Understanding the Day
Season
Lent
Week
Week 3 of Lent
Rank
Weekday
Lent is the forty-day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that prepares Christians for Easter. It is a penitential time when families slow down, turn inward, and focus on repentance and spiritual growth. A Wednesday in the third week of Lent falls within this ongoing journey toward the Paschal Triduum and Easter, a time for deeper prayer, frequent Scripture reading, and acts of charity.
The rank “Greater Non-Privileged Feria” means this day is an ordinary weekday of the liturgical season with greater importance than simple weekdays but without the special privileges of solemnities, feasts, or privileged ferias that can displace other observances. In practical terms, the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours follow the Lenten weekday texts; there are no added octave or vigil elements attached to this day.
The rank “Greater Non-Privileged Feria” means this day is an ordinary weekday of the liturgical season with greater importance than simple weekdays but without the special privileges of solemnities, feasts, or privileged ferias that can displace other observances. In practical terms, the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours follow the Lenten weekday texts; there are no added octave or vigil elements attached to this day.
Introit (Daily Prayer)
Ps 30:7-8
My trust is in the Lord. I will rejoice and be glad of your kindness, when You have seen my affliction.
Ps 30:2
In You, O Lord, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame. In your justice rescue me.
Glory Be to the Father…
My trust is in the Lord. I will rejoice and be glad of your kindness, when You have seen my affliction.
Ps 30:2
In You, O Lord, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame. In your justice rescue me.
Glory Be to the Father…
Grant, we beseech You, O Lord, that, improved by wholesome fasting, and thus abstaining from harmful sin, we may the more readily receive Your mercy.
Through our Lord…
Through our Lord…
Weekly Prayer
Prayer to the Holy Family
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,
bless us and grant us the grace
to love and serve God faithfully,
to honor one another with patience and charity,
and to make our home a dwelling place of peace.
Holy Family of Nazareth,
help us to grow in faith, hope, and love.
Guide our work, our rest, our words, and our choices,
so that in all things we may seek the will of God.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,
pray for us and protect our family. Amen.
bless us and grant us the grace
to love and serve God faithfully,
to honor one another with patience and charity,
and to make our home a dwelling place of peace.
Holy Family of Nazareth,
help us to grow in faith, hope, and love.
Guide our work, our rest, our words, and our choices,
so that in all things we may seek the will of God.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,
pray for us and protect our family. Amen.
Weekly Formation
Beatitude 3
The Beatitudes
Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.
The blessed mourners grieve chiefly for sin—their own and the sins of the world—and bear unavoidable trials in union with God. Their promised comfort is not mere earthly relief but the consolation of grace and, finally, eternal joy.
Saint & Feast
Principal celebrationCalendar title
Wednesday of Week 3 of Lent
A biography or feast reflection has not yet been prepared.
Customs & Fasting
Traditional fast
Traditional Lenten fast.
Today in Church History
Battle of Mbororé: Guaraní Victory Against Bandeirantes
1641EventIn 1641, Guaraní forces from Jesuit reductions achieved a significant victory over bandeirantes, reflecting the Jesuits' role in defending indigenous communities and their faith against colonial exploitation. This event underscores the Jesuit mission's impact on the cultural and spiritual landscape of South America.
The victory illustrates the importance of faith and unity in the face of oppression.
Catechism
Catechism of the Catholic Church
In the Catechism, we learn about the significance of Christ's Ascension into heaven. After his Resurrection, Jesus entered definitively into God's heavenly domain and sits at the right hand of the Father, his humanity glorified. This event inaugurates the Messiah's kingdom, which will have no end. Christ also remains our high priest and mediator, constantly interceding for those who draw near to God through him. For family devotion, these truths offer hope: Christ, the head of the Church, has gone before us into the Father's glorious kingdom, opening access to God's life and happiness so that we may hope to be with him for ever.
In Christ’s Ascension, we see him established as Lord over all creation and history, sharing in God’s power and authority and bringing God’s plan toward its fulfillment. He is the head of the Church, his Body, and his kingdom is already present in mystery: on earth, the Church is its seed and beginning. Yet Christ’s reign still awaits its full fulfillment when he returns in power and great glory. As we pray, worship, and live through the struggles of this present age, we wait and watch with hope, joining the Church in the prayer: “Maranatha! Our Lord, come!”
¶ 661
This final stage stays closely linked to the first, that is, to his descent from heaven in the Incarnation. Only the one who "came from the Father" can return to the Father: Christ Jesus. "No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of man." Left to its own natural powers humanity does not have access to the "Father's house", to God's life and happiness. Only Christ can open to man such access that we, his members, might have confidence that we too shall go where he, our Head and our Source, has preceded us.