Ribbon Placement: Liturgy of the Hours Vol. II: Ordinary: 1064 Proper of Seasons: 724 Psalter: Wednesday, Week III, 1429 Christian Prayer: Ordinary: 694 Proper of Seasons: 487 Psalter: Wednesday, Week III, 892 Evening Prayer for Wednesday in Week 3 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 Your sorrow will be turned into joy, alleluia. Psalm 126 Joyful hope in God Just as you share in sufferings so you will share in the divine glory (2 Corinthians 1:7). When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage, it seemed like a dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, on our lips there were songs. The heathens themselves said: “What marvels the Lord worked for them!” What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad. Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage as streams in dry land. Those who are sowing in tears will sing when they reap. They go out, they go out, full of tears, carrying seed for the sowing: they come back, they come back, full of song, carrying their sheaves. 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 Lord, you have raised us from the earth; may you let the seeds of justice, which we have sown in tears, grow and increase in your sight. May we reap in joy the harvest we hope for patiently. Ant. Your sorrow will be turned into joy, alleluia. Ant. 2 Whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s, alleluia. Psalm 127 Apart from God our labors are worthless You are God’s building (1 Corinthians 3:9). If the Lord does not build the house, in vain do its builders labor; if the Lord does not watch over the city, in vain does the watchman keep vigil. In vain is your earlier rising, your going later to rest, you who toil for the bread you eat, when he pours gifts on his beloved while they slumber. Truly sons are a gift from the Lord, a blessing, the fruit of the womb. Indeed the sons of youth are like arrows in the hands of a warrior. O the happiness of the man who has filled his quiver with these arrows! He will have no cause for shame when he disputes with his foes in the gateways. 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 command the seed to rise, Lord God, though the farmer is unaware. Grant that those who labor for you may trust not in their own work but in your help. Remembering that the land is brought to flower not with human tears but with those of your Son, may the Church rely only upon your gifts. Ant. Whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s, alleluia. Ant. 3 From him, through him, and in him all things exist; glory to him for ever, 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,