Ember Wednesday

Liturgical Color: Red

Introit

O GOD, || when Thou wentest forth before Thy | peo- | ple:
    when thou didst march through | the | wil- | der- | ness.
|| The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of  | God | :- 
    even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God | of  | Is- | ra- | el.
|| Let God arise, let His enemies be | scat- | tered: 
    let them also that hate Him | flee | be- | fore | Him.

Psalm Readings

Matins:

Vespers:

Collect

O Lord, may the Comforter, who proceedeth from Thee, enlighten our minds, we beseech Thee, and guide us into all truth, even as Thy Son hath promised, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

First Reading: Acts 2:14-21

But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy. I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord . And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved.’

Gradual

In place of a Gradual, the Sequence hymn for Pentecost, Veni, Sancte Spiritus

Second Reading: John 6:44-52

No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?”

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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