Daily Reading for April 8 • Wednesday in Holy Week

Wretch that I am,
I have fallen into the hands of robbers—
my own thoughts.
My mind has been stripped,
and I have been severely beaten.
My whole being is wounded,
and stripped of virtues
I lie naked on life’s road.
The priest saw me in sharp pain,
but thought my wounds incurable.
He took no notice of me,
refusing to look at me.
The Levite could not bear my agony,
destructive of my very being,
and when he saw me
passed by on the other side.
But you, Christ my God,
were pleased to come incarnate,
not from Samaria but from Mary.
In your great love for us,
give me healing
and pour your abundant mercy on me.

From an Orthodox vesper hymn for Wednesday in Holy Week, quoted in Orthodox Lent, Holy Week and Easter: Liturgical Texts with Commentary by Hugh Wybrew (London: SPCK, 1995).