Mar 24, Evening Prayer I – Solemnity for Wednesday in the 5th week of Lent

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. II:
Ordinary: 1064
All from Proper of Saints: 1733

Christian Prayer:
Ordinary: 694
All from Proper of Saints: 1114

Evening Prayer I for the Solemnity of the Annunciation

God, come to my assistance.
— Lord, make haste to help me.

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.

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 A shoot will spring forth from the stock of Jesse, and a flower will blossom from his root. The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon him.

Psalm 113
Praise the name of the Lord
He has cast down the mighty and has lifted up the lowly (Luke 1:52).

Praise, O servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!
May the name of the Lord be blessed
both now and for evermore!
From the rising of the sun to its setting
praised be the name of the Lord!

High above all nations is the Lord,
above the heavens his glory.
Who is like the Lord, our God,
who has risen on high to his throne
yet stoops from the heights to look down,
to look down upon heaven and earth?

From the dust he lifts up the lowly,
from his misery he raises the poor
to set him in the company of princes,
yes, with the princes of his people.
To the childless wife he gives a home
and gladdens her heart with children.

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.

Ant. A shoot will spring forth from the stock of Jesse, and a flower will blossom from his root. The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon him.

Ant. 2 The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will reign for ever.

Psalm 147:12-20
The restoration of Jerusalem
Come, I will show you the bride of the Lamb (Revelation 21:9).

O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
Zion, praise your God!

He has strengthened the bars of your gates,
he has blessed the children within you.
He established peace on your borders,
he feeds you with finest wheat.

He sends out his word to the earth
and swiftly runs his command.
He showers down snow white as wool,
he scatters hoar-frost like ashes.

He hurls down hailstones like crumbs.
The waters are frozen at his touch;
he sends forth his word and it melts them:
at the breath of his mouth the waters flow.

He makes his word known to Jacob,
to Israel his laws and decrees.
He has not dealt thus with other nations;
he has not taught them his decrees.

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.

Ant. The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will reign for ever.

Ant. 3 The eternal Word, born of the Father before time began, today emptied himself for our sake and became man.

Canticle – Philippians 2:6-11
Christ, God’s holy servant

Though he was in the form of God,
Jesus did not deem equality with God
something to be grasped at.

Rather, he emptied himself
and took the form of a slave,
being born in the likeness of men.

He was known to be of human estate,
and it was thus that he humbled himself,
obediently accepting even death,
death on a cross!

Because of this,
God highly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
above every other name,

So that at Jesus’ name
every knee must bend
in the heavens, on the earth,
and under the earth,
and every tongue proclaim
to the glory of God the Father:
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!

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.

Ant. The eternal Word, born of the Father before time began, today emptied himself for our sake and became man.

READING 1 John 1:1-2

This is what we proclaim to you:
what was from the beginning,
what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes,
what we have looked upon
and our hands have touched—
we speak of the word of life.
This life became visible;
we have seen and bear witness to it,
and we proclaim to you the eternal life
that was present to the Father
and became visible to us.

Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell) – a moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.

RESPONSORY

A flower has sprung from Jesse’s stock and a star has risen from Jacob.
— A flower has sprung from Jesse’s stock and a star has risen from Jacob.

The Virgin has given birth to the Savior,
— and a star has risen from Jacob.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
— A flower has sprung from Jesse’s stock and a star has risen from Jacob.

CANTICLE OF MARY

Ant. The Holy Spirit will come upon you, Mary; and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.

Luke 1:46-55
The soul rejoices in the Lord

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, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. The Holy Spirit will come upon you, Mary; and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.

INTERCESSIONS

On this day the eternal Father sent his angel to bring Mary the good news of our salvation. Let us turn to God and pray with confidence:
Lord, fill our hearts with your love.

You chose the Virgin Mary as the mother of your Son,
— have mercy on all who look for your gift of salvation.
Lord, fill our hearts with your love.

You sent Gabriel to give Mary your message of peace and joy,
— give to the whole world the joy of salvation and your gift of true peace.
Lord, fill our hearts with your love.

Mary gave her consent, the Holy Spirit overshadowed her, and your Word came to dwell among us,
— touch our hearts that we may welcome Christ as Mary did.
Lord, fill our hearts with your love.

You look with love on the humble, and fill the hungry with your gifts,
— raise up the downcast, help all in need, comfort and strengthen the dying.
Lord, fill our hearts with your love.

Lord our God, you alone work wonders and with you all things are possible,
— give us the fullness of salvation when you raise up the dead on the last day.
Lord, fill our hearts with your love.

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.

Concluding Prayer

O God,
who willed that your Word should take on
the reality of human flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary,
grant, we pray, that we, who confess our Redeemer to be God and man,
may merit to become partakers even in his divine nature.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
— Amen.

DISMISSAL

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life.
— Amen.