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The USCCB is presently working on a new English transla-tion of the Liturgy of the Hours. This Vespers service is merely a temporary work of devotion that employs texts from the public domain, with the exception of the two proper hymns which are held in joint copyright by "Sister" Anne of Yahweh

and a Federation of Poor Clare nuns.

The rich theological term, "Lord," is distinguished in four contexts:

“Great Lord” represents the Hebrew Yahweh“Master” represents the Hebrew Adonai

“Kyrios” is the Greek transliteration"Lord" represents the Latin Dominus

The General Instructions of the Liturgy of the Hours #245 allows for the celebration of a "votive" office according to devotion. For centuries it has been the pious custom of mon-asteries to set aside at least one day a month to pray for the dead. One charism of the Order of the Mother of God is to

encourage the laity to assist the faithful departed.

www.HouseofMaryomd.org2018

Office Of Vespers

fOr the DeaD

Incipit Solemn Tone Mode IV

1

Vespers for the Dead

2

Vespers for the Dead

Hymn Dies Irae 12th c.

Throughout the Year

3

Vespers for the Dead

Psalmody

Ant. 1 Our great Lord shall keep you from all evil; * He shall keep your soul. (Ps 120:7)

psalm 120 (121)

lift up my eyes to the hills. *

From whence does my help come?

My help comes from the great Lord, *who made heav-en and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved, *He who guards you will not grow drowsy.

Behold, He who keeps Israel *will neither slum-ber nor sleep.

The great Lord is your keeper; *the great Lord is your shade on your right.

The sun shall not smite you by day, *nor the moon by night.

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Throughout the Year

5

The great Lord shall keep you from all evil; *He shall keep your soul.

The great Lord will keep your going out and coming in, *from this time forth and for evermore.

Glory to the Fa-ther and to the Son, *and to the Holy Spirit.

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever, *and unto ag-es of ages.

Ant. 1 Our great Lord shall keep you from all evil; * He shall keep your soul. (Ps 120:7)

Ant. 2 If You great Lord, should mark iniqui-ties, * O mas-ter, who could stand? (Ps 129:3)

psalm 129 (130)

ut of the depths I cry to You, great Lord! * O mas-ter, hear my voice!

Let your ears be attentive *

Vespers for the Dead

6

to the voice of my sup-plications!

If You, great Lord, should mark iniquities, *O mas-ter, who could stand?

But with You there is forgiveness, *that You may be feared.

I wait for the great Lord, my soul waits, I hope in his word! My soul waits for the great Lord more than night-watchmen *who watch for the morning.

In the great Lord place your hope O Israel,For with the great Lord there is lov-ing kindness,

With Him is a-bun-dant redemption; *He will redeem Is- ra- el from guilt.

Glory to the Fa-ther and to the Son, *and to the Holy Spirit.

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever, *and unto ag-es of ages.

Throughout the Year

Ant. 2 If You great Lord, should mark iniquities, * O mas-ter, who could stand? (Ps 129:3)

Ant. 3 As the Father raises the dead and gives them life, * so also the Son gives life to whom He will. (novus, Jn 5:21)

canticle(philippians 2:6-11)

hough He was in the form of God, * He did not count equality with God a thing to seize,

but emptied Himself taking the form of a servant, *being born in the like-ness of men.

And being found in human form * He hum-bled Him-self

and became o-be-dient to death, *even death on a cross.

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Vespers for the Dead

8

Therefore God has highly ex- alt- ed Him * and bestowed on Him the name a-bove every name,

that at the name of Jesus *every knee should bow,

in heaven and on the earth *and un-der the earth,

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Kyrios, *to the glory of God the Fa-ther.

Glory to the Fa-ther and to the Son, *and to the Ho-ly Spir-it.

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever, *and unto a-ges of a-ges.

Ant. 3 As the Father raises the dead and gives them life, * so also the Son gives life to whom He will. (novus, Jn 5:21)

Throughout the Year

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Reading (1Corinthians 15:55-57)

death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? † The sting of death is sin: and the power of sin is the law. * But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Chapter Tone Mode VI

Magnificat

Ant. All that the Father gives to Me shall come to Me, * and whomever comes to Me, I shall ne-ver drive a-way. (Jn 6:37)

Vespers for the Dead

10

y soul exalts the great Lord! * and my spirit rejoices in God my Sa- vior!

because He has regarded the humility of his hand-maid. *Behold, henceforth all generations will call me bless-ed,

because the Mighty One has done great things for me. *Ho-ly is his name!

