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Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. IV:
Ordinary: 615
Psalter: Wednesday, Week I, 708
Common of Virgins: 1794 (verse before first reading)
Proper of Seasons: 548 (first reading)
Proper of Saints: 1576 (second reading, concluding prayer)

Christian Prayer:
Does not contain Office of Readings

Office of Readings for Wednesday in Ordinary Time, the Memorial of Saint Cecilia, 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 I love you, Lord; you are my strength.

Psalm 18
Thanksgiving for salvation and victory
At that time there was a violent earthquake (Revelation 11:15).

I

I love you, Lord, my strength,
my rock, my fortress, my savior.
My God is the rock where I take refuge;
my shield, my mighty help, my stronghold.

The Lord is worthy of all praise;
when I call I am saved from my foes.

The waves of death rose about me;
the torrents of destruction assailed me;
the snares of the grave entangled me;
the traps of death confronted me.

In my anguish I called to the Lord;
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came to his ears.

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. I love you, Lord; you are my strength.

Ant. 2 The Lord has saved me; he wanted me for his own.

II

Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the mountains were shaken to their base:
they reeled at his terrible anger.
Smoke came forth from his nostrils
and scorching fire from his mouth:
coals were set ablaze by its heat.

He lowered the heavens and came down,
a black cloud under his feet.
He came enthroned on the cherubim,
he flew on the wings of the wind.

He made the darkness his covering,
the dark waters of the clouds, his tent.
A brightness shone out before him
with hailstones and flashes of fire.

The Lord thundered in the heavens;
the Most High let his voice be heard.
He shot his arrows, scattered the foe,
flashed his lightnings and put them to flight.

The bed of the ocean was revealed;
the foundations of the world were laid bare
at the thunder of your threat, O Lord,
at the blast of the breath of your anger.

From on high he reached down and seized me;
he drew me forth from the mighty waters.
He snatched me from my powerful foe,
from my enemies whose strength I could not match.

They assailed me in the day of my misfortune,
but the Lord was my support.
He brought me forth into freedom,
he saved me because he loved 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.

Ant. The Lord has saved me; he wanted me for his own.

Ant. 3 Lord, kindle a light for my guidance and scatter my darkness.

III

He rewarded me because I was just,
repaid me, for my hands were clean,
for I have kept the way of the Lord
and have not fallen away from my God.

For his judgments are all before me:
I have never neglected his commands.
I have always been upright before him;
I have kept myself from guilt.

He repaid me because I was just
and my hands were clean in his eyes.
You are loving with those who love you:
you show yourself perfect with the perfect.

With the sincere you show yourself sincere,
but the cunning you outdo in cunning.
For you save a humble people
but humble the eyes that are proud.

You, O Lord, are my lamp,
my God who lightens my darkness.
With you I can break through any barrier,
with my God I can scale any wall.

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

Lord God, our strength and salvation, put in us the flame of your love and make our love for you grow to a perfect love which reaches to our neighbor.

Ant. Lord, kindle a light for my guidance and scatter my darkness.

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.

You have shown me how to live.
— You will fill me with joy in your presence.

READINGS

First reading
From the book of the prophet Zechariah
10:3—11:3
Israel’s deliverance and restoration

Thus says the Lord:
My wrath is kindled against the shepherds,
and I will punish the leaders;
For the Lord of hosts will visit his flock,
the house of Judah,
and make them his stately war horse.

From him shall come leader and chief,
from him warrior’s bow and every officer.
They shall all be warriors,
trampling the mire of the streets in battle;
They shall wage war because the Lord is with them,
and shall put the horsemen to rout.
I will strengthen the house of Judah,
the house of Joseph I will save;
I will bring them back, because I have mercy on them,
they shall be as though I had never cast them off.
for I am the Lord, their God, and I will hear them.

Then Ephraim shall be valiant men,
and their hearts shall be cheered as by wine.
Their children shall see it and be glad,
their hearts shall rejoice in the Lord.

