Feria Quarta Quattuor Temporum PentecostesWednesday of the Ember Days of Pentecost

℣ O Lord, ✠ open my lips.

℟ And my mouth shall proclaim your praise.

℣ O God, ✠ come to my assistance.

℟ Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit.

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, * world without end. Amen.

Alleluia.

Ant. Alleluia, the Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole earth: * Come, let us adore, alleluia.

Ant. Alleluia, the Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole earth: * Come, let us adore, alleluia.

Come, let us exult in the Lord. Let us shout joyfully to God, our Savior. Let us anticipate his presence with confession, and let us sing joyfully to him with psalms.

Ant. Alleluia, the Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole earth: * Come, let us adore, alleluia.

For the Lord is a great God and a great King over all gods. For the Lord will not drive away his people. For in his hand are all the limits of the earth, and he beholds the heights of the mountains.

Ant. Come, let us adore, alleluia.

For the sea is his, and he made it, and his hands established the dry land. (kneel) Come, let us adore and fall prostrate before God, and let us weep before the Lord who made us. For he is the Lord our God, and we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

Ant. Alleluia, the Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole earth: * Come, let us adore, alleluia.

If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts: as in the provocation, according to the day of temptation in the wilderness, where your fathers tempted me; they tested and saw my works.

Ant. Come, let us adore, alleluia.

For forty years, I was near to that generation, and I said: These have always strayed in heart. But they have not known my ways. To them I swore in my wrath: They shall not enter into my rest.

Ant. Alleluia, the Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole earth: * Come, let us adore, alleluia.

℣ Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit.

℟ As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, * world without end. Amen.

Ant. Come, let us adore, alleluia.

Ant. Alleluia, the Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole earth: * Come, let us adore, alleluia.

Now Christ, ascending whence he came,

Had mounted o'er the starry frame,

The Holy Ghost on man below,

The Father's promise, to bestow.

The solemn time was drawing nigh,

Replete with heav'nly mystery,

On seven days' sevenfold circles borne,

That first and blessèd Whitsun-morn.

When the third hour shone all around,

There came a rushing mighty sound,

And told the Apostles, while in prayer,

That, as was promised, God was there.

Forth from the Father's light it came,

That beautiful and kindly flame:

To fill with fervour of his word

The spirits faithful to their Lord.

With joy the Apostles' breasts are fired,

By God the Holy Ghost inspired:

And straight, in diverse kinds of speech,

The wondrous works of God they preach.

To men of every race they speak,

Alike barbarian, Roman, Greek:

From the same lips, with awe and fear,

All men their native accents hear.

But Juda's sons, e'en faithless yet,

With mad infuriate rage beset,

To mock Christ's followers combine,

As drunken all with new-made wine.

When lo! with signs and mighty deeds,

Stands Peter in the midst, and pleads;

Confounding their malignant lie

By Joel's ancient prophecy.

To God the Father let us sing,

To God the Son, our risen King,

And equally let us adore

The Spirit, God forevermore.

Amen.

At the Nocturn

Ant. Suddenly * there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, alleluia, alleluia.

Psalm 47 [1]

47:2 The Lord is great and exceedingly praiseworthy, * in the city of our God, on his holy mountain.

47:3 Mount Zion is being founded with the exultation of the whole earth, * on the north side, the city of the great king.

47:4 In her houses, God will be known, * since he will support her.

47:5 For behold, the kings of the earth have been gathered together; * they have convened as one.

47:6 Such did they see, and they were astonished: they were disturbed, they were moved. * Trembling took hold of them.

47:7 In that place, their pains were that of a woman in labor. * With a vehement spirit, you will crush the ships of Tarshish.

47:9 As we have heard, so we have seen, in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God. * God has founded it in eternity.

47:10 We have received your mercy, O God, * in the midst of your temple.

47:11 According to your name, O God, so does your praise reach to the ends of the earth. * Your right hand is full of justice.

47:12 Let mount Zion rejoice, and let the daughters of Judah exult, * because of your judgments, O Lord.

47:13 Encircle Zion and embrace her. * Discourse in her towers.

47:14 Set your hearts on her virtue. * And distribute her houses, so that you may discourse of it in another generation.

47:15 For this is God, our God, in eternity and forever and ever. * He will rule us forever.

℣ Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit.

℟ As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, * world without end. Amen.

Ant. Suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, alleluia, alleluia.

Ant. Confirm, O God, * what you have wrought in us: from your holy temple, which is in Jerusalem, alleluia, alleluia.

Psalm 67 [2]

67:2 May God rise up, and may his enemies be scattered, * and may those who hate him flee from before his face.

67:3 Just as smoke vanishes, so may they vanish. * Just as wax flows away before the face of fire, so may sinners pass away before the face of God.

