Prayer for the Evening
The Lord comforts those who have lost loved ones.
Let us give him thanks and praise.
Glory to the Father…. Alleluia!
HYMN
Now fades all earthly splendor,
The shades of night descend;
The dying of the daylight
Foretells creation’s end.
Though noon gives place to sunset,
Yet dark gives place to light:
The promise of tomorrow
With dawn’s new hope is bright.
The silver notes of morning
Will greet the rising sun,
As once the Easter glory
Shone round the Risen One.
So will the night of dying
Give place to heaven’s day,
And hope of heaven’s vision,
Will light our pilgrim way.
So will the new creation
Rise from the old reborn
To splendor in Christ’s glory
And everlasting morn.
All darkness will be ended
As faith gives place to sight
Of Father, Son and Spirit,
One God, in heaven’s light.
CANTICLE OF ISAIAH 49:9b-13
Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit. (Rom 5:5)
The first Eucharistic Prayer refers to heaven as a place of “refreshment, light, and peace.” The heavenly Father longs for us to be united to him for ever, in perfect contentment.
Along the ways they shall find pasture,
on every bare height shall their pastures be.
They shall not hunger or thirst,
nor shall the scorching wind or the sun strike them;
For he who pities them leads them
and guides them beside springs of water.
I will cut a road through all my mountains,
and make my highways level.
See, some shall come from afar,
others from the north and the west,
and some from the land of Syene.
Sing out, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth,
break forth into song, you mountains.
For the Lord comforts his people
and shows mercy to his afflicted.
Glory to the Father….
Word of God (Lamentations 3:22-26)
The favors of the Lord are not exhausted,/ his mercies are not spent;/ They are renewed each morning,/ so great is his faithfulness./ My portion is the Lord, says my soul;/ therefore will I hope in him./
Good is the Lord to the one who waits for him,/ to the soul that seeks him;/ It is good to hope in silence/ for the saving help of the Lord.
God will ransom me from death/
and take my soul to himself. (cf. Ps 49:16)
CANTICLE OF MARY
Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. (Mt 25:34)
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
Mindful of your saving love, we pray for the holy souls in purgatory:
R/Bring them to their heavenly reward!
Through your cross and Resurrection:
– by which you conquered death itself. R/
Through the intercession of the Church:
– remember the good they have done, and forgive
the evil. R/
May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God,
– rest in peace. R/
(Personal intentions)
Our Father….
May the choir of angels receive us and, with Lazarus, who was once poor, may we enjoy eternal rest. Amen. (In Paradisum)
MARIAN ANTIPHON
Antiphon of the Divine Office
My soul magnifies the Lord,
for God has regarded my humility.
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.
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.