Prayer for the Evening
The Lord is our shepherd:
come, let us give thanks!
Glory to the Father…. Alleluia!
HYMN
Loving Shepherd of thy sheep,
Keep us, Lord, in safety keep;
Nothing can thy pow’r withstand,
None can pluck us from thy hand.
Loving Shepherd, thou didst give
Thine own life that we might live;
May we love thee day by day,
Gladly all thy will obey.
Loving Shepherd, ever near,
Teach us still thy voice to hear;
Suffer not our step to stray
From the straight and narrow way.
Where thou leadest we would go,
Walking in thy steps below,
Till before thy Father’s throne
We shall know as we are known.
PSALM 23
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. (Is 49:9b-10)
Where the sheep have gone, the shepherd goes to bring them out. No matter how dark the valleys into which we have wandered, Christ is there before us and with us.
The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures
where he gives me repose.
Near restful waters he leads me,
to revive my drooping spirit.
He guides me along the right path;
he is true to his name.
If I should walk in the valley of darkness
no evil would I fear.
You are there with your crook and your staff;
with these you give me comfort.
You have prepared a banquet for me
in the sight of my foes.
My head you have anointed with oil;
my cup is overflowing.
Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me
all the days of my life.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell
for ever and ever.
Glory to the Father….
Word of God (Luke 15:4-7)
What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, “Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.” I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.
The Son of Man has come to seek
and to save what was lost. (Lk 19:10)
CANTICLE OF MARY
The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal, shepherding them rightly. (cf. Ez 34:16)
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
From the depths of every human need, we pray to Christ our Savior:
R/You are there with your crook and your staff;
with these you give us comfort!
In the darkness of our sin: R/
In the depths of our despair: R/
In the shadows of our confusion: R/
In the valley of death: R/
(Personal intentions)
Our Father….
In the Lord’s own house may we dwell for ever and ever. Amen. (cf. Ps 23:6)
MARIAN ANTIPHON
Antiphon for the Solemnity
of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
August 15
Virgin most prudent, where do you go forth,
shining exceedingly as the dawn?
Daughter of Zion, you are all beautiful and gracious,
fair as the moon, bright as the sun.
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.