67:4 And so, let the just feast, and let them exult in the sight of God * and be delighted in gladness.

67:5a Sing to God, sing a psalm to his name. * Make a path for him, who ascends over the west. (bow) The Lord is his name.

67:5b Exult in his sight; * they will be stirred up before his face, (6a) the father of orphans and the judge of widows.

67:6b God is in his holy place. * (7a) It is God who makes men dwell in a house under one custom.

67:7b He leads out those who are strongly bound, * and similarly, those who exasperate, who dwell in sepulchers.

67:8 O God, when you departed in the sight of your people, * when you passed through the desert,

67:9 the earth was moved, for the heavens rained down before the face of the God of Sinai, * before the face of the God of Israel.

67:10 You will set aside for your inheritance, O God, a willing rain. * And though it was weak, truly, you have made it perfect.

67:11 Your animals will dwell in it. * O God, in your sweetness, you have provided for the poor.

67:12 The Lord will give the word to evangelizers, * along with great virtue.

67:13 The King of virtue is beloved among the beloved. * And the beauty of the house will divide spoils.

67:14 If you take your rest in the midst of the clergy, you will be like a dove whose wings are covered with fine silver * and edged with pale gold.

67:15 When heaven discerns kings to be over her, they will be whitened with the snows of Zalmon. * (16a) The mountain of God is a fat mountain,

67:16b a dense mountain, a thick mountain. * (17a) So then, why are you distrustful of dense mountains?

67:17b The mountain on which God is well pleased to dwell, * even there, the Lord will dwell until the end.

67:18 The chariot of God is ten thousand fold: thousands rejoice. * The Lord is with them in Sinai, in the holy place.

67:19a You have ascended on high; you have taken captivity captive. * You have accepted gifts among men.

67:19b For even those who do not believe * dwell with the Lord God.

67:20 Blessed is the Lord, day after day. * The God of our salvation will make our journey prosper for us.

67:21 Our God is the God who will bring about our salvation, * and our Lord is the Lord who has brought an end to death.

67:22 So then, truly, God will break the heads of his enemies, * the hairy skull of those who wander around in their offenses.

67:23 The Lord said: I will turn them away from Bashan, * I will turn them into the depths of the sea,

67:24 so that your feet may be soaked in the blood of your enemies, * so that the tongue of your dogs may be soaked with the same.

67:25 O God, they have seen your arrival, * the arrival of my God, of my king who is in a holy place.

67:26 The leaders went ahead, united with the singers of psalms, * in the midst of girls playing on timbrels.

67:27 In the churches, bless the Lord God * from the fountains of Israel.

67:28a In that place, Benjamin is a youth * in ecstasy of mind.

67:28b The leaders of Judah are their governors: * the leaders of Zebulun, the leaders of Naphtali.

67:29 Command by your virtue, O God. * Confirm in this place, O God, what you have wrought in us.

67:30 Before your temple in Jerusalem, * kings will offer gifts to you.

67:31a Rebuke the wild beasts of the reeds, a congregation of bulls with the cows of the people, * for they seek to exclude those who have been tested like silver.

67:31b Scatter the nations that are pleased by wars. (32) Ambassadors will come out of Egypt. * Ethiopia will offer in advance her hands to God.

67:33a Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth. * Sing psalms to the Lord.

67:33b Sing psalms to God. (34a) He ascends, up to the heaven of the heavens, * toward the east.

67:34b Behold, he will utter his voice, the voice of virtue. (35) Give glory to God beyond Israel. * His magnificence and his virtue is in the clouds.

67:36 God is wonderful in his saints. The God of Israel himself will give virtue and strength to his people. * Blessed is God.

℣ Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit.

℟ As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, * world without end. Amen.

Ant. Confirm, O God, what you have wrought in us: from your holy temple, which is in Jerusalem, alleluia, alleluia.

Ant. Send forth your Spirit, * and they shall be created: and you shall renew the face of the earth, alleluia, alleluia.

Psalm 103 [3]

103:1 Bless the Lord, O my soul. * O Lord my God, you are exceedingly great.

103:1 You have clothed yourself with confession and beauty; * you are dressed with light like a garment,

103:2 while you stretch out heaven like a tent. * You cover its heights with water.

103:3 You set the clouds as your stairs. * You walk upon the wings of the winds.

103:4 You make your Angels a breath of life, * and your ministers a burning fire.

103:5 You founded the earth upon its stable base. * It will not be bent from age to age.

103:6 The abyss, like a garment, is its clothing. * The waters will remain standing above the mountains.

103:7 At your rebuke, they will flee. * At the voice of your thunder, they will dread.

