HOLY WEDNESDAY

Daytime Prayer
Psalter, Wednesday, Week II



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 ever shall be, world without end. Amen.


HYMN

Holy Week Hymns:
Oh Sacred Head, surrounded
My Loving Savior, How Have You Offended
Christ, Victim For The Sins Of Men
Daytime Prayer

TERCE (Midmorning)

Ant. Before the feast of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come; he had always loved those who were his own, and now he would show them the depth of his love.

Psalms of the Day

Reading
1 Tim 2:4-6

God desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For
there is one God;
   there is also one mediator between God and humankind,
Christ Jesus, himself human,
   who gave himself a ransom for all
—this was attested at the right time.

He freely gave himself in sacrifice.
- He said no word in his own defense.


COLLECT
O God, who willed your Son to submit for our sake
to the yoke of the Cross,
so that you might drive from us the power of the enemy,
grant us, your servants, to attain the grace of the resurrection.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.


SEXT (Midday)

Antiphon: I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.

Psalms of the Day

Reading
Romans 15:3

For Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written, 'The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.'

Ours were the sufferings he bore
- Ours the weight of guilt he endured,


COLLECT
O God, who willed your Son to submit for our sake
to the yoke of the Cross,
so that you might drive from us the power of the enemy,
grant us, your servants, to attain the grace of the resurrection.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.


NONE (Midafternoon)

Antiphon: For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. I glory in the cross of my Lord Jesus Christ.

Psalms of the Day

Reading
Hebrews 9:28

Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Let us venerate the cross.
- Through it, we have received the sacrament of reconciliation.


COLLECT
O God, who willed your Son to submit for our sake
to the yoke of the Cross,
so that you might drive from us the power of the enemy,
grant us, your servants, to attain the grace of the resurrection.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.


At one of the hours, the psalms are said as below. At the other hours, the complementary psalms are used.


PSALMODY

119:57-64
VIII (Heth)

My part, I have resolved, O Lord,
is to obey your word.
With all my heart I implore your favor;
show the mercy of your promise.

I have pondered over many ways
and returned to your will.
I made haste and did not delay
to obey your commands.

Though the nets of the wicked ensnared me
I remembered your law.
At midnight I will rise and thank you
for your just decrees.

I am a friend of all who revere you,
who obey your precepts.
Lord, your love fills the earth.
Teach me your statutes. Glory...


Psalm 55:2-15,17-24
Against a friend proved traitor
Jesus was seized with fear and distress (Mark 14:33).

                   I
O God, listen to my prayer,
do not hide from my pleading,
attend to me and reply;
with my cares, I cannot rest.

I tremble at the shouts of the foe,
at the cries of the wicked;
for they bring down evil upon me.
They assail me with fury.

My heart is stricken within me,
death's terror is on me,
trembling and fear fall upon me
and horror overwhelms me.

O that I had wings like a dove
to fly away and be at rest.
So I would escape far away
and take refuge in the desert.

I would hasten to find a shelter
from the raging wind,
from the destructive storm, O Lord,
and from their plotting tongues.

For I can see nothing
but violence and strife in the city.
Night and day they patrol
high on the city walls.

It is full of wickedness and evil;
it is full of sin.
Its streets are never free
from tyranny and deceit. Glory...


                    II
If this had been done by an enemy
I could bear his taunts.
If a rival had risen against me,
I could hide from him.

But it is you, my own companion,
my intimate friend!
How close was the friendship between us.
We talked together in harmony
in the house of God.

As for me, I will cry to God
and the Lord will save me.
Evening, morning and at noon
I will cry and lament.

He will deliver my soul in peace
in the attack against me;
for those who fight me are many,
but he hears my voice.

God will hear and will humble them,
the eternal judge;
for they will not amend their ways.
They have no fear of God.

The traitor has turned against his friends;
he has broken his word.
His speech is softer than butter,
but war is in his heart,
His words are smoother than oil,
but they are naked swords.

Entrust your cares to the Lord
and he will support you.
He will never allow
the just man to stumble.

But you, O God, will bring them down
to the pit of death.
Deceitful and bloodthirsty men
shall not live half their days.

O Lord, I will trust in you. Glory...

Psalm Prayer: Lord Jesus, you were rejected by your people, betrayed by the kiss of a friend, and deserted by your disciples. Give us the confidence that you had in the Father, and our salvation will be assured.



Let us praise the Lord.
- And give him thanks.





The English translation of Psalm Responses, Alleluia Verses, Gospel Verses from Lectionary for Mass © 1969, 1981, 1997, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation (ICEL); the English translation of Antiphons, Invitatories, Responsories, Intercessions, Psalm 95, the Canticle of the Lamb, Psalm Prayers, Non-Biblical Readings from The Liturgy of the Hours © 1973, 1974, 1975, ICEL; excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, ICEL. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

 
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