MyOCCI Live
← Prayer Book
☾

Evening Prayer

Thursday, December 17, 2026 • Advent, Week 2 — Thursday
Download PDF
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
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel,
that mourns in lonely exile here,
until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel!
O come, O Wisdom from on high,
who ordered all things mightily;
to us the path of knowledge show,
and teach us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel!
O come, thou Dayspring, from on high,
and cheer us by thy drawing nigh;
disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
and death's dark shadow put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel!
Psalmody
Psalm 72The Problem of the Wicked
Ant. Behold, the Lord is coming with power; he will illuminate what is hidden in darkness.
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. Behold, the Lord is coming with power; he will illuminate what is hidden in darkness.
Psalm 73A Lament Over the Destroyed Sanctuary
Ant. Behold, the Lord is coming with power; he will illuminate what is hidden in darkness.
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. Behold, the Lord is coming with power; he will illuminate what is hidden in darkness.
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. The Lord will come; go out to meet him, saying: "Great is his dominion, and his peace will have no end."
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. The Lord will come; go out to meet him, saying: "Great is his dominion, and his peace will have no end."
Short Reading
Luke 1:28
Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.
Responsory
V. Come and set us free, Lord God of power.
R. Let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.
V. Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,
R. and grant us your salvation.
Evening Intercessions
As evening falls during this holy season of waiting, let us pray to the Lord who comes, saying:
For the church, that our Advent waiting may be active and hopeful, not passive or fearful: we pray to you, O Lord.
Come, Lord Jesus.
For those who hunger for justice and for peace, that the promise of your kingdom may sustain them: we pray to you, O Lord.
Come, Lord Jesus.
For the sick and those who care for them, that the healing touch of Christ may be near: we pray to you, O Lord.
Come, Lord Jesus.
For all who will travel during this season, that they may journey safely: we pray to you, O Lord.
Come, Lord Jesus.
For those who have died, especially those we remember in our hearts this evening, that they may share in the joy of the Lord's coming: we pray to you, O Lord.
Come, Lord Jesus.
For our parish community, that our Advent journey together may prepare us well for the joy of Christmas: we pray to you, O Lord.
Come, Lord Jesus.
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
God of mercy, strengthen our hope this night. When weariness or sorrow weighs us down, remind us of the joy that is coming; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Marian Antiphon
Alma Redemptoris Mater
Loving Mother of the Redeemer, gate of heaven, star of the sea, assist your people who have fallen, yet strive to rise again. To the wonderment of nature you bore your Creator, yet remained a virgin after as before. You who received Gabriel's joyful greeting, have pity on us poor sinners.
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.