Office of Readings for

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Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. II:
Ordinary: 1045
Proper of Seasons: 896
Psalter: Wednesday, Week II, 1277

Office of Readings for Wednesday in Week 6 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 We groan in pain as we await the redemption of our bodies, alleluia.

Psalm 39
Urgent prayer of a sick person
Creation is made subject to futility… by him who subjected it, but it is not without hope. (Romans 8:20)

I

I said: “I will be watchful of my ways
for fear I should sin with my tongue.
I will put a curb on my lips
when the wicked man stands before me.”
I was dumb, silent and still.
His prosperity stirred my grief.

My heart was burning within me.
At the thought of it, the fire blazed up
and my tongue burst into speech:
“O Lord, you have shown me my end,
how short is the length of my days.
Now I know how fleeting is my life.

You have given me a short span of days;
my life is as nothing in your sight.
A mere breath, the man who stood so firm,
a mere shadow, the man passing by;
a mere breath the riches he hoards,
not knowing who will have them.”

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. We groan in pain as we await the redemption of our bodies, alleluia.

Ant. 2 Hear and answer my prayer, O Lord; let me not weep in vain, alleluia.

II

And now, Lord, what is there to wait for?
In you rests all my hope.
Set me free from all my sins,
do not make me the taunt of the fool.
I was silent, not opening my lips,
because this was all your doing.

Take away your scourge from me.
I am crushed by the blows of your hand.
You punish man’s sins and correct him;
like the moth you devour all he treasures.
Mortal man is no more than a breath;
O Lord, hear my prayer.

O Lord, turn your ear to my cry.
Do not be deaf to my tears.
In your house I am a passing guest,
a pilgrim, like all my fathers.
Look away that I may breathe again
before I depart to be no more.

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

Through your Son you taught us, Father, not to be fearful of tomorrow but to commit our lives to your care. Do not withhold your Spirit from us but help us find a life of peace after these days of trouble…

Ant. Hear and answer my prayer, O Lord; let me not weep in vain, alleluia.

Ant. 3 I have put all my trust in God’s never-failing mercy, alleluia.

Psalm 52
Against a calumniator
If anyone would boast, let him boast in the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:31).

Why do you boast of your wickedness,
you champion of evil,
planning ruin all day long,
your tongue like a sharpened razor,
you master of deceit?

You love evil more than good,
lies more than truth.
You love the destructive word,
you tongue of deceit.

For this God will destroy you
and remove you for ever.
He will snatch you from your tent and uproot you
from the land of the living.

The just shall see and fear.
They shall laugh and say:
“So this is the man who refused
to take God as a stronghold,
but trusted in the greatness of his wealth
and grew powerful by his crimes.”

But I am like a growing olive tree
in the house of God.
I trust in the goodness of God
for ever and ever.

I will thank you for evermore;
for this is your doing.
I will proclaim that your name is good,
in the presence of your friends.

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

Father, you cut down the unfruitful branch for burning and prune the fertile to make it bear more fruit. Make us grow like laden olive trees in your domain, firmly rooted in the power and mercy of your Son, so that you may gather from us fruit worthy of eternal life.

Ant. I have put all my trust in God’s never-failing mercy, alleluia.

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.

God raised up Christ from the dead, alleluia.
— So that all our faith and hope might be in God, alleluia.

READINGS

First reading
From the first letter of the apostle John
Concerning the antichrist

Children, it is the final hour;
just as you heard that the antichrist was coming,
so now many such antichrists have appeared.
This makes us certain that it is the final hour.
It was from our ranks that they took their leave—
not that they really belonged to us;
for if they had belonged to us,
they would have stayed with us.
It only served to show that none of them was ours.

But you have the anointing that comes from the Holy One,
so that all knowledge is yours.
My reason for having written you
is not that you do not know the truth
but that you do,
and that no lie has anything in common with the truth.
Who is the liar?
He who denies that Jesus is the Christ.
He is the antichrist,
denying the Father and the Son.
Anyone who denies the Son
has no claim on the Father,
but he who acknowledges the Son
can claim the Father as well.

As for you,
let what you heard from the beginning
remain in your hearts.
If what you heard from the beginning
does remain in your hearts,
then you in turn will remain in the Son and in the Father.
He himself made us a promise
and the promise is no less than this:
eternal life.
I have written you these things
about those who try to deceive you.

As for you,
the anointing you received from him
remains in your hearts.
This means you have no need
for anyone to teach you.
Rather, as his anointing teaches you about all things
and is true—free from any lie—
remain in him
as that anointing taught you.

Remain in him now, little ones,
so that, when he reveals himself,
we may be fully confident
and not retreat in shame at his coming.
If you consider the holiness that is his,
you can be sure that everyone who acts in holiness
has been begotten by him.

RESPONSORY 1 John 2:27; Joel 2:23

The anointing which you have received has remained in your hearts;
— you do not need anyone to teach you, for his anointing teaches you all things, alleluia.

Rejoice and be glad in the Lord your God, for he has given us a teacher to instruct us in holiness.
— You do not need anyone to teach you, for his anointing teaches you all things, alleluia.

Second reading
From a sermon by Saint Leo the Great, pope
The days between the resurrection and ascension of our Lord

Beloved, the days which passed between the Lord’s resurrection and his ascension were by no means uneventful; during them great sacramental mysteries were confirmed, great truths revealed. In those days the fear of death with all its horrors were taken away, and the immortality of both body and soul affirmed. It was then that the Lord breathed on all his apostles and filled them with the Holy Spirit; and after giving the keys of the kingdom to blessed Peter, whom he had chosen and set above all the others, he entrusted him with the care of his flock.

During these days the Lord joined two of his disciples as their companion on the road, and by chiding them for their timidity and hesitant fears he swept away all the clouds of our uncertainty. Their lukewarm hearts were fired by the light of faith and began to burn within them as the Lord opened up the Scriptures. And as they shared their meal with him, their eyes were opened in the breaking of bread, opened far more happily to the sight of their own glorified humanity than were the eyes of our first parents to the shame of their sin.

Throughout the whole period between the resurrection and ascension, God’s providence was at work to instill this one lesson into the hearts of the disciples, to set this one truth before their eyes, that our Lord Jesus Christ, who was truly born, truly suffered and truly died, should be recognized as truly risen from the dead. The blessed apostles together with all the others had been intimidated by the catastrophe of the cross, and their faith in the resurrection had been uncertain; but now they were so strengthened by the evident truth that when their Lord ascended into heaven, far from feeling any sadness, they were filled with great joy.

Indeed that blessed company had a great and inexpressible cause for joy when it was man’s nature rising above the dignity of the whole heavenly creation, above the ranks of angels, above the exalted status of archangels. Nor would there be any limit to its upward course until humanity was admitted to a seat at the right hand of the eternal Father, to be enthroned at last in the glory of him to whose nature it was wedded in the person of the Son.

RESPONSORY John 14:2, 3, 16, 18

I go now to prepare a place for you,
— but I shall return to take you with me, so that where I am you may also be, alleluia.

I will ask the Father and he will give you another Paraclete to remain with you for ever.
— But I shall return to take you with me, so that where I am you may also be, alleluia.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Grant,
we pray, O Lord, that,
as we celebrate in mystery
the solemnities of your Son’s Resurrection,
so, too, we may be worthy to rejoice
at his coming with all the Saints.
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.

ACCLAMATION (at least in the communal celebration)

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