Celebrating Evening Prayer
In Your Parish
by Kevin A. Demetroff
Written for the January 26,
1999, issue of Liturgy (Volume 20, No. 1), the newsletter of the Office of Worship
of the Diocese of Fort Wayne – South Bend
Evening Prayer and Morning Prayer form the two "hinges" of the daily worship
of the church. They are the principle "hours" of the Liturgy of the Hours, and
the church expects them to be celebrated in parish churches, particularly Evening Prayer
(also known as Evensong) on Sundays.
Evening Prayer began in the daily cycle of worship of the early church. Those who were
able gathered at daybreak and at sunset to mark the holiness of God's gift of life and the
time through which we live. These simple daily services of the first centuries became, in
the large urban centers around the Mediterranean, part of Sunday public worship, with the
entire populace moving through the city streets to different "stations" for
Morning Prayer, Eucharist, and Evening Prayer. Sunday worship lasted all day and took in
the whole city. This type of public prayer varied only slightly from day to day and from
season to season. Those who celebrated the "hours" got to know them well, and
could participate without any special preparation. Today's scholars call such celebrations
the "cathedral office" because of their popular, public, urban character. This
was the prayer of the people with their ministers – bishop, presbyters, deacons.
Monastic communities worked out their own, more complicated form of daily prayer. They
would chant all 150 psalms weekly, or even daily, during the "hours." They added
prayers, antiphons, readings, and songs. They compiled large, complex books to track the
ever-changing texts and tunes. Scholars call this form of prayer the "monastic
office," prayed almost exclusively by monks and nuns.
Some people assume that such prayer in its public form still belongs to monks and nuns,
and in its private form to parish priests. This is a reasonable assumption, due to our
recent history (before the 1970s) with the Divine Office, now known as the Liturgy of the
Hours. The church's daily prayer was little by little taken away from the Christian
people, beginning in the Middle Ages, and entrusted to clergy and religious.
Still, the church's public prayer never died out completely, and some people,
particularly those who grew up in ethnic parishes, remember Vespers on Sunday afternoon.
Now, with the liturgical renewal begun by Vatican II, the Liturgy of the Hours has been
restored so that we may all sanctify the passage of time in our communal prayer.
The singing of psalms is integral to the Liturgy of the Hours, but this type of worship
is, in origin, a time of intercessory prayer at morning and evening, a time of intense
pleading for all the world. The psalms, along with hymns and prayers, give our hearts and
minds the voice they need to address the God upon whom we depend.
Where Can I Find It?
Start with the four-volume Liturgy of the Hours. It may seem impossible to implement
this form of worship in a parish church. The complete text, with its General Instruction
that describes the forms of celebration, is a rich resource, heavily influenced by the
monastic practice that long ago replaced parish celebrations. It does not have to be used
"as is," though the form of prayer must be respected. The General Instruction
states that "It belongs to the whole Christian community." (270) and encourages
local adaptation.
Adapted forms of Evening Prayer can be found in many places. One of the best resources
is "Praise God in Song: Ecumenical Daily Prayer" from GIA Publications. This
book provides several complete musical settings. For practical hints on adaptations, read
"Morning Praise and Evensong: A Liturgy of the Hours in Musical Settings,"
published by Fides Publishers in 1973 – an early model for parishes. Our major
hymnals also include service outlines, with music in place.
The basic pattern for Evening Prayer or Evensong includes:
What Does It Look Like?
Let me describe for you 5:00 p.m. Sunday Evensong at St. Jude Church in Fort Wayne.
About half an hour before we begin, the presider turns on the few lights we will need,
places the Easter Candle in the midst of the assembly area and lights it, prepares
incense, marks a lectionary or bible for the reader, prepares folders for presider /
assistant / cantor (often one person, sometimes two or three), and then unlocks the doors.
No special outlines or handouts are needed, since we use the outline for the service found
in the Worship hymnal.
