Opening
God, come to my assistance. Lord, make haste to help me.
Hymn
The sun goes down, yet You remain, Unfailing light of every soul. We lay the day’s unfinished stories Into Your hands that make us whole. Forgive the sharp word and the silence; Bless what was done in simple care. And as the shadows lengthen gently, Keep hope alive in evening prayer.
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
As light fades, gather what this day has been — and bless it.
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
As light fades, gather what this day has been — and bless it.
Silence
Hold the psalm a little longer.
Reading
1 Peter 1:6–9
Catholic Public Domain Version (public domain)
In this, you should exult, if now, for a brief time, it is necessary to be made sorrowful by various trials, so that the testing of your faith, which is much more precious than gold tested by fire, may be found in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. For though you have not seen him, you love him. In him also, though you do not see him, you now believe. And in believing, you shall exult with an inexpressible and glorious joy, returning with the goal of your faith, the salvation of souls.
Responsory
Into your hands I return this day. You have been our dwelling place. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Magnificat
Antiphon
He fills the hungry; feed us with what lasts into the night.
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
He fills the hungry; feed us with what lasts into the night.
Intercessions
For this city as lights come on.
R. Lord, have mercy.
For those who work the night shift.
R. Lord, have mercy.
For the unhoused looking for a safe corner.
R. Lord, have mercy.
For police, nurses, and all who keep watch.
R. Lord, have mercy.
For peace on our streets.
R. Lord, have mercy.
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
God our Father, we lay the day’s unfinished stories in your hands. Let mercy have the last word. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.