Prayer for the Evening
Vigil of the Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
How awesome is the Lord our God!
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
From the Father’s throne on high
Christ returns to rule and reign.
Child of earth he came to die;
Judge of all he comes again.
Darkened be the day at noon
When the stars of heaven fall:
Earth and sky and sun and moon,
Cloudy darkness covers all.
Ancient powers of sin and death
Shake to hear the trumpet blown;
From the winds’ remotest breath
God will gather in his own.
So behold the promised sign,
Sky and sea by tumult riven,
And the King of kings divine
Coming in the clouds of heaven.
PSALM 29
The sun will be darkened,/ and the moon will not give its light,/ and the stars will be falling from the sky,/ and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. (Mk 13:24-25)
In C.S. Lewis’ book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the children are told of Aslan that “he’s not a tame lion.” Like Aslan, our God is not a tame God. He is kind and wonderful, rich in mercy, but he is at the same time awesome in majesty. The total otherness of God inspires fear, but at the same time it inspires love and wonder in us. The fear of the Lord is not a bad thing, but is rather the appropriate response of the limited creature to the unlimited goodness of God.
O give the Lord, you sons of God,
give the Lord glory and power;
give the Lord the glory of his name.
Adore the Lord in his holy court.
The Lord’s voice resounding on the waters,
the Lord on the immensity of waters;
the voice of the Lord, full of power,
the voice of the Lord, full of splendor.
The Lord’s voice shattering the cedars,
the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon;
he makes Lebanon leap like a calf
and Sirion like a young wild-ox.
The Lord’s voice flashes flames of fire.
The Lord’s voice shaking the wilderness
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh;
the Lord’s voices rending the oak tree
and stripping the forest bare.
The God of glory thunders.
In his temple they all cry: “Glory!”
The Lord sat enthroned over the flood;
[the] Lord sits as king for ever.
The Lord will give strength to his people,
[the] Lord will bless his people with peace.
Glory to the Father….
Word of God. Luke 23:39-43
Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us.” The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, “Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied to him, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
The fear of the Lord is a treasure. (cf. Is 33:6c)
CANTICLE OF MARY
To fear the Lord is the first stage of wisdom;/ all who do so prove themselves wise. (Ps 111:10)
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 Lord is great and mighty is his power. Let us pray:
R/Lord, mighty God, hear our prayer!
Deliver us from servility:
– cover us with your liberating mercy. R/
Deliver us from superficial or limited views of your nature:
– free us to see your greatness and majesty. R/
Deliver us from self-centeredness:
– invite us into your divine life. R/
Personal intentions
Our Father….
May we receive a blessing from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings we have come for refuge. Amen. (cf. Ru 2:12)
Marian Antiphon
Medieval Antiphon
Rejoice, O Mother of God, O Virgin Immaculate;
[rejoice], you who received joy from an angel;rejoice, you who bore the glory of the light everlasting;
[rejoice], O Mother, rejoice,O holy Virgin Mother of God;
you alone a maiden Mother,
all creation praises you, the Mother of light;
may you be for us, we beseech you,
a perpetual intercessor.
SALVE REGINA
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
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.
ALMA REDEMPTORIS MATER
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
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.
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Prayer for the Evening (Friday, November 12)
