PRAYER FOR THIS EVENING (WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11)

Prayer for the Evening

Come, let us praise the God of all good!

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

Saint Martin, with Apostle’s zeal

You were prepared to live or die

As pleased God best; smile down on us,

As lovingly to you we cry.

In spirit walk the earth once more,

Guide shepherds and their flocks as well,

Increase the beauty of God’s Church,

Restrain and curb the pow’rs of hell.

Three times you stole from death its prey,

So now raise up those fallen low,

And as you shared your cloak on earth,

True virtue on our souls bestow.

PSALM 10:12-18

Did not God choose those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him? (Jas 2:5)

Saint Martin is perhaps best remembered for tearing his warm cloak in half and sharing it with a shivering beggar, only to discover later in a dream that the beggar was Christ. He never lost this love for the poor or for a life of personal poverty in service of the Gospel.

Arise then, Lord, lift up your hand!

O God, do not forget the poor!

Why should the wicked spurn the Lord

and think in his heart: “He will not punish”?

But you have seen the trouble and sorrow,

you note it, you take it in hand.

The helpless trusts himself to you;

for you are the helper of the orphan.

Break the power of the wicked and the sinner!

Punish his wickedness till nothing remains!

The Lord is king for ever and ever.

The heathen shall perish from the land he rules.

Lord, you hear the prayer of the poor;

you strengthen their hearts; you turn your ear

to protect the rights of the orphan and oppressed

so that mortal man may strike terror no more.

Glory to the Father….

Word of God (Luke 14:13-15)

[Jesus said,] “When you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

One of his fellow guests on hearing this said to him, “Blessed is the one who will dine in the kingdom of God.”

It is more blessed to give than to receive.

(Acts 20:35)

CANTICLE OF MARY

We are treated as poor yet enriching many; as having nothing and yet possessing all things. (cf. 2 Cor 6:8, 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

Through the intercession of Saint Martin, let us pray:

R/Lord, you hear the cry of the poor!

For those who pursue wealth and power at the expense of the poor and powerless:

– grant them the insight of the Gospel. R/

For those who regard the poor and homeless with ­indifference:

– grant them eyes to see you in their suffering. R/

For those who care for the poor without reward:

– grant them Saint Martin’s reward. R/

(Personal intentions)

Our Father….

May Christ dwell in our hearts through faith, and may charity be the root and foundation of our life. Amen. (cf. Eph 3:17)

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.