← Prayer Book
Office of Readings
Saturday, March 7, 2026 • Saints Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs
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. Come, let us adore Christ, who for our sake bore the cross and conquered death.
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. Come, let us adore Christ, who for our sake bore the cross and conquered death.
Hymn
Again We Keep This Solemn Fast
Again we keep this solemn fast,
a gift of faith from ages past,
this Lent which binds us lovingly
to faith and hope and charity.
a gift of faith from ages past,
this Lent which binds us lovingly
to faith and hope and charity.
Psalmody
Psalm 61Trust Only in God
Ant. Do not forsake me, O Lord; be not far from me, O my God.
Will my soul not be subject to God? For from him is my salvation.
For he himself is my God and my Savior; he is my supporter, I will no longer be greatly moved.
How long do you rush against a man? You all kill, as if at a leaning wall and a crumbling fence.
Yet truly they have planned to reject my price; I have run in thirst; they blessed with their mouth, and they cursed with their heart.
Yet truly be subject to God, O my soul; for from him is my patience.
For he himself is my God and my Savior; he is my helper, I will not be displaced.
In God is my salvation and my glory; he is the God of my help, and my hope is in God.
Trust in him, all the congregation of people; pour out your hearts in his sight.
God is our helper forever.
Yet truly, the sons of men are vain; the sons of men are liars in the scales, so that by vanity they are all deceived.
Do not trust in iniquity, and do not desire rapine; if riches abound, do not set your heart upon them.
God has spoken once, I have heard two things: power belongs to God,
and to you, Lord, belongs mercy; for you will render to every man according to his works.
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. Do not forsake me, O Lord; be not far from me, O my God.
Psalm 62Seeking God in the Desert
Ant. Do not forsake me, O Lord; be not far from me, O my God.
O God, my God, for you I watch at the break of day.
My soul has thirsted for you; in how many ways has my flesh longed for you.
In a desert land, without way or water, so in the holy land I have appeared before you, to see your power and your glory.
For your mercy is better than life; my lips will praise you.
In this way, I will bless you throughout my life; and in your name I will lift up my hands.
Let my soul be filled as if with marrow and fatness, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips.
I have remembered you upon my bed; in the morning I will meditate on you.
For you have been my helper, and under the cover of your wings I will rejoice.
My soul has adhered to you; your right hand has upheld me.
But they have sought my soul in vain; they will enter the lower parts of the earth;
they will be delivered to the power of the sword; they will be the portions of foxes.
But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by him will be praised; for the mouth of those who speak iniquities has been stopped.
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. Do not forsake me, O Lord; be not far from me, O my God.
Psalm 63My Soul Thirsts for You
Ant. Do not forsake me, O Lord; be not far from me, O my God.
O God, my God, to you I watch at the break of day.
My soul has thirsted for you; in how many ways has my flesh longed for you.
In a desert land, without way or water, so in the holy land I have appeared before you, to see your power and your glory.
For your mercy is better than lives; my lips will praise you.
In this way, I will bless you throughout my life; and in your name I will lift up my hands.
Let my soul be filled as if with marrow and fatness, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips.
I have remembered you upon my bed; in the morning I will meditate on you.
For you have been my helper, and under the cover of your wings I will rejoice.
My soul has adhered to you; your right hand has upheld me.
But those who seek my soul in vain; they will enter into the lower parts of the earth.
They will be delivered to the power of the sword; they will be the portions of foxes.
But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by him will be praised, for the mouth of those who speak iniquities has been stopped.
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. Do not forsake me, O Lord; be not far from me, O my God.
First Reading: Scripture
Ezekiel 36:26
A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
Second Reading: Patristic or Hagiographic
Our Heart Is Restless
You made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you. Grant me, Lord, to know and understand which of these two is the first: to call on you or to praise you; and, again, first to know you or to call on you. But who calls on you when he does not know you? For, not knowing you, he might call on another instead of you. Or are you called on in order that you may be known? But how shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe without a preacher? And those who seek the Lord shall praise him: for those who seek shall find him, and those who find shall praise him. I will seek you, Lord, and call upon your name. And if I am wrong in what I seek, do you, Lord, correct me; if I am right, grant me what I seek. For you yourself are my life, my light, my strength, my food, my rest, my joy, my all. I will seek you, and my seeking shall be to you, O Lord, a prayer; for you call on us to seek you.
Responsory
V. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love.
R. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love.
V. According to the multitude of your tender mercies,
R. blot out my transgressions.
Concluding Prayer
O Lord, the way of the cross is the way of life. May this Office of Readings prepare our hearts to walk that way in union with your Son; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Dismissal
Let us praise the Lord.
And give him thanks.