The Great Wednesdays of Saint Nicholas
Fourth Wednesday
Invitation: People to join bishops in service of the plan of salvation
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Gathered in the name of the Lord, in the presence of our Patron Saint Nicholas, we pause devoutly in prayer to reflect on the universal plan of salvation implemented through Christ, who, in founding the Church, chose to entrust his people to the guidance of wise and holy Pastors. On this fourth Wednesday, let us consider how he chose from Patara to call his servant Nicholas, a pious man, to the dignity of Bishop of Myra. He entrusted to his pastoral care a portion of his flock, which had become his family in Christ, and for whose spiritual and material growth he spared no sacrifice.
Let us look to our legitimate Pastors as the guides God has given us to instruct us in the truth and encourage us to practice Christian teachings in our lives; let us be willing to collaborate co-responsibly with them in apostolic activity for the spread of the Christian message of salvation; may the example of good Pastors like Saint Nicholas make us sensitive to the needs of those who need our help.
We pray to
Almighty God, supreme orderer of all things, who called Saint Nicholas to the high dignity of shepherd of your people, grant that, conscious of our being Christians, we may feel more deeply the responsibility for the salvation of our neighbor and strive to collaborate with the bishop and priests in pastoral activity, in the hope of being admitted to possess the eternal inheritance of heaven, together with those whom you have willed to save through us. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Responsory Chant
If you ask for miracles,
the blind see,
the lame walk
and the bones of Nicholas
sweat manna.
The dangers cease,
the storms calm,
say the sailors.
Return to Father Adeodatus
and the Hagarenes are amazed,
and three virgins are saved,
say the people of Patara.
You, O beloved land, guard
the sacred bones received as a pledge
for all peoples,
which come to you from afar,
O happy Bari.
To the sailors who call upon you,
quickly offer your help
and the sea is calm.
Praying to you, Mary,
you intercede with God
in the pains of childbirth
for the mothers who invoke you.
May your holy manna
be health and a pledge.
May all be freed
from the dangers of life,
from wars, from hunger,
O glorious Saint Nicholas,
great Father. Amen
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit
The dangers cease,
the storms calm,
say the sailors.
After a short pause
Pray for us, Holy Father Nicholas,
That we may be made worthy of Christ's promises.
O God, who have worked and continue to work miracles daily through Saint Nicholas, your glorious confessor and bishop, grant, we beseech you, that through his merits and intercession we may be freed from the pains of hell and from every danger. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer for Christian Unity:
Lord Jesus Christ,
on the eve of your passion
you prayed that all your disciples
might be perfectly united as you are in the Father and the Father in you,
grant that we may painfully feel the pain of our divisions
and that we may honestly discover within ourselves and eradicate
every feeling of indifference, distrust and mutual hatred.
Grant us the grace to encounter everyone in you,
so that from our hearts and our lips
your prayer for the Christian unity may rise unceasingly,
as you desire and by the means you desire.
In you, who are perfect charity,
grant that we may find the path that leads to unity
in obedience to your love and your truth. Amen.
Concluding Chant
Come, O mighty Shepherd of Myra!
A ray of holy goodness inspires us.
Light our hearts with celestial love:
protect and defend our city.
A divine ray shines In your eyes:
on the harsh path you are a faithful guide.
For how many dying people you are a blossoming hope!
Your welcome manna can save everything.
You come, and you call from remote lands
foreign people are devoted to Bari.
O sun of Lycia, decorum of Bari,
lord of the seas, comfort and virtue.
From the Basilica di San Nicola, Bari, Italy. Used by permission.