103:8 The mountains ascend, and the plains descend, * to the place which you have founded for them.

103:9 You have set a limit that they will not cross. * And they will not return to cover the earth.

103:10 You spring forth fountains in steep valleys. * The waters will cross through the midst of the mountains.

103:11 All the wild beasts of the field will drink. * The wild donkeys will anticipate in their thirst.

103:12 Above them, the flying things of the air will dwell. * From the midst of the rocks, they will utter voices.

103:13 You irrigate the mountains from your heights. * The earth will be satiated from the fruit of your works,

103:14 producing grass for cattle * and herbs for the service of men.

103:14 So may you draw bread from the earth, * and wine, in order to cheer the heart of man.

103:15 Then he may gladden his face with oil, * and bread will confirm the heart of man.

103:16 The trees of the field will be saturated, along with the cedars of Lebanon, which he planted. * There, the sparrows will make their nests.

103:17 The leader of them is the house of the heron. * The heights of the hills are for the deer; the rock is a refuge for the hedgehog.

103:19 He has made the moon for seasons; * the sun knows its setting.

103:20 You appointed darkness, and it has become night; * all the beasts of the forest will cross through it.

103:21 The young lions will roar, * while searching for and seizing their meal from God.

103:22 The sun arose, and they were gathered together; * and in their dens, they will lie down together.

103:23 Man will go forth to his work * and to his activities, until the evening.

103:24 How great are your works, O Lord! * You have made all things in wisdom. The earth has been filled with your possessions.

103:25 This sea is great and its hands are spacious. * There are creeping things without number:

103:26 the small animals with the great. * There, the ships will pass by

103:27 this sea-serpent that you have formed to mock them. * All these expect you to give them food in due time.

103:28 What you give to them, they will gather. * When you open your hand, they will all be filled with goodness.

103:29 But if you turn your face away, they will be disturbed. * You will take away their breath, and they will fail, and they will return to their dust.

103:30 You will send forth your Spirit, and they will be created. * And you will renew the face of the earth.

103:31 May the glory of the Lord be for all ages. * The Lord will rejoice in his works.

103:32 He considers the earth, and he makes it tremble. * He touches the mountains, and they smoke.

103:33 I will sing to the Lord with my life. * I will sing psalms to my God, as long as I am.

103:34 May my speech be pleasing to him. * Truly, I will take delight in the Lord.

103:35 Let sinners fade away from the earth, along with the unjust, so that they may not be. * Bless the Lord, O my soul.

℣ Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit.

℟ As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, * world without end. Amen.

Ant. Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created: and you shall renew the face of the earth, alleluia, alleluia.

℣ They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, alleluia.

℟ And they began to speak, alleluia.

The Our Father is said silently as far as And lead us not into temptation:

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 also forgive those who trespass against us:

℣ And lead us not into temptation:

℟ But deliver us from evil.

Absolution. May the almighty and merciful Lord absolve us from the bonds of our sins.

℟ Amen.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

Benediction. May the evangelical reading be our salvation and protection.

℟ Amen.

Lesson 1

A Reading from the holy Gospel according to John

John 6:44-52

At that time: Jesus said to the crowds of the Jews: No one is able to come to me, unless the Father, who has sent me, has drawn him. And so forth.

A Homily of Saint Augustine, Bishop

Tractate 26 on John, after the beginning

Do not think that you are drawn against your will: the soul is drawn also by love. Nor ought we to fear that we may perhaps be reproved by men who weigh words and are far removed from understanding the things of God, in this saying from the holy Scriptures and the Gospel; and that they say to us: How do I believe of my own will, if I am drawn? I say: to say “of your own will” is too little: you are drawn also by delight. What does it mean to be drawn by delight? Delight in the Lord, and he will grant you the petitions of your heart. There is a certain delight of the heart, to which that heavenly bread is sweet. Furthermore, if the poet was permitted to say: Each man is drawn by his own delight — not by necessity, but by delight; not by compulsion, but by pleasure — how much more rightly ought we to say that the man is drawn to Christ who takes delight in truth, takes delight in blessedness, takes delight in justice, takes delight in eternal life — all of which is Christ? Do the senses of the body have their pleasures, and is the soul abandoned by its own pleasures? If the soul has no pleasures of its own, from where comes the saying: The children of men shall hope under the shelter of your wings; they shall be inebriated with the plenty of your house, and you shall give them to drink from the torrent of your delight. For with you is the fountain of life, and in your light we shall see light.

℣ But you, O Lord, have mercy on us.

℟ Thanks be to God.

℟ The Lord taught them discipline and wisdom, alleluia: he strengthened in them the grace of his Spirit,

* And filled their hearts with understanding, alleluia.

