Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. IV:
Ordinary: 615
Proper of Seasons: 514
Psalter: Wednesday, Week IV, 1151

Christian Prayer:
Does not contain Office of Readings

Office of Readings for Wednesday in Ordinary Time

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 Bless the Lord, my soul; never forget all he has done for you.

Psalm 103
Praise for God’s tender compassion
In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us (see Luke 1:78).

I

My soul, give thanks to the Lord,
all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
and never forget all his blessings.

It is he who forgives all your guilt,
who heals every one of your ills,
who redeems your life from the grave,
who crowns you with love and compassion,
who fills your life with good things,
renewing your youth like an eagle’s.

The Lord does deeds of justice,
gives judgment for all who are oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses
and his deeds to Israel’s sons.

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. Bless the Lord, my soul; never forget all he has done for you.

Ant. 2 As a father is gentle with his children, so is the Lord with those who revere him.

II

The Lord is compassion and love,
slow to anger and rich in mercy.
His wrath will come to an end;
he will not be angry for ever.
He does not treat us according to our sins
nor repay us according to our faults.

For as the heavens are high above the earth
so strong is his love for those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west
so far does he remove our sins.

As a father has compassion on his sons,
the Lord has pity on those who fear him;
for he knows of what we are made,
he remembers that we are dust.

As for man, his days are like grass;
he flowers like the flower of the field;
the wind blows and he is gone
and his place never sees him again.

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. As a father is gentle with his children, so is the Lord with those who revere him.

Ant. 3 Bless the Lord, all you his works!

III

But the love of the Lord is everlasting
upon those who hold him in fear;
his justice reaches out to children’s children
when they keep his covenant in truth,
when they keep his will in their mind.

The Lord has set his sway in heaven
and his kingdom is ruling over all.
Give thanks to the Lord, all his angels,
mighty in power, fulfilling his word,
who heed the voice of his word.

Give thanks to the Lord, all his hosts,
his servants who do his will.
Give thanks to the Lord, all his works,
in every place where he rules.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord!

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 have compassion for the sinner, Lord, as a father has compassion for his children. Heal the weakness of your people and save us from lasting death that we may praise and glorify you for ever.

Ant. Bless the Lord, all you his works!

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.

Lord, make me understand the way of your precepts.
— And I will marvel at your wisdom.

READINGS

First reading
From the book of the prophet Daniel
5:1-2, 5-9, 13-17, 25—6:1
The judgment of God at Belshazzar’s banquet

King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his lords, with whom he drank. Under the influence of the wine, he ordered the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar, his father, had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, to be brought in so that the king, his lords, his wives and his entertainers might drink from them.

Suddenly, opposite the lampstand, the fingers of a human hand appeared, writing on the plaster of the wall in the king’s palace. When the king saw the wrist and hand that wrote, his face blanched; his thoughts terrified him, his hip joints shook, and his knees knocked.

The king shouted for the enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers to be brought in. “Whoever reads this writing and tells me what it means,” he said to the wise men of Babylon, “shall be clothed in purple, wear a golden collar about his neck, and be third in the government of the kingdom.” But though all the king’s wise men came in, none of them could either read the writing or tell the king what it meant. Then King Belshazzar was greatly terrified; his face went ashen, and his lords were thrown into confusion.

Then Daniel was brought into the presence of the king. The king asked him, “Are you the Daniel, the Jewish exile, whom my father, the king, brought from Judah? I have heard that the spirit of God is in you, that you possess brilliant knowledge and extraordinary wisdom. Now, the wise men and enchanters were brought in to me to read this writing and tell me its meaning, but they could not say what the words meant. But I have heard that you can interpret dreams and solve difficulties; if you are able to read the writing and tell me what it means, you shall be clothed in purple, wear a gold collar about your neck, and be third in the government of the kingdom.”

Daniel answered the king: “You may keep your gifts, or give your presents to someone else; but the writing I will read for you, O king, and tell you what it means.

“This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, TEKEL, and PERES. These words mean: MENE, God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it; TEKEL, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting; PERES, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

Then by order of Belshazzar they clothed Daniel in purple, with a gold collar about his neck, and proclaimed him third in the government of the kingdom. The same night Belshazzar, the Chaldean king, was slain: And Darius the Mede succeeded to the kingdom at the age of sixty-two.

RESPONSORY Psalm 75:6, 8, 9; Revelation 14:9, 10

Do not be arrogant in the presence of the Most High, for God is our judge: one man he humbles and another he raises up.
— The Lord holds a cup of bitter wine in his hand; all the sinners of the world shall drink from it.

Whoever worships the beast or its image will drink the wine of God’s wrath.
— The Lord holds a cup of bitter wine in his hand; all the sinners of the world shall drink from it.

Second reading
From a homily written in the second century
In hope we endure

For the sake of eternal life, my brothers, let us do the will of the Father who called us, resisting the temptations that lead us into sin and striving earnestly to advance in virtue. Let us revere God for fear of the evils that spring from impiety. If we are zealous in doing good, we shall have peace, but there is no peace for those who, governed by human respect, prefer present enjoyment to the future promises. They realize neither the torment that is laid up for them on account of these momentary pleasures, nor the joy of the promises to come. And indeed it could be endured if their conduct affected only themselves, but as it is, they persist in corrupting the innocent, unaware that they incur a double condemnation, for themselves and their disciples.

So let us serve God with a pure heart, and then we shall be living as we should. If we fail to serve him because of our disbelief, we shall only be miserable. Wretched are those of wavering faith, says the prophet, the people who double in their hearts and say: We heard all this even when our parents were alive and day after day we have waited in vain for any proof of it. O foolish ones! Think of a tree, and see how you resemble it. A vine, for example, first sheds its leaves and then the bud appears; after that there comes the sour grape and finally a cluster of ripened fruit. So it is with my people. They have had their tumults and afflictions, but afterward will come to their reward.

Therefore, my brothers, in order to obtain the reward, we must endure in hope with unwavering faith. He who made the promise to repay every man as his deeds deserve will be faithful to it. If we do what is right in God’s sight, we shall enter into his kingdom and receive the promise which no ear has heard, no eye seen, no human heart conceived.

So let us live loving and upright lives, in hourly expectation of the kingdom of God, since we do not know when it will come. Let us repent at once of our great folly and wickedness, and from now on always be ready to do good. We should blot out past sins by being truly sorry for them, and then we shall be saved. We must have no desire to curry favor with men, nor should we think only of making ourselves acceptable to our fellow Christians. We should live upright lives in order to win the respect of non-Christians as well. The Name must not be blasphemed on our account.

RESPONSORY 1 Cor. 15:58; 2 Thess. 3:13

Be steadfast, stand firm,
always devote yourselves fully to the work of the Lord,
— for you know that your work in the Lord cannot be in vain.

Never grow weary of doing good.
— For you know that your work in the Lord cannot be in vain.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Almighty and merciful God,
graciously keep from us all adversity,
so that, unhindered in mind and body alike,
we may pursue in freedom of heart the things that are yours.
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.