Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. II:
Ordinary: 1064
Proper of Seasons: 783
Psalter: Wednesday, Week IV, 1564

Christian Prayer:
Ordinary: 694
Proper of Seasons: 509
Psalter: Wednesday, Week IV, 963

Evening Prayer for Wednesday in Week 4 of Easter

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 The night will be as clear as day, alleluia.

Psalm 139:1-18, 23-24
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. The night will be as clear as day, alleluia.

Ant. 2 I know my sheep and mine know me, alleluia.

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 honor and join you in heaven.

Ant. I know my sheep and mine know me, alleluia.

Ant. 3 His glory covers the heavens and his praise fills the earth, alleluia.

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. His glory covers the heavens and his praise fills the earth, alleluia.

READING Hebrews 7:24-27

Jesus, because he remains forever, has a priesthood which does not pass away. Therefore he is always able to save those who approach God through him, since he forever lives to make intercession for them. It was fitting that we should have such a high priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, higher than the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he has no need to offer sacrifice day after day, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; he did that once for all when he offered himself.

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

The disciples rejoiced, alleluia, alleluia.
— The disciples rejoiced, alleluia, alleluia.

When they saw the risen Lord,
— alleluia, alleluia.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
— The disciples rejoiced, alleluia, alleluia.

CANTICLE OF MARY

Ant. God sent his Son into the world not as its judge but as its savior, alleluia.

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. God sent his Son into the world not as its judge but as its savior, alleluia.

INTERCESSIONS

In his Son, risen from the dead, God has opened for us the way to everlasting life. Let us ask the Father:
Through the victory of Christ, save the people he has redeemed.

God of our fathers, you raised your Son Jesus from the dead and clothed him in glory; move our hearts to complete repentance,
— that we may walk in newness of life.
Through the victory of Christ, save the people he has redeemed.

You have led us back to the shepherd and bishop of our souls,
— keep us faithful under the guidance of the shepherds of the Church.
Through the victory of Christ, save the people he has redeemed.

You chose the firstfruits of Christ’s disciples from the Jewish people,
— reveal to the children of Israel the fulfillment of the promise made to their forefathers.
Through the victory of Christ, save the people he has redeemed.

Remember the lonely, the orphaned and the widowed,
— and do not abandon those who have been reconciled with you by the death of your Son.
Through the victory of Christ, save the people he has redeemed.

You called Stephen to your presence when he bore witness to Jesus, standing at your right hand,
— welcome our deceased brothers and sisters who in faith and love hoped for the vision of your glory.
Through the victory of Christ, save the people he has redeemed.

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

O God,
life of the faithful,
glory of the humble,
blessedness of the just,
listen kindly to the prayers of those who call on you,
that they who thirst for what you generously promise
may always have their fill of your plenty.
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.