A Vespers of Our Lady : The Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Hymn: Hail Mary, most blessed (tune: Lourdes Ave)

Hail Mary, most blessed the Mother of God,
and given by Jesus as mother of all.
Ave, Ave, Ave Maria. Ave, Ave, Ave Maria.

The angels great message, the birth of God’s Son
required your acceptance so graciously given.
Ave, Ave, Ave Maria. Ave, Ave, Ave Maria.

You cared for your cousin and joy swelled your heart.
You voiced all our hopes in your Magnificat.
Ave, Ave, Ave Maria. Ave, Ave, Ave Maria.

A stable for shelter, in labour and love,
you welcomed your baby, God’s gift from above.
Ave, Ave, Ave Maria. Ave, Ave, Ave Maria.

The angels and shepherds first witnessed Christ’s birth.
The kings show God’s message is for the whole earth.
Ave, Ave, Ave Maria. Ave, Ave, Ave Maria.

O God, come to our aid:
O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory to the Father, glory to the Son,
glory to the Holy Spirit now and for ever.
Amen.

We sit for the psalm

Psalm 66: May he bless us and keep us, may he give us his peace.

Let the nations exult with joy for you rule us with justice.
Let all the peoples praise you, O God, let all the peoples praise.
May he bless us and keep us, may he give us his peace.

Glory be to the Father, glory to God the Son,
glory to the Holy Spirit now and for ever. Amen.
May he bless us and keep us, may he give us his peace.

Let us pray:

Lord God,
the grace you gave to the Blessed Virgin Mary
became a blessing for us all.
May we be like her
in the generosity of our response to your gifts.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

A Canticle from the Letter to the Ephesians 1:3….

Blest be God the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Blessed be God the Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ
who has blest us in Christ with every spiritual blessing.
God chose us in him before the world was made,
to be holy and blameless before him,
to be holy and blameless before him,

Blest be God the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

He destined us in love to be heirs through Jesus Christ
according to his purpose, the purpose of his will,
to the praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us,
bestowed on us in the Beloved,
which he freely bestowed on us.

Blest be God the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

In him we have redemption, redemption through his blood,
forgiveness of sin in the richness of his grace,
the grace which he lavished on us, the grace which he lavished on us.
In him we have redemption,
redemption through his blood.

Blest be God the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

He has made known to his people in all wisdom and insight
The myst’ry of his will according to his purpose
which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time
to unite all things in Jesus Christ as a plan for the fullness of time.

Blest be God the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

A Reading: Romans 5:20-21

However great the number of sins committed,
grace was even greater;
and so, just as sin reigned wherever there was death,
so grace will reign to bring eternal life
thanks to the righteousness that comes
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Responsory:

From the rising of the sun to its setting, great is the name of the Lord.
High above the heavens is his glory.
Glory to the Father, glory to the Son,
glory to the Holy Spirit now and for ever.
Amen.

Magnificat: any of the many versions of the Song of Our Lady
Intercessions: (as in the Evening Prayer of the Day)

God the almighty Father willed that all generations should celebrate Mary, the mother of his son.
Let us praise him with great praise and humbly bring him our petitions:
– Remember Mary, full of grace, and hear our prayers.

God, worker of miracles, you lifted up the immaculate Virgin Mary, body and soul, to share the glory of Christ in heaven:
guide the hearts of your children to that same glory.
– Remember Mary, full of grace, and hear our prayers.

You gave us Mary to be our mother.
Through her intercession give healing to those worn out by sickness,
consolation to those who mourn and pardon to those who have done wrong;
and to all of us give salvation and peace.
– Remember Mary, full of grace, and hear our prayers.

You made Mary the mother of mercy and compassion:
may those beset by danger experience her motherly love.
– Remember Mary, full of grace, and hear our prayers.

God, you chose Mary to be the mother of your family,
in the house of Jesus and Joseph:
let every mother make her own family
a place where love and holiness grow.
– Remember Mary, full of grace, and hear our prayers.

Lord God, you crowned Mary as the queen of heaven:
may the dead rejoice in the ranks of your saints for ever.
– Remember Mary, full of grace, and hear our prayers.

Our Father, who art in heaven . . . . . . .

Father,
we rejoice in the privilege of our Lady’s Immaculate Conception,
which preserved her from the stain of sin
by the power of Christ’s redeeming death,
and prepared her to be the Mother of God.
Grant that through her prayers
we ourselves may come to you, cleansed from all sin.
[We make our prayer] through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
Amen.

May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm;
and may he lead us to eternal life.

Amen.

Final Hymn

Hail, Queen of heav’n, the ocean star, guide of the wand’rer here below;
thrown on life’s surge, we claim thy care, save us from peril, and from woe.
Mother of Christ, star of the sea, pray for the wanderer, pray for me.

O gentle, chaste and spotless maid, we sinners make our prayers though thee,
remind thy Son that he had paid the price of our iniquity.
Virgin most pure, star of the sea, pray for the sinner, pray for me.

Sojourners in this vale of tears, to thee blest advocate, we cry;
pity our sorrows, calm our fears, and soothe with hope our misery.
Refuge in grief, star of the sea, pray for the mourner, pray for me.

And while to Him who reigns above, in Godhead One, in Persons Three,
the source of life, of grace, of love, homage we pay on bended knee,
do thou, bright Queen, star of the sea, pray for thy children, pray for me.

or

Mary, full of grace, chosen from our race, faithful daughter of Israel.
You are called the second Eve, you the Saviour did conceive, Ora, ora pro nobis.

Mary spoke the words: Magnify the Lord, God is mighty and wonderful.
I, the servant of the Lord, will be blessed for evermore.” Ora, ora pro nobis.

Mary bore the Son, He the Promised One, Saviour, Healer of all our race.
You were there at Calvary, when Christ died to set us free. Ora, ora pro nobis.

Mary showed the way. Now with her we pray: Let God’s Kingdom be found in us:
holiness and life and grace, justice, truth and love and peace. Ora, ora pro nobis.

Copyrights & Acknowledgements: Hail, Mary Most Blessed: words (c) Stephen Smyth; O God, come… and Psalm 66 (words from The Psalms A New Translation (c) The Grail) music (c) Gerry Fitzpatrick; Canticle from Ephesians (c) Noel S. Donnelly; Hail Queen of Heaven: John Lingard 1771-1851; Mary, Full of Grace, words (c) 1993 Pam Murray, music traditional Sicilian. Graphic (c) Netta Ewing. Prayers and Intercessions (c) ICEL