Wespers. THE public prayers of the Church, other than those in the great Sacrifice of the Mass, are contained in the Breviary. The whole Office for each day consists of MATINS and LAUDS; PRIME, TIERCE, SEXT, and NONE (the prayers for the first, third, sixth, and ninth hours, the old Roman division of the day ); VESPERS and COMPLINE. This Office was originally chanted daily by the faithful, and is still chanted by some religious Orders, the preservers of primitive tradition and fervor. It is daily recited by the Clergy; and on Sundays and Holydays the Vespers are publicly chanted as part of the solemn worship of the day, to enable the faithful to join in so holy and venerable a form of prayer. All the parts of the Office consist of Psalms and Canticles from the Holy Scripture, with lessons also from Scripture, or the Holy Fathers, and appropriate to the day. The Psalms in the Vespers for Sunday are the 109th and the following, including the 113th, although very frequently the 116th is substituted for the last of these. This series of Psalms is most suitable to the ordinary wants of the Church on her weekly Festivals. The first is a kind of commemoration of all the great Mysteries of our Redemption; the second alludes to the praise of God in the congregation; the third commemorates the graces and privileges of the just; the fourth is a Psalm of praise, as is also that substituted occasionally for the fifth; the fifth celebrates the deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. All are prophecies of our Lord and of His Immaculate Mother, as well as of the Church. In them we sing the praises of Christ, our Lord, as Priest for ever, offering Sacrifice, like Melchisedech, in the form of bread and wine; as Lord of lords, and King of kings; as true to His promises of ever abiding by His Church, investing her with miraculous powers; and ever spreading the mystic Banquet: in them we praise Him as our Redeemer and our God, whom we adore; in them we praise that Immaculate Virgin-the joyful mother of children-and with her raise our hearts and voices to glorify God. It is not, then, an unmeaning Service, but one most appropriate and consoling. Hence, though it is not of obligation to attend Vespers, as it is to hear Mass, all the Saints and spiritual writers of the Church urge the faithful to be present at this Office with piety and devotion. For there is always more benefit and comfort to be derived from the public Offices of the Church than from private devotions, God having ordained that Communion of prayers should always have the preference. VESPERS FOR SUNDAY, The Priest, with his attendants, enters the sanctuary, and, kneeling. before the Altar, recites the following prayer: PERI, Domine, os LORD, open Thou my mouth that I may bless Thy Holy Name; cleanse my heart from all vain, evil, and wandering thoughts; enlighten my understanding; kindle my affections, that I may worthily, attentively, and meum ad benedicendum nomen sanctum tuum munda quoque cor meum ab omnibus vanis, perversis, et alienis cogitationibus intellectum illumina, affectum inflamma, ut digne, attente, ac devote hoc Officium recitare devoutly recite this office, valeam, et exaudiri merear and may deserve to be ante conspectum divinæ heard before the presence : Majestatis tuæ. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. R. Amen. Domine, in unione illius divinæ intentionis, qua ipse in terris laudes Deo persolvisti, has tibi Horas persolvo. of Thy divine Majesty. Through Christ our Lord. R. Amen. Lord, in union with that divine intention wherewith Thou didst Thyself praise God while on earth, I offer these Hours unto Thee. The Celebrant and his attendants then proceed to the bench, on the Epistle side of the sanctuary; and after saying in silence the Our Father and the Hail Mary, the Celebrant intones : EUS, in adjutorium COME unto my help, DEUS, meum intende. R. Domine, ad adjuvandum me festina. V. Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. O God. R. O Lord, make haste to help me. V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. R. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever R. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in sæcula sæculorum. shall be, world without Amen. end. Amen. Alleluia. Alleluia. From Septuagesima to Palm Sunday, inclusively, is said: Laus tibi, Domine, Rex æternæ gloriæ. Ant. Dixit Dominus. Praise to Thee, O Lord, King of eternal glory.] Ant. The Lord said. In Easter-tide the Psalms are all said under this one Antiphon: Virgam virtutis tuæ emittet Dominus ex Sion: * dominare in medio inimicorum tuorum. Tecum principium in die virtutis tuæ in splendoribus Sanctorum : * ex utero ante luciferum genui te. Juravit Dominus, et non pœnitebit eum ; *Tu es sacerdos in æternum secundum ordinem Melchisedech. Dominus a dextris tuis * confregit in die iræ suæ reges. HE Lord said unto my My right hand : The Lord will send forth the sceptre of Thy power out of Sion: rule Thou in the midst of Thine enemies. Thine shall be dominion in the day of Thy power, amid the brightness of the Saints: from the womb before the day-star have I begotten Thee. The Lord hath sworn, and He will not repent: Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedech. The Lord upon Thy right hath overthrown hand: kings in the day of His wrath. * The letters prefixed to the Vesper Psalms are for convenience in selecting them for different Feasts. See the DIRECTORY (p. 215). corde meo: * in consilio heart in the assembly of justorum, et congrega- the just, and in the congretione. Magna opera Domini ; * exquisita in omncs voluntates ejus. gation. Great are the works of the Lord: sought out are they according unto all His pleasure. His work is His praise and His honor: and His Confessio et magnificentia opus ejus, et justitia ejus manet in sæculum justice endureth for ever and ever. sæculi. Memoriam fecit mirabilium suorum misericors et A memorial hath the merciful and gracious Lord |