The Great Wednesdays of Saint Nicholas
Third Wednesday
Invitation: Love your neighbor as yourself
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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 goodness of God who invites us to love Him above all things and our neighbor for his sake.
Let us consider, on this third Wednesday, how He made Saint Nicholas a shining example of love of neighbor among his people, presenting him as a father and miracle-worker, not only to the three girls and to all who turned to him during his lifetime, but to the many others who turned to him after his death. We too turn to him with sincere faith and profound devotion, so that we may experience the power of Saint Nicholas' intercession and, inspired by his example, concretely carry out the Lord's commandment: "love your neighbor as yourself."
We pray to
Almighty God and Supreme Good, instill in us, as you did with your holy bishop and our father Nicholas, more effective intentions of good. Make our hearts more sensitive to the miseries of our neighbors, to poverty, to pain, to discouragement. Make us more generous and capable of sharing with others the material and spiritual goods that you yourself have given us, in the hope that, at the end of our lives, we will obtain that one true good which is communion with you. 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.