And his mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to gener-a-tion * He has shown strength with his arm.

He has scat-tered the proud *in the imagi-na-tion of their hearts.

He has put down the powerful from their thrones, *and has lifted up the hum-ble.

Throughout the Year

He has filled the hungry with good things, *and the rich He has sent a-way emp-ty.

He has come to the help of Israel, his ser-vant, *mindful of the mer-cy

He had declared to our fa-thers, *to Abraham and to his descend-ants for ev-er.

Glory to the Fa-ther and to the Son, * and to the Ho- ly Spir- it.

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ev-er, *and unto ag-es of ag-es.

Ant. All that the Father gives to Me shall come to Me, * and whomever comes to Me, I shall ne-ver drive a-way. (Jn 6:37)

Intercessions Chapter Tone Mode VI

V. By the Precious Blood which Jesus shed in the garden,

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Vespers for the Dead

V. By the Precious Blood which Jesus shed in his cru-el scourging,

V. By the Precious Blood which Jesus shed in his bitter crown-ing with thorns, R.

V. By the Precious Blood which Jesus shed in the streets of Jerusalem, whilst He carried the heavy burden of the Cross, R.

V. By the Precious Blood which Jesus offered as drink on the night be-fore his Passion, R.

V. By the Precious Blood which Jesus shed upon the tree of the Cross, R.

V. By the Precious Blood which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus in the sight of his most ho-ly Mother, R.

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The Lord’s Prayer

Let us complete our prayer to the Lord:

Throughout the Year

13

Vespers for the Dead

Oration

V. Let us pray:

God, glory of the faithful and life of the just, by the death and resurrection of whose Son we have been redeemed, look mercifully on your departed servants, † that, just as they pro-fessed the mystery of our resurrection, * so they may merit to receive the joys of eternal happi-ness. 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.R. A-men.

When a Priest is presiding

V. The Lord be with you. †R. And with your spirit. †V. Let us bless the Lord.R. Thanks be to God.

May the blessing of almighty God, @ the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, descend upon you and remain forever. R. A-men.

When a Priest is not presiding

V. O Lord, hear my prayer.†

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R. And let my cry come unto You. †

V. Let us bless the Lord.R. Thanks be to God.V. May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and bring us to ever-last-ing life.R. A-men.

Closing Antiphon to Our Lady of Sorrows

Stabat Mater — 13th c.Jacopone da Todi, OFM

or Pope Innocent III

Throughout the Year

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Liturgy, Art and Chant

All things are beautiful and to some measure pleasing, and since there is no beauty and pleasure without proportion . . . all things must have numerical proportion. [St. Bonaventure]

From the earliest centuries of Christianity, monks delighted in applying the natural ratios of music to architecture and book design. Jan Tschichold, and others, have measured thousands of European manuscripts to demonstrate these “golden ratios" which featured wide margins to allow ample space for illumination. A work of beauty was itself regarded as an act of praise to God, as well as a practical aid to prayer. The template for this Vespers ser-vice employs some of these ratios. Icons of Angels and saints remind us that the liturgy joins heaven to earth. The colors gold, green and blue represent respectively: the light of the Holy Trinity, new life and the virtue of hope, and of course, the Mother of God.

In the seventh century, under Pope Gregory, a Benedictine monk, the large repertoire of modal chant began to be codified. The first Christians had come from Jewish synagogues, where the psalms were chanted with the modal melodies composed by King David. This genre of music, which calmed saints and sinners (Elisha, Saul), migrated into the Catholic liturgy at its roots. Fifteen centuries later, the novelty of new chromatic instruments and composi-tions made modal instruments seem quaint. They became wall decorations or museum pieces. Knowledge of modal harmony was lost in history, so fresh Gregorian chants could not be composed. Chanting the bare melody a cappella became the "chapel" norm. Thanks to the preservation of the American cithara (the Appalachian dulcimer), all eight sets of modal harmony have been reconstructed and are ready to be restored to the Church!

The Rule of the Order of the Mother of God prescribes the Divine Office to be chanted, not merely recited. Mary's new Order will promote beauty and music to encourage the Bride-Church to join Jesus Christ our High Priest, in his daily "office" of inter-cession for all the living and the dead.