Ten minutes before we begin, a bowl with a burning coal is placed at the foot of the
Easter candle. All gather quietly around the candle. At 4:55 p.m. the tower bells ring
briefly. During Advent/Christmas or Lent/Easter, we spend the next five minutes singing an
ostinato, perhaps one of the well-known Taize pieces, appropriate to season or occasion.
During ordinary time, we remain silent.
The second peal rings from the tower at 5:00 p.m. When the bells finish, the presider
rises, faces the assembly, announces the location of the order of the service in the
hymnal, motions for all to stand, and chants "Light and peace in Jesus Christ our
Lord", to which all respond "Thanks be to God." We then sing an evening
hymn, either the hymn in the order of service, or a seasonal hymn announced by the cantor.
After the hymn, the presider (or assistant, or cantor, whoever sings best) chants the
Evening Thanksgiving.
Psalmody begins with the presider's chant "Let us pray for pardon and peace, and
for protection throughout the coming night." We sit and a member of the assembly
places incense on the coal while the cantor may chant the proper antiphon.
When the smoke begins to rise, the cantor chants "As the smoke of this incense
rises, we raise our hands in prayer and we sing." We then sing Psalm 141
responsorially, all raising their hands in prayer during each refrain. We alternate three
tunes throughout the year. After the singing, we remain seated for silent prayer. We then
stand and the presider chants or recites the incense psalm prayer.
We sit to sing a variable evening psalm, responsorially or antiphonally. Occasionally
we use a through-sung adaptation. Silent prayer and psalm prayer follow. Then we sing the
appointed New Testament canticle responsorially.
We sit as a lector stands near the candle to proclaim the biblical reading. Silent
reflection follows. At times there may be a second biblical reading, or another reading
from traditional or contemporary sources. During a large festal gathering, e.g. our
patronal feast or Corpus Christi, there may be a homily. During Lent and some other times,
we celebrate a ritual action or sacramental, or we may sing a responsory or hymn.
We stand, make the sign of the cross, and sing the Gospel Canticle of Mary, the
Magnificat. We alternate three musical versions with the seasons.
The presider invites us to kneel and complete our evening prayer to the Lord. (During
Easter season we stand around the baptismal font.) The cantor then leads the litany of
intercession, with the tune we are currently using at Mass. We include spontaneous
intercessions.
We stand to chant the Lord's Prayer with its doxology and Amen. The presider chants or
recites a final collect, a blessing and dismissal. We then exchange a sign of peace and go
our separate ways.
This is a fairly complete version of Evening Prayer, with all the components in place.
We use the Liturgy of the Hours books as a resource, along with the materials provided in Worship
and Gather, the hymnals in our pews.
We did not, however, start this way. It took us four years to get to this complete
version. If you have not prayed Evening Prayer communally, begin with a simpler format. A
simple service of light includes greeting and response, evening hymn, and collect. Sing
Psalm 141 (or Psalm 25) while incense is burned, followed by silent prayer and perhaps a
collect. Proclaim a biblical reading, followed by silence. Sing the Magnificat and pray
intercessions in the form your parish knows best. Sing the Lord's Prayer and end with a
sign of peace.
You do not have to change music and texts all the time. Such changes mark the seasons,
but the assembly needs to know its songs and prayers well, some even by heart. This
encourages intense prayer, a spirit of community, and a sense of reverent beauty. You may
find many fine musical settings for Evening Prayer, but begin with music that your
parishioners already know and love, and little by little make additions that will enhance
the worship of the entire assembly, not just musicians or other ministers. Communal prayer
needs strength, directness and familiarity.
If you start simply, adapt to your community, explain what's going on and why (in
preaching, adult ed sessions, bulletin columns and inserts, etc.), and integrate simple
forms of the Liturgy of the Hours into parish life (committee meetings, rehearsals,
festivals, etc.) you will find that your parish, too, will stand firm with the whole
People of God in our daily prayer.
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