Tuesday, May 20
The Vespers Office To Be Observed on the Hour or Half Hour Between 5 and 8 p.m


The Call to Prayer
Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving,* make music to our God upon the harp.
Psalm 147:7

The Request for Presence
Let your countenance shine upon your servant* and teach me your statutes.
Psalm 119:135


The Greeting

How glorious you are!* more splendid than the everlasting mountains!
Psalm 76:4

The Hymn

Most ancient of all mysteries, Before your throne we lie; Have mercy now, most merciful, Most holy Trinity. When heaven and earth were still unmade, When time was yet unknown, You in your radiant majesty Did live and love alone. You were not born, there was no source From which your Being flowed; There is no end which you can reach, For you are simply God. How wonderful creation is, The work which you did bless; What then must you be like, dear God, Eternal loveliness! Most ancient of all mysteries, Before your throne we lie, Have mercy now and evermore, Most holy Trinity.
Fredrick Faber

The Refrain for the Vespers Lessons

Your love, O LORD, for ever will I sing;* from age to age my mouth will proclaim your faithfulness.
Psalm 89:1

The Vespers Psalm

You Make the Darkness That It May Be Night

The trees of the LORD are full of sap,* the cedars of Lebanon which he planted, In which the birds build their nests,* and in whose tops the stork makes his dwelling. The high hills are a refuge for the mountain goats,* and the stony cliffs for the rock badgers. You appointed the moon to mark the seasons,* and the sun knows the time of its setting. You make darkness that it may be night,* in which all the beasts of the forest prowl. The lions roar after their prey* and seek their food from God. The sun rises, and they slip away* and lay themselves down in their dens. Man goes forth to his work* and to his labor until the evening.
Psalm 104:17–24

The Refrain

Your love, O LORD, for ever will I sing;* from age to age my mouth will proclaim your faithfulness.

The Gloria

Glory be to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, so it is now and so it shall ever be, world without end. Alleluia.* Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your Name. May your kingdom come, and your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; for yours are the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

The Prayer Appointed for the Week

Almighty and merciful God, in your goodness keep me, I pray, from all things that may hurt me, that I, being ready both in mind and body, may accomplish with a free heart those things which belong to your purpose; through Jesus Christ my Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. †

The Concluding Prayer of the Church

Lord Jesus Christ, you have prepared a quiet place for us in your Father’s eternal home. Watch over our welfare on this perilous journey, shade us from the burning heat of day, and keep our lives free of evil until the end. Amen.
THE LITURGY OF THE HOURS, VOL. I I I