I will whistle for them to come together,
and when I redeem them
they will be as numerous as before.
I sowed them among the nations,
yet in distant lands they remember me;
they shall rear their children and return.

I will bring them back from the land of Egypt,
and gather them from Assyria.
I will bring them into Gilead and into Lebanon,
but these shall not suffice them;
I will cross over to Egypt
and smite the waves of the sea
and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up.
The pride of Assyria shall be cast down,
and the scepter of Egypt taken away.
I will strengthen them in the Lord,
and they shall walk in his name, says the Lord.

Open your doors, O Lebanon,
that the fire may devour your cedars!
Wail, you cypress trees,
for the cedars are fallen,
the mighty have been despoiled.
Wail, you oaks of Bashan,
for the impenetrable forest is cut down!
Hark! the wailing of the shepherds,
their glory has been ruined.
Hark! the roaring of the young lions,
the jungle of the Jordan is laid waste.

RESPONSORY Zechariah 10:6, 7; Isaiah 28:5

I shall restore them because I have compassion on them, for I am the Lord their God.
— Their hearts shall rejoice in the Lord.

On that day the Lord of hosts shall be a crown of glory, a brilliant diadem for the remnant of his people.
— Their hearts shall rejoice in the Lord.

Second reading
From a discourse on the psalms by Saint Augustine, bishop
Sing to God with songs of joy

Praise the Lord with the lyre, make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! Sing to him a new song. Rid yourself of what is old and worn out, for you know a new song. A new man, a new covenant‚ – a new song. This new song does not belong to the old man. Only the new man learns it: the man restored from his fallen condition through the grace of God, and now sharing in the new covenant, that is, the kingdom of heaven. To it all our love now aspires and sings a new song. Let us sing a new song not with our lips but with our lives.

Sing to him a new song, sing to him with joyful melody. Every one of us tries to discover how to sing to God. You must sing to him, but you must sing well. He does not want your voice to come harshly to his ears, so sing well, brothers!

If you were asked, “Sing to please this musician,” you would not like to do so without having taken some instruction in music, because you would not like to offend an expert in the art. An untrained listener does not notice the faults a musician would point out to you. Who, then, will offer to sing well for God, the great artist whose discrimination is faultless, whose attention is on the minutest detail, whose ear nothing escapes? When will you be able to offer him a perfect performance that you will in no way displease such a supremely discerning listener?

See how he himself provides you with a way of singing. Do not search for words, as if you could find a lyric which would give God pleasure. Sing to him “with songs of joy.” This is singing well to God, just singing with songs of joy.

But how is this done? You must first understand that words cannot express the things that are sung by the heart. Take the case of people singing while harvesting in the fields or in the vineyards or when any other strenuous work is in progress. Although they begin by giving expression to their happiness in sung words, yet shortly there is a change. As if so happy that words can no longer express what they feel, they discard the restricting syllables. They burst out into a simple sound of joy, of jubilation. Such a cry of joy is a sound signifying that the heart is bringing to birth what it cannot utter in words.

Now, who is more worthy of such a cry of jubilation than God himself, whom all words fail to describe? If words will not serve, and yet you must not remain silent, what else can you do but cry out for joy? Your heart must rejoice beyond words, soaring into an immensity of gladness, unrestrained by syllabic bonds. Sing to him with songs of joy.

RESPONSORY Psalm 71:8, 23; 9:3

My mouth will be filled with your praise.
I will sing of your greatness all the day long.
— My lips will shout for joy when I sing to you.

In you I will rejoice and be glad; I will sing to your name, Most High.
— My lips will shout for joy when I sing to you.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

O God,
who gladden us each year
with the feast day of your handmaid Saint Cecilia,
grant, we pray,
that what has been devoutly handed down concerning her
may offer us examples to imitate
and proclaim the wonders worked in his servants by Christ your Son.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
— Amen.

ACCLAMATION (at least in the communal celebration)

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