Opening
God, come to my assistance. Lord, make haste to help me.
Hymn
We thank You for the day now ending, For gifts we noticed and for those we missed. For mercy that outran our failing, For love that met us in the midst. As evening gathers, Christ remain our light— Not fading with the sun’s decline. Receive the work our hands have offered; In You let every hour shine.
Original, Prayer on Fire
Psalm I
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.
Psalm II
Antiphon
Thank you for every unnoticed grace of these hours.
Psalm 98 (97):1–3
Catholic Public Domain Version (public domain)
Psalm
Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has performed wonders. His right hand and his holy arm have accomplished salvation. The Lord has made known his salvation. He has revealed his justice in the sight of the nations. He has remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
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
Thank you for every unnoticed grace of these hours.
Silence
Let the last verse rest in you.
Reading
Romans 15:1–6
Catholic Public Domain Version (public domain)
But we who are stronger must bear with the feebleness of the weak, and not so as to please ourselves. Each one of you should please his neighbor unto good, for edification. For even Christ did not please himself, but as it was written: “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell upon me.” For whatever was written, was written to teach us, so that, through patience and the consolation of the Scriptures, we might have hope. So may the God of patience and solace grant you to be of one mind toward one another, in accord with Jesus Christ, so that, together with one mouth, you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Responsory
Let my prayer rise before you like incense. The lifting of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Magnificat
Antiphon
He has scattered the proud; unclench our hearts before sleep.
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 has scattered the proud; unclench our hearts before sleep.
Intercessions
For vespers prayed in every language this hour.
R. Lord, hear our prayer.
For parishes that feel small.
R. Lord, hear our prayer.
For the pope and for hidden contemplatives.
R. Lord, hear our prayer.
For vocations still unnamed.
R. Lord, hear our prayer.
For the Church to be a gentle light at evening.
R. Lord, hear our prayer.
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
Father, gather the fragments of this day. Nothing offered in love is lost. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.