Evening Prayers for Holy Thursday (The Last Supper)

Lord Open My Lips

And My Mouth Will Proclaim Your Praise

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Jesus Christ, the firstborn from the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth, has made us a royal people to serve his God and Father.

Psalm 72
The Messiah’s royal power
Opening their treasures, they offered him gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh (Matthew 2:11).

I

O God, give your judgment to the king,
to a king’s son your justice,
that he may judge your people in justice
and your poor in right judgment.

May the mountains bring forth peace for the people
and the hills, justice.
May he defend the poor of the people
and save the children of the needy
and crush the oppressor.

He shall endure like the sun and the moon
from age to age.
He shall descend like rain on the meadow,
like raindrops on the earth.

In his days justice shall flourish
and peace till the moon fails.
He shall rule from sea to sea,
from the Great River to earth’s bounds.

Before him his enemies shall fall,
his foes lick the dust.
The kings of Tarshish and the seacoasts
shall pay him tribute.

The kings of Sheba and Seba
shall bring him gifts.
Before him all kings shall fall prostrate,
all nations shall serve him.

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. Jesus Christ, the firstborn from the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth, has made us a royal people to serve his God and Father.

Ant. 2 The Lord will be the champion of the helpless; he will free the poor from the grip of the powerful.

II

For he shall save the poor when they cry
and the needy who are helpless.
He will have pity on the weak
and save the lives of the poor.

From oppression he will rescue their lives,
to him their blood is dear.
Long may he live,
may the gold of Sheba be given him.
They shall pray for him without ceasing
and bless him all the day.

May corn be abundant in the land
to the peaks of the mountains.
May its fruit rustle like Lebanon;
may people flourish in the cities
like grass on the earth.

May his name be blessed for ever
and endure like the sun.
Every tribe shall be blessed in him,
all nations bless his name.

Blessed be the Lord, God of Israel,
who alone works wonders,
ever blessed his glorious name.
Let his glory fill the earth.

Amen! Amen!

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.

Psalm-prayer

We call upon your name, Father, and pronounce it blessed above the earth. Give your people the fullness of peace and justice in your kingdom.

Ant. The Lord will be the champion of the helpless; he will free the poor from the grip of the powerful.

Ant. 3 The saints won their victory over death through the blood of the Lamb and the truth to which they bore witness.

Canticle – Revelation 11:17-18; 12:10b-12a
The judgment of God

We praise you, the Lord God Almighty,
who is and who was.
You have assumed your great power,
you have begun your reign.

The nations have raged in anger,
but then came your day of wrath
and the moment to judge the dead:
The time to reward your servants the prophets
and the holy ones who revere you,
the great and the small alike.

Now have salvation and power come,
the reign of our God and the authority
of his Anointed One.
For the accuser of our brothers is cast out,
who night and day accused them before God.

They defeated him by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
love for life did not deter them from death.
So rejoice, you heavens,
and you that dwell therein!

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 saints won their victory over death through the blood of the Lamb and the truth to which they bore witness.

READING Hebrews 13:12-15

Jesus died outside the gate, to sanctify the people by his own blood. Let us go to him outside the camp, bearing the insult which he bore. For here we have no lasting city; we are seeking one which is to come. Through him let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips which acknowledge his name.

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.

In place of the responsory, the following is said:

For our sake Christ was obedient, accepting even death.
–For our sake Christ was obedient, accepting even death.

CANTICLE OF MARY

Ant. While they were at supper, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread and gave it to his disciples.

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. While they were at supper, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread and gave it to his disciples.

INTERCESSIONS

At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior entrusted to his Church the memorial of his death and resurrection, to be celebrated for ever. Let us adore him, and say:
– Sanctify your people, redeemed by your blood.

Redeemer of the world, give us a greater share of your passion through a deeper spirit of repentance,
so that we may share the glory of your resurrection.
– Sanctify your people, redeemed by your blood.

May your Mother, comfort of the afflicted, protect us,
may we console others as you console us.
– Sanctify your people, redeemed by your blood.

In their trials enable your faithful people to share in your passion,
and so reveal in their lives your saving power.
– Sanctify your people, redeemed by your blood.

You humbled yourself by being obedient even to accepting death, death on a cross,
give all who serve you the gifts of obedience and patient endurance.
– Sanctify your people, redeemed by your blood.

Transform the bodies of the dead to be like your own in glory,
and bring us at last into their fellowship.
– Sanctify your people, redeemed by your blood.

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 have called us
to participate in this most sacred Supper,
in which your Only Begotten Son,
when about to hand himself over to death,
entrusted to the Church a sacrifice new for all eternity,
the banquet of his love, grant, we pray,
that we may draw from so great a mystery,
the fullness of charity and of life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

DISMISSAL

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

The Lord is truly great. As we wait for his rising from the dead, let us remember today is when Jesus instituted the priesthood,and showed us the way to eternal redemption. Have a holy day.

+Pax,

jeffrey warren

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