← Prayer Book
Office of Readings
Wednesday, May 6, 2026 • Easter, Week 5 — Wednesday
Opening
O 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 forever. Amen.
Invitatory
Ant. Alleluia! The Lord is risen. Come, let us adore him. Alleluia!
Come, let us exult in the Lord; let us shout with joy to God our salvation.
Let us come before his face with praise and exult in him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God and a great king above all gods.
For the Lord does not cast off his people; for in his hand are all the ends of the earth.
And the heights of the mountains belong to him.
For the sea is his, and he made it; and his hands formed the dry land.
Come, let us adore and fall down before God; let us weep before the Lord who made us.
For he is the Lord our God; and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
Today, if you will 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 tried me and saw my works.
For forty years I was close to this generation, and I said: "They always err in heart."
And these people have not known my ways, so I swore in my wrath that they will not enter into my rest.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Ant. Alleluia! The Lord is risen. Come, let us adore him. Alleluia!
Hymn
The Day of Resurrection
The day of resurrection!
Earth, tell it out abroad;
the Passover of gladness,
the Passover of God.
Earth, tell it out abroad;
the Passover of gladness,
the Passover of God.
Psalmody
Psalm 10Trust in the Lord
Ant. This is the day the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it. Alleluia.
In the Lord I have trusted; how do you say to my soul: "Flee to the mountain like a sparrow!"
For behold, sinners have bent their bow; they have prepared their arrows in the quiver, to shoot in the dark the upright of heart.
For they have destroyed the things that you have accomplished; but what has the just man done?
The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord's throne is in heaven.
His eyes look upon the poor; his eyelids examine the sons of men.
The Lord examines the just and the impious; but he who loves iniquity hates his own soul.
He will rain down snares upon sinners; fire and brimstone and the spirit of tempests will be the portion of their cup.
For the Lord is just and has loved justices; his face has seen uprightness.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Ant. This is the day the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it. Alleluia.
Psalm 11Prayer Against the Faithless
Ant. Christ our Passover has been sacrificed; let us therefore celebrate the feast. Alleluia.
Save me, O Lord, for the holy man has failed, for truths have decreased from among the sons of men.
They have spoken vain things, each one to his neighbor; deceitful lips are in their heart, and in their heart they have spoken evils.
May the Lord destroy all deceitful lips and the tongue that speaks proud things.
Those who say: "We will magnify our tongue; our lips are our own; who is our Lord?"
"Because of the misery of the needy and the groaning of the poor, I will now arise," says the Lord.
"I will place him in salvation; I will deal confidently with him."
The words of the Lord are pure words: silver tried by fire, purged from the earth, refined sevenfold.
You, O Lord, will keep us and preserve us from this generation forever.
The impious walk around; according to your greatness you have multiplied the sons of men.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Ant. Christ our Passover has been sacrificed; let us therefore celebrate the feast. Alleluia.
Psalm 12Trusting in God's Salvation
Ant. Death is swallowed up in victory; thanks be to God who gives us the victory. Alleluia.
How long, O Lord, will you forget me to the end? How long do you turn your face away from me?
How long will I take counsel in my soul, sorrow in my heart through the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
Look upon me and hear me, O Lord my God.
Enlighten my eyes, lest I ever sleep in death, lest at any time my enemy say: "I have prevailed against him."
Those who trouble me will rejoice when I am moved; but I have trusted in your mercy.
My heart will rejoice in your salvation; I will sing to the Lord, who gives good things to me, and I will sing to the name of the Lord Most High.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Ant. Death is swallowed up in victory; thanks be to God who gives us the victory. Alleluia.
First Reading: Scripture
Romans 8:34
Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us.
Second Reading: Patristic or Hagiographic
Alleluia: Our Song and Our Life
We are keeping the feast of Alleluia. What does Alleluia mean? Praise be to God. Now what ought we to say here but Alleluia? But we sing it here for a time; there we shall sing it for eternity. There are those who ask, what will our occupation be in that life of heaven? I dare to say: nothing other than Alleluia. No, that is not nothing! Let me say plainly: we shall see God; we shall love God; we shall praise God. This is the meaning of Alleluia. We shall praise without wearying; we shall love without withdrawing; we shall behold without turning away. God will be seen, God will be loved, God will be praised — this is our whole life, our whole desire, our whole joy, our whole hope. To praise God and see his face, to love him who made us and saved us — this is what we have been made for. So let the Alleluia of this Easter time teach our lips what our hearts will one day know forever.
Responsory
V. This is the day that the Lord has made. Alleluia.
R. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Alleluia.
V. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
R. his love endures forever. Alleluia.
Concluding Prayer
Father, the early church proclaimed the resurrection with joy and power. May the words of the fathers and martyrs we read today renew in us that same Easter boldness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Dismissal
Let us praise the Lord.
And give him thanks.