Evening Prayer (from the Dominican Priory of St. Michael the Archangel (Blackfriars), Cambridge)
Since we are totally dependent upon God, we must acknowledge and confess his dominion over us, continually giving him an unending sacrifice of praise. To that end, from the earliest days of the Church, Christians have devoted themselves to prayer at certain hours, especially at the last hour of the day at dusk when the lamps were lighted and day is drawing to a close. In Evening Prayer we give thanks for the day but also most especially for our redemption by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and we seek God’s blessing upon us and on all.
After a short introduction, Evening Prayer begins with a hymn, followed by two psalms (or two portions of a psalm) appropriate to the time of day, and a canticle from the New Testament. Then follows a short reading, a response to the reading and the climax of Evening Prayer: the recitation of the Canticle of Mary (also known as the Magnificat) from St Luke’s Gospel (1:46–55). Evening Prayer then concludes with prayers of intercession, the Lord’s Prayer and a final prayer followed by a blessing.
Evening Prayer is also called Vespers (from the Latin vesper meaning evening).
The texts used at Evening Prayer can be found on the Universalis website.
On the Blackfriars website can be found the texts and music for some occasions during 2020:
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28/29 September |
Patronal Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels |
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8 August |
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7 August |
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4 June |
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26 April |
Third Sunday of Easter: Second Evening Prayer (see page 8) |
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25 April |
Third Sunday of Easter: First Evening Prayer (see page 1) |
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12 to 19 April |
Easter Octave (from Easter Sunday to the Second Sunday of Easter) |
More information about the Dominican Priory of St Michael the Archangel (Blackfriars), Cambridge can be found on its website.
See also our series Introduction to the Prayer of the Church about The Liturgy of The Hours, including Evening Prayer (all the episodes are available as podcasts).
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