Prayer for the Evening
The Lord is just and loves justice:
let us give thanks and praise!
Glory to the Father…. Alleluia!
HYMN
We sing for all the unsung saints,
That countless, nameless throng,
Who kept the faith and passed it on
With hope steadfast and strong
Through all the daily griefs and joys
No chronicles record,
Forgetful of their lack of fame,
But mindful of their Lord.
So we take heart from unknown saints
Bereft of earthly fame,
Those faithful ones who have received
A more enduring name:
For they reveal true blessing comes
When we our pride efface
And offer back our lives to be
The vessels of God’s grace.
PSALM 43
I know, O my God, that you put hearts to the test and that you take pleasure in uprightness. (1 Chr 29:17)
Violence often seems to succeed where goodness fails to accomplish much. Yet the power that endures is the power of the Gospel. The world is full of “unsung saints” who achieve no public success but who persevere in living upright lives that accomplish the greatest of goals: to see and dwell with God always.
Defend me, O God, and plead my cause
against a godless nation.
From deceitful and cunning men
rescue me, O God.
Since you, O God, are my stronghold,
why have you rejected me?
Why do I go mourning
oppressed by the foe?
O send forth your light and your truth;
let these be my guide.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain
to the place where you dwell.
And I will come to the altar of God,
the God of my joy.
My redeemer, I will thank you on the harp,
O God, my God.
Why are you cast down, my soul,
why groan within me?
Hope in God; I will praise him still,
my savior and my God.
Glory to the Father….
Word of God (Jeremiah 9:23)
Let him who glories, glory in this,/ that in his prudence he knows me,/ Knows that I, the Lord, bring about kindness,/ justice and uprightness on the earth;/ For with such am I pleased, says the Lord.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,/ for they will be satisfied. (Mt 5:6)
CANTICLE OF MARY
The righteous shall hold to his way,/ and he who has clean hands increase in strength. (Jb 17:9)
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
God calls us in Christ to worship him in holiness and righteousness all our days.
R/Make us holy, O Lord!
You are the refuge of all who put their trust in you:
– protect the integrity of those who seek to live righteously. R/
You see the depths of our hearts:
– fan into flame our love for kindness, justice, and uprightness. R/
You show us your face in the goodness of those who live the Gospel:
– strengthen us to encourage one another in following your ways. R/
Personal intentions
Our Father….
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and for ever! Amen.
MARIAN ANTIPHON
Mary is the immaculate lily,
who brought forth Christ the imperishable rose.
O holy Mother of God,
immaculate sheep,
who gave birth to Christ the Lamb,
the Word incarnate from you;
O most holy Virgin,
who have astonished the hosts of angels;
stupendous is the miracle in heaven:
a woman clothed with the sun
carrying in her arms the Light.
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.
