Prayer for the Evening
Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life:
let us give thanks and praise!
Glory to the Father…. Alleluia!
HYMN
Great convert Teacher of the Faith
Who never ceased from preaching Christ,
Saint Paul, impart to us your zeal,
That we may reach the joys unseen.
All glory to the Trinity,
For ever honor, sov’reignty;
To God Almighty be all praise,
Beginning and the End of all.
PSALM 19:8-15
The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed you from the law of sin and death. (Rom 8:2)
On the road to Damascus, Saint Paul was freed from the law of sin and death to become a willing slave to the law of life and love given in Jesus Christ.
The law of the Lord is perfect,
it revives the soul.
The rule of the Lord is to be trusted,
it gives wisdom to the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right,
they gladden the heart.
The command of the Lord is clear,
it gives light to the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is holy,
abiding for ever.
The decrees of the Lord are truth
and all of them just.
They are more to be desired than gold,
than the purest of gold,
and sweeter are they than honey,
than honey from the comb.
So in them your servant finds instruction;
great reward is in their keeping.
But who can detect all his errors?
From hidden faults acquit me.
From presumption restrain your servant
and let it not rule me.
Then shall I be blameless,
clean from grave sin.
May the spoken words of my mouth,
the thoughts of my heart,
win favor in your sight, O Lord,
my rescuer, my rock!
Glory to the Father….
Word of God (1 Corinthians 15:8-10)
Last of all, as to one born abnormally, [Christ] appeared to me. For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective. Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them; not I, however, but the grace of God [that is] with me.
I am Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be
an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God.
(cf. Rom 1:1)
CANTICLE OF MARY
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain. (Jn 15:16)
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
Through the intercession of Saint Paul, we pray:
R/Free your people, Lord Jesus Christ, through your law of love!
Your law revives the soul:
– refresh all those who have become lost in the desert of lawlessness. R/
Your law gives wisdom to the simple:
– grant the wisdom of the cross to all those who wish to serve you. R/
Your decrees are truth:
– turn all peoples away from appealing deceptions and toward the truth of the Gospel. R/
Your word gives light to the eye:
– bring into the fullness of your light all our beloved dead. R/
(Personal intentions)
Our Father….
May grace and peace in Jesus Christ be with all those beloved of God! Amen. (cf. Rom 1:7)
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.
