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Evening Prayer

Thursday, March 26, 2026 • Lent, Week 5 — Thursday

Opening

O 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 forever. Amen.

Hymn

Lift High the Cross

In the evening of this day, O Lord, we come to you,
contrite hearts and broken spirits, seeking to be made new;
for our sins are heavy burdens, and the way is long and steep;
grant us mercy, Lord, and pardon, as we cry to you and weep.

Let the cross of Jesus be the sign before our eyes,
his great love poured out in sorrow, his great death our sacrifice;
and the stone rolled back in glory, and the tomb forever bare:
this the sign that sins are conquered, this the gift beyond compare.

Now the evening lamps are lighted, and the darkness gathers near;
grant us peace beyond all asking, keep us safe from doubt and fear;
in the night may angels watch us, and at morning may we rise
to the glory of your mercy shining bright before our eyes.

Psalmody

Psalm 72The Problem of the Wicked

Ant. Turn to me, O Lord, and have mercy on me.

How good is God to Israel, to those who are upright in heart.

But as for me, my feet were almost moved; my steps had nearly slipped.

For I was envious of the wicked, seeing the peace of sinners.

For there is no consideration of their death, and there is no strength in their wounds.

They are not in the labor of men, and with men they will not be scourged.

Therefore pride holds them; they are covered with their injustice and their impiety.

Their iniquity has gone forth as if from fatness; they have crossed over into the affection of the heart.

They have thought and spoken wickedness; they have spoken iniquity on high.

They set their mouth against heaven, and their tongue passed through on the earth.

Therefore my people will be converted here and full days will be found in them.

And they said: "How does God know, and is there knowledge in the Most High?"

Behold, these are sinners; and abounding in the world, they have obtained riches.

And I said: "Then without cause I have justified my heart and washed my hands among the innocent."

And I have been scourged all day long, and my punishment has been in the mornings.

If I said: "I will speak this way," behold, I would condemn the generation of your sons.

I considered this, so that I might understand; this labor is before me

until I go into the sanctuary of God and come to understand their end.

Yet truly, you have placed slippery things for them; you have cast them down, while they were raised up.

How have they been desolated in a moment? They have perished and have come to an end because of their iniquity.

As a dream of those who awake, O Lord, in your city you will reduce their image to nothing.

For my heart has been inflamed, and my reins have been changed.

And I have been reduced to nothing and I knew nothing; I have been like a beast before you.

And I have always been with you; you have held my right hand.

And in your will you have led me, and with glory you have received me.

For what do I have in heaven, and what have I desired upon the earth besides you?

My flesh and my heart have fainted away; O God of my heart, and God, my portion forever.

For behold those who set themselves apart from you will perish; you have destroyed all who fornicate away from you.

But it is good for me to adhere to God, to place my hope in the Lord God,

so that I may announce all your praises, in the gates of the daughter of Zion.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Ant. Turn to me, O Lord, and have mercy on me.

Psalm 73A Lament Over the Destroyed Sanctuary

Ant. Turn to me, O Lord, and have mercy on me.

Why, O God, have you rejected us to the end? Why has the wrath of your anger fumed against the sheep of your pasture?

Remember your congregation, which you possessed from the beginning.

You redeemed the scepter of your inheritance; mount Zion, in which you have dwelt.

Lift up your hands against their pride unto the end; see what evils the enemy has done in the sanctuary.

And those who hate you have gloried in the midst of your solemnity; they set up their signs for signs.

As if in a thicket of wood with axes, they have cut down at once the carved works of it.

With axe and pick-axe they have broken it down.

They have set your sanctuary on fire; they have defiled the dwelling place of your name on the earth.

They said in their heart, the whole kindred of them together: "Let us abolish all the festivals of God from the land."

Our signs we have not seen; there is now no prophet, and he will not know us anymore.

How long, O God, will the enemy reproach? Is the adversary to provoke your name to the end?

Why do you turn your hand away, and your right hand, from the midst of your bosom, to the end?

But God is our king before ages; he has worked salvation in the midst of the earth.

You strengthened the sea by your power; you crushed the heads of the dragons in the water.

You broke the heads of the dragon; you gave him as food for the people of the Ethiopians.

You broke apart the fountain and the torrent; you dried up the rivers of Ethan.

Yours is the day, and yours is the night; you fashioned the morning light and the sun.

You made all the limits of the earth; summer and spring you formed them.

Remember this: the enemy has reproached the Lord, and a foolish people has provoked your name.

Do not give up to wild beasts the souls of those who confess to you; and do not forget the souls of your poor in the end.

Look upon your covenant; for those who are humiliated have been filled with those who are dark of the earth.

Let not the humble be turned away in shame; the poor and needy will praise your name.

Arise, O God; judge your cause; remember your reproaches, those which the foolish man utters against you all day long.

Do not forget the voices of your enemies; the pride of those who hate you ascends continually.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Ant. Turn to me, O Lord, and have mercy on me.

New Testament Canticle

New Testament Canticle (1 Timothy 3:16)

Evidently great is the mystery of piety, which was manifested in the flesh,

which was justified in the Spirit, which appeared to angels,

which was preached among the Gentiles, which was believed in the world,

which was taken up in glory.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Gospel Canticle: Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55)

The Canticle of Mary (Magnificat) (Luke 1:46–55)

Ant. Turn to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness.

My soul magnifies the Lord.

And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

Because he has regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold, from henceforth all generations will call me blessed.

Because he who is powerful has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

And his mercy is from generation to generation for those who fear him.

He has shown might with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.

He has deposed the powerful from their seat, and he has exalted the humble.

He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has received Israel, his servant, being mindful of his mercy.

As he spoke to our fathers: to Abraham and to his offspring forever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Ant. Turn to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness.

Short Reading

Isaiah 53:5

But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins; upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed.

Responsory

V. Turn to me, O Lord, and have mercy on me.

R. Give your strength to your servant.

V. Do not forsake me, O Lord;

R. be not far from me, O my God.

Evening Intercessions

At the close of this Lenten day, let us lay our prayers before the Lord, saying:

For the church, that this Lenten season may lead to a deeper love of God and neighbor: we pray to you, O Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

For catechumens preparing for Easter baptism, that their formation in faith may be fruitful: we pray to you, O Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

For those suffering from addiction, violence, or poverty, that they may find relief and support: we pray to you, O Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

For those we have hurt or neglected, that God may heal the wounds we have caused: we pray to you, O Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

For all who are dying, that they may face death with hope and peace: we pray to you, O Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

For the faithful departed, that they may come to the fullness of life: we pray to you, O Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

The Lord's Prayer

Let us pray as the Lord himself has taught us:

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.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.

Concluding Prayer

Lord of all mercy, as night comes we confess that we have not always lived as you have called us. Receive us as the father received the prodigal son, with mercy and with joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Marian Antiphon

Ave Regina Caelorum

Hail, O Queen of heaven enthroned! Hail, by angels Mistress owned! Root of Jesse, Gate of morn, whence the world's true Light was born: glorious Virgin, joy to thee, loveliest whom in heaven they see: fairest thou where all are fair, plead with Christ our sins to spare.

Dismissal

The Lord be with you.
And with your spirit.

May almighty God bless us: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God.