live according to your purposes. R/

 

You are the goal of our life’s journey:

– take into your light all those who have gone before us into death’s darkness. R/

 

(Personal intentions)

 

Our Father….

 

May Christ our light give us refuge in the shelter of his wings. Amen. (cf. Ps 36:8)

 

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.