Prayer for the Evening (Thursday, December 2)

Prayer for the Evening

In God is our safety and glory:

let us give thanks and praise!

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

Christ the Rock is our foundation;

On his word we firmly build;

For in him is God’s own wisdom,

And in him all doubt is stilled.

Come and praise him for the promise

That in him has been fulfilled.

Offer praise to God the Father

In whose love we came to be.

Praise the Son whose might is gentle,

And whose pow’r can make us free

If we live in his own Spirit.

Praise our God, both One and Three.

Psalm 62:2-9

There is no Holy One like the Lord;/ there is no Rock like our God. (1 Sm 2:2)

The storms that threaten are not those that blow from mountain or sea but those that blow from human doubts, human fears, human violence, whether from within or from without. Even as we await the coming of Christ in fullness, we put our trust in the present help found in his Word as we read, study, and pray it.

In God alone is my soul at rest;

my help comes from him.

He alone is my rock, my stronghold,

my fortress: I stand firm.

How long will you all attack one man

to break him down,

as though he were a tottering wall,

or a tumbling fence?

Their plan is only to destroy:

they take pleasure in lies.

With their mouth they utter blessing

but in their heart they curse.

In God alone be at rest, my soul;

for my hope comes from him.

He alone is my rock, my stronghold,

my fortress: I stand firm.

In God is my safety and glory,

the rock of my strength.

Take refuge in God, all you people.

Trust him at all times.

Pour out your hearts before him

for God is our refuge.

Glory to the Father….

Word of God. Deuteronomy 32:3-4

I will sing the Lord’s renown./ Oh, proclaim the greatness of our God!/ The Rock—how faultless are his deeds,/ how right all his ways!/ A faithful God, without deceit,/ how just and upright he is!

Trust in the Lord and he will help you. (Prv 20:22)

Canticle of Mary

Trust in the Lord forever!/ For the Lord is an eternal Rock. (Is 26:4)

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

Putting our faith in Christ’s word, we pray:

R/Our help comes from you.

When the storms of doubt and fear assail us:

– gather us into the fortress of your love. R/

When the winds of deceit blow strong:

– shield us with the stronghold of your truth. R/

When the tempests of shifting loyalties threaten us:

– stand firm beneath our hesitant steps. R/

(Personal intentions)

Our Father….

May the Lord, our rock and our fortress, protect us from all distress. Amen. (cf. 2 Sm 22:2)

Marian Antiphon

O Mary, ever Virgin, rejoice,

you who were worthy to bear Christ,

the Creator of heaven and earth;

for from your womb

you brought forth the Savior of the world, alleluia.

Alma Redemptoris Mater

Alma Redemptoris Mater, quæ pervia cæli

porta manes, et stella maris, succurre cadenti,

surgere qui curat, populo: tu quæ 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.