Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. III:
Ordinary: 668
Psalter: Wednesday, Week I, 758
Common of Virgins: 1791 (reading, canticle antiphon, intercessions)
Proper of Saints: 1372 (concluding prayer)
Christian Prayer:
Ordinary: 694
Psalter: Wednesday, Week I, 743
Common of Virgins: 1444 (reading, canticle antiphon, intercessions)
Proper of Saints: 1090 (concluding prayer)
Evening Prayer for Wednesday in Ordinary Time, the Memorial of Saint Scholastica, Virgin
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.
HYMN
O Crown of Virgins, Jesus Lord,
Whom once a Virgin pure conceived,
Whom Virgin Mary bore with joy,
In mercy now receive our prayer.
As Spouse, of beauty past compare,
You feed among the lilies fair,
Surrounded by those virgin souls
Who dedicated all to you.
They follow in a happy band
Wherever you may choose to go,
And sing a canticle of joy,
A melody no others know.
In tender pity hear our cry,
Give us the graces that we need,
Our hearts and minds to purify,
To serve you in both word and deed.
All honor, glory, virtue, praise
Resound to God in Persons Three,
To Father, Son, and Spirit too,
In time and in eternity. Amen.
𝄞 | “O Crown of Virgins, Jesus Lord” by Kathleen Lundquist, Sara Faux • Title: O Crown of Virgins, Jesus Lord; Text: Jesu, corona virginum, attributed to Saint Ambrose; Tr. St. Cecilia’s Abbey, Ryde, UK; Tune: Chant, Mode VIII; Liber Hymnarius; Artist: Kathleen Lundquist; Accompaniment: Sara Faux; Recording copyright 2017 by Surgeworks, Inc. |
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 The Lord is my light and my help; whom shall I fear?
Psalm 27
God stands by us in dangers
God now truly dwells with men (Revelation 21:3).
I
The Lord is my light and my help;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
before whom shall I shrink?
When evil-doers draw near
to devour my flesh,
it is they, my enemies and foes,
who stumble and fall.
Though an army encamp against me
my heart would not fear.
Though war break out against me
even then would I trust.
There is one thing I ask of the Lord,
for this I long,
to live in the house of the Lord,
all the days of my life,
to savor the sweetness of the Lord,
to behold his temple.
For there he keeps me safe in his tent
in the day of evil.
He hides me in the shelter of his tent,
on a rock he sets me safe.
And now my head shall be raised
above my foes who surround me
and I shall offer within his tent
a sacrifice of joy.
I will sing and make music for 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.
Ant. The Lord is my light and my help; whom shall I fear?
Ant. 2 I long to look on you, O Lord; do not turn your face from me.
II
Some rose to present lies and false evidence against Jesus (Mark 14:57).
O Lord, hear my voice when I call;
have mercy and answer.
Of you my heart has spoken:
“Seek his face.”
It is your face, O Lord, that I seek;
hide not your face.
Dismiss not your servant in anger;
you have been my help.
Do not abandon or forsake me,
O God my help!
Though father and mother forsake me,
the Lord will receive me.
Instruct me, Lord, in your way;
on an even path lead me.
When they lie in ambush protect me
from my enemy’s greed.
False witnesses rise against me,
breathing out fury.
I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.
Hope in him, hold firm and take heart.
Hope in 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
Father, you protect and strengthen those who hope in you; you heard the cry of your Son and kept him safe in your tent in the day of evil. Grant that your servants who seek your face in times of trouble may see your goodness in the land of the living.
Ant. I long to look on you, O Lord; do not turn your face from me.
Ant. 3 He is the first-born of all creation; in every way the primacy is his.
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. He is the first-born of all creation; in every way the primacy is his.
READING 1 Corinthians 7:32b, 34
The unmarried man is busy with the Lord’s affairs, concerned with pleasing the Lord. The virgin — indeed, any unmarried woman — is concerned with things of the Lord, in pursuit of holiness in body and spirit.
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 virgins are led into the presence of the King, amid gladness and joy.
— The virgins are led into the presence of the King, amid gladness and joy.
They are brought into the King’s dwelling place,
— amid gladness and joy.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
— The virgins are led into the presence of the King, amid gladness and joy.
CANTICLE OF MARY
Ant. Come, spouse of Christ, receive the crown the Lord has prepared for you from all eternity.
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. Come, spouse of Christ, receive the crown the Lord has prepared for you from all eternity.
INTERCESSIONS
Christ extolled those who practiced virginity for the sake of the kingdom. Let us praise him joyfully and pray to him:
Jesus, example of virgins, hear us.
Christ, you presented the Church to yourself as a chaste virgin to her spouse,
— keep her holy and inviolate.
Jesus, example of virgins, hear us.
Christ, the holy virgins went out to meet you with their lamps alight,
— keep the fidelity of your consecrated handmaids burning brightly.
Jesus, example of virgins, hear us.
Lord, your virgin Church has always kept its faith whole and untarnished,
— grant all Christians a whole and untarnished faith.
Jesus, example of virgins, hear us.
You have given your people joy in celebrating the feast of your holy virgin Scholastica,
— give us constant joy through her intercession.
Jesus, example of virgins, hear us.
You have admitted the holy virgins to your marriage banquet,
— in your mercy lead the dead to your heavenly feast.
Jesus, example of virgins, hear us.
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
As we celebrate anew
the Memorial of the Virgin Saint Scholastica,
we pray, O Lord, that, following her example,
we may serve you with pure love and happily receive
what comes from loving you.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
— Amen.
DISMISSAL
May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life.
— Amen.
The English translation of The Liturgy of the Hours (Four Volumes) ©1974,
International Commission on English in the Liturgy
Corporation. Readings and Old and New Testament Canticles (except the Gospel Canticles) are from the New American Bible
© 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C.. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
The DivineOffice.org website, podcast, apps and all related media follows the liturgical calendar for the United States.
The 1970 edition of the New American Bible as published in the Liturgy of the Hours is approved for use
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