Opening
God, come to my assistance. Lord, make haste to help me.
Hymn
As light fades, gather what this day has been — And bless it, Lord, even the unfinished part. Thank you for every unnoticed grace That found its way into the heart. Stay with us; it is nearly evening. The day is almost spent. Forgive what was harsh, heal what was hurried, And keep what was true to the end.
Original – Prayer on Fire
Psalm I
Antiphon
Stay with us, Lord, for it is nearly evening.
Psalm 67 (66):2–4
Catholic Public Domain Version (public domain)
Psalm
May God have mercy on us and bless us. May he shine his countenance upon us, and may he have mercy on us. So may we know your way upon the earth, your salvation among all nations. Let the peoples confess to you, O God. Let all the peoples confess to you.
Glory Be
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Antiphon
Stay with us, Lord, for it is nearly evening.
Psalm II
Antiphon
This is the day the Lord has made — we will rejoice and be glad.
Psalm 72 (71):1–2, 12–13
Catholic Public Domain Version (public domain)
Psalm
Give your judgment, O God, to the king, and your justice to the king’s son, to judge your people with justice and your poor with judgment. For he will free the poor from the powerful, and the poor one who has no helper. He will spare the poor and the indigent, and he will bring salvation to the souls of the poor.
Glory Be
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Antiphon
This is the day the Lord has made — we will rejoice and be glad.
Silence
A moment of silence
Reading
2 Corinthians 1:3–7
Catholic Public Domain Version (public domain)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation. He consoles us in all our tribulation, so that we too may be able to console those who are in any kind of distress, through the exhortation by which we also are being exhorted by God. For just as the Passion of Christ abounds in us, so also, through Christ, does our consolation abound. So, if we are in tribulation, it is for your exhortation and salvation, or if we are in consolation, it is for your consolation, or if we are exhorted, it is for your exhortation and salvation, which results in the patient endurance of the same passion which we also endure. So may our hope for you be made firm, knowing that, just as you are participants in the suffering, so also shall you be participants in the consolation.
Responsory
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His mercy endures forever. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Magnificat
Antiphon
As he spoke to our fathers, speak to us in this evening hour.
Luke 1:46–55
Catholic Public Domain Version (public domain)
Canticle
And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord. And my spirit leaps for joy in God my Savior. For he has looked with favor on the humility of his handmaid. For behold, from this time, all generations shall call me blessed. For he who is great has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is from generation to generations for those who fear him. He has accomplished powerful deeds with his arm. He has scattered the arrogant in the intentions of their heart. He has deposed the powerful from their seat, and he has exalted the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has taken up his servant Israel, mindful of his mercy, just as he spoke to our fathers: to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
Glory Be
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Antiphon
As he spoke to our fathers, speak to us in this evening hour.
Intercessions
For bishops, priests, and all who keep the Church in prayer.
R. Speak, Lord, we are listening.
For workers returning home, and for those with no home to enter.
R. Speak, Lord, we are listening.
For friendships strained today, that evening may soften them.
R. Speak, Lord, we are listening.
For the dead we name before you, and those known to you alone.
R. Speak, Lord, we are listening.
For a heart that can still give thanks.
R. Speak, Lord, we are listening.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Closing prayer
Bless those we met and those we missed. Make us a quiet blessing as the day declines. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.