Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. III:
Ordinary: 668
Psalter: Wednesday, Week IV, 1202
Common of One Martyr: 1725 (reading, intercessions)
Proper of Saints: 1367 (canticle ant, concluding prayer)

Christian Prayer:
Ordinary: 694
Psalter: Wednesday, Week IV, 963
Common of One Martyr: 1420 (reading, intercessions)
Proper of Saints: 1087 (canticle ant, concluding prayer)

Evening Prayer for Wednesday in Ordinary Time, the Memorial of Saint Agatha, Virgin and Martyr

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 for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Lord, how wonderful is your wisdom, so far beyond my understanding.

Psalm 139
God sees all that is
Who has known the mind of God, who has been his counselor? (Romans 11:34).

I

O Lord, you search me and you know me,
you know my resting and my rising,
you discern my purpose from afar.
You mark when I walk or lie down,
all my ways lie open to you.

Before ever a word is on my tongue
you know it, O Lord, through and through.
Behind and before you besiege me,
your hand ever laid upon me.
Too wonderful for me, this knowledge,
too high, beyond my reach.

O where can I go from your spirit,
or where can I flee from your face?
If I climb the heavens, you are there.
If I lie in the grave, you are there.

If I take the wings of the dawn
and dwell at the sea’s furthest end,
even there your hand would lead me,
your right hand would hold me fast.

If I say: “Let the darkness hide me
and the light around me be night,”
even darkness is not dark for you
and the night is as clear as the day.

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

Ant. Lord, how wonderful is your wisdom, so far beyond my understanding.

Ant. 2 I am the Lord: I search the mind and probe the heart; I give to each one as his deeds deserve.

II

For it was you who created my being,
knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I thank you for the wonder of my being,
for the wonders of all your creation.

Already you knew my soul,
my body held no secret from you
when I was being fashioned in secret
and molded in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw all my actions,
they were all of them written in your book,
every one of my days was decreed
before one of them came into being.

To me, how mysterious your thoughts,
the sum of them not to be numbered!
If I count them, they are more than the sand;
to finish, I must be eternal, like you.

O search me, God, and know my heart.
O test me and know my thoughts.
See that I follow not the wrong path
and lead me in the path of life eternal.

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

Psalm-prayer

You watch over heaven and earth, Lord Jesus. Your death brought light to the dead; your resurrection gave joy to the saints; your ascension made the angels rejoice. Your power exceeds all power. Lead us to life eternal, and watch over us with your love. May your friends be filled with honour and join you in heaven.

Ant. I am the Lord: I search the mind and probe the heart; I give to each one as his deeds deserve.

Ant. 3 Through him all things were made; he holds all creation together in himself.

Canticle – Colossians 1:12-20
Christ the first-born of all creation and the first-born from the dead

Let us give thanks to the Father
for having made you worthy
to share the lot of the saints
in light.

He rescued us
from the power of darkness
and brought us
into the kingdom of his beloved Son.
Through him we have redemption,
the forgiveness of our sins.

He is the image of the invisible God,
the first-born of all creatures.
In him everything in heaven and on earth was created,
things visible and invisible.

All were created through him;
all were created for him.
He is before all else that is.
In him everything continues in being.

It is he who is head of the body, the church!
he who is the beginning,
the first-born of the dead,
so that primacy may be his in everything.

It pleased God to make absolute fullness reside in him
and, by means of him, to reconcile everything in his person,
both on earth and in the heavens,
making peace through the blood of his cross.

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

Ant. Through him all things were made; he holds all creation together in himself.

READING 1 Peter 4:13-14

Rejoice in the measure that you share Christ’s sufferings. When his glory is revealed, you will rejoice exultantly. Happy are you when you are insulted for the sake of Christ, for then God’s spirit in its glory has come to rest on you.

Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell) – a moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.

RESPONSORY

You have tried us by fire, O God, then led us to a place of refreshment.
— You have tried us by fire, O God, then led us to a place of refreshment.

You refined us as silver in the furnace,
— then led us to a place of refreshment.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
— You have tried us by fire, O God, then led us to a place of refreshment.

CANTICLE OF MARY

Ant. Lord Jesus Christ, my beloved Master, it is you who have given me victory in the midst of torments. Call me, Lord, to undying happiness with you.

Luke 1:46-55
The soul rejoices in the Lord

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.

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

He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.

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

Ant. Lord Jesus Christ, my beloved Master, it is you who have given me victory in the midst of torments. Call me, Lord, to undying happiness with you.

INTERCESSIONS

This is the hour when the King of martyrs offered his life in the upper room and laid it down on the cross. Let us thank him and say:
We praise you, O Lord.

We praise you, O Lord, our Savior, inspiration and example for every martyr, for loving us to the end:
We praise you, O Lord.

For calling all repentant sinners to the rewards of life:
We praise you, O Lord.

For entrusting to your Church the blood of the new and everlasting covenant poured out for the remission of sin:
We praise you, O Lord.

For our perseverance in your grace today:
We praise you, O Lord.

For incorporating our dead brothers and sisters into your own death today:
We praise you, O Lord.

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.

Concluding Prayer

May the Virgin Martyr Saint Agatha
implore your compassion for us,
O Lord, we pray,
for she found favor with you
by the courage of her martyrdom
and the merit of her chastity.
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.
— Amen.

DISMISSAL

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life.
— Amen.