℣ For the Holy Spirit came upon them with a sudden sound.

℟ And filled their hearts with understanding, alleluia.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

Benediction. May the divine assistance remain always with us.

℟ Amen.

Lesson 2

Give me one who loves, and he feels what I say; give me one who desires, give me one who hungers, give me one wandering in this desert and thirsting, sighing for the fountain of the eternal homeland — give me such a one, and he knows what I am saying. But if I speak to one who is cold, he does not know what I say. Such were those who were murmuring among themselves. He whom the Father has drawn, he says, comes to me. But what is it — he whom the Father has drawn — when Christ himself draws? Why did he wish to say, he whom the Father has drawn? If we are to be drawn, let us be drawn by him to whom a woman who loves him says: After the fragrance of your ointments we will run. But let us attend, brethren, to what he wished us to understand, and as best we can, receive it. The Father draws to the Son those who believe in the Son for this reason: because they think that he has God as Father. For God the Father begot a Son equal to himself; and whoever thinks and feels and ponders in his faith that he in whom he believes is equal to the Father — him the Father draws to the Son.

℣ But you, O Lord, have mercy on us.

℟ Thanks be to God.

℟ Go into the whole world, and preach the Gospel, alleluia:

* He who believes and is baptized shall be saved, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

℣ In my name they shall cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues, they shall take up serpents.

℟ He who believes and is baptized shall be saved, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

℣ Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit.

℟ He who believes and is baptized shall be saved, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

Benediction. May the King of Angels lead us to the company of the citizens on high.

℟ Amen.

Lesson 3

Arius believed a creature, the Father did not draw him; for he does not consider the Father who does not believe the Son to be equal. What do you say, O Arius? What do you say, heretic? What are you saying? What is Christ? Not, he says, the true God, but one whom the true God made. The Father did not draw you; for you did not understand the Father, whose Son you deny. You think of another; that one is not the Son himself: you are drawn neither by the Father nor to the Son. For the Son is one thing, what you speak of is another. Photinus says: Christ is man only, he is not also God. He who believes thus, the Father has not drawn him. Whom has the Father drawn? Him who says: You are Christ, the Son of the living God. You show a green branch to a sheep, and draw it. Nuts are shown to a child, and the child is drawn: and what runs, is drawn; it is drawn by loving, it is drawn without bodily injury, it is drawn by the cord of the heart. If, then, these things which are revealed among earthly delights and pleasures to those who love them, draw — since it is true: each one is drawn by his own delight — shall not Christ revealed by the Father draw? For what does the soul more mightily desire than truth?

℣ But you, O Lord, have mercy on us.

℟ Thanks be to God.

Te Deum

O God, we praise you; * O Lord, we acclaim you.

Eternal Father, * all the earth reveres you.

To you all the Angels, * the heavens and all the Powers of heaven:

To you the Cherubim and Seraphim * cry out in endless praise:

(A bow is made) Holy, Holy, Holy * Lord God of hosts;

Heaven and earth are filled * with the majesty of your glory.

The glorious choir of Apostles * sings to you,

the noble company of Prophets * praises you,

the white-robed army of Martyrs * glorifies you.

Holy Church throughout the earth * proclaims you,

the Father * of boundless majesty;

your true and only Son, * worthy of adoration;

and the Holy Spirit, * the Paraclete.

You, O Christ, * are the King of glory.

You are * the Father's everlasting Son.

(A bow is made) When you resolved to save the human race, * you did not spurn the Virgin's womb.

You overcame the sting of death * and opened the Kingdom of Heaven to those who put their faith in you.

You are seated at the right hand of God * in the glory of the Father.

We believe you are the Judge * who is to come.

(The following verse is said kneeling) And so we beg you, help your servants, * redeemed by your most precious blood.

Number them * among your Saints in eternal glory.

Save your people, Lord, * and bless your inheritance.

Shepherd them * and raise them to eternal life.

Day by day * we bless you,

(A bow is made, according to custom) and we praise your name * for endless ages evermore.

Be gracious, Lord, on this day, * and keep us from all sin.

Have mercy on us, O Lord, * have mercy.

May your mercy be upon us, Lord, * as we place our trust in you.

In you, O Lord, I rest my hope: * let me never be put to shame.

The rest is omitted unless Lauds is said separately.

℣ O Lord, hear my prayer.

℟ And let my cry come before you.

Let us pray.

May the Paraclete who proceeds from you illumine our minds, we pray, O Lord, and lead us into all truth, as your Son has promised.

Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the same Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

℟ Amen.

℣ O Lord, hear my prayer.

℟ And let my cry come before you.

℣ Let us bless the Lord.

℟ Thanks be to God.

℣ May the souls of the faithful, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

℟ Amen.