Morris ClarkWednesday of Holy Week occupies a unique and solemn place in the sacred Triduum preparation. Known traditionally as “Spy Wednesday,” this day commemorates two pivotal events that stand in stark contrast: the beautiful act of devotion by a woman who anointed Jesus at Bethany and the dark betrayal of Judas Iscariot, who agreed to hand over his Master for thirty pieces of silver. It is a day of decision, a day when the paths of love and treachery diverge, and when we are invited to examine our own hearts.
In the liturgical tradition of the Church, this day marks the last celebration of the Presanctified Liturgy and the final time the Prayer of St. Ephraim is recited with full prostrations until the following Lent . It is also the day when the hauntingly beautiful hymn of St. Kassiani is sung in many Eastern churches—the lament of the sinful woman who washed Christ’s feet with her tears.
These Catholic prayers for Wednesday of Holy Week have been gathered to help you enter more deeply into the mystery of these sacred days. From the ancient psalmody of the Divine Office to the traditional prayers of the faithful, may these devotions guide you through this day of contrasts—where extravagant love meets calculated betrayal, and where we are called to choose which path we will follow.
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The Traditional Psalm for Wednesday of Holy Week
The Church has long designated Psalm 21 (22 in modern numbering) as the proper psalm for the first three days of Holy Week. On Wednesday, we pray the final section, which turns from lament to praise—a foreshadowing of the Resurrection that lies beyond the Cross .
Psalm 21:23-32 (Grail Translation)
I will proclaim your name to my brethren;
in the midst of the assembly I will praise you:
“You who fear the Lord, praise him;
all you descendants of Jacob, give glory to him;
revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
For he has not spurned nor disdained
the wretched man in his misery,
nor did he turn his face away from him,
but when he cried out to him, he heard him.”
So by your gift will I utter praise in the vast assembly;
I will fulfill my vows before those who fear him.
The lowly shall eat their fill;
they who seek the Lord shall praise him:
“May your hearts be ever merry!”
All the ends of the earth
shall remember and turn to the Lord;
all the families of the nations
shall bow down before him.
For dominion is the Lord’s,
and he rules the nations.
To him alone shall bow down
all who sleep in the earth;
before him shall bend
all who go down into the dust.
And to him my soul shall live;
my descendants shall serve him.
Let the coming generation be told of the Lord
that they may proclaim to a people yet to be born
the justice he has shown.
Morning Prayers for Wednesday of Holy Week
Opening Prayer
O God, who willed your Son to submit for our sake to the yoke of the Cross, so that you might drive from us the power of the enemy, grant us, your servants, to attain the grace of the resurrection. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen .
A Prayer for Faithfulness
Lord Jesus, on this day when one of your own disciples conspired to betray you, I pray for the grace of faithfulness. Judas walked with you, heard your words, witnessed your miracles—yet his heart turned away. Protect me from the slow hardening that leads to betrayal. When I am tempted to value silver above sacrifice, when I am drawn to compromise my faith for earthly gain, hold me fast. Let me not depart from you as Judas did, but remain ever in your embrace, no matter the cost. Amen.
The Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian
Traditionally, this prayer is recited with a full prostration after each petition for the last time on Wednesday of Holy Week .
O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, faint-heartedness, lust of power, and idle talk.
(Prostration)
But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to your servant.
(Prostration)
Yes, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own sins and not to judge my brother, for you are blessed unto ages of ages. Amen.
(Prostration)
A Prayer for Humility
Lord Jesus, on this day a woman came to you with an alabaster jar of precious ointment. She did not count the cost, did not calculate the worth, but poured out everything in an act of extravagant love. Give me such a heart—a heart that holds nothing back from you. Where I have been like Judas, counting and calculating and complaining about waste, forgive me. Teach me that nothing given to you is ever wasted, and that the only true waste is the love I withhold. Amen.
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The Liturgy of the Word at Home
For those unable to attend Mass, the Church offers a form of prayer that can be observed in the home. This celebration of the Word follows the pattern of the day’s liturgy.
Penitential Rite
To prepare ourselves to receive God’s Word and in order for it to heal us, we recognize ourselves as sinners.
Have mercy on us, O Lord.
For we have sinned against you.
Show us, O Lord, your mercy.
And grant us your salvation.
May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
The First Reading — Isaiah 50:4-9a
The Lord GOD has given me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them. Morning after morning he opens my ear that I may hear; and I have not rebelled, have not turned back. I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting. The Lord GOD is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame. He is near who upholds my right; if anyone wishes to oppose me, let us appear together. Who disputes my right? Let him confront me. See, the Lord GOD is my help; who will prove me wrong?
Responsorial Psalm — Psalm 69
R/ Lord, in your great love, answer me.
For your sake I bear insult, and shame covers my face. I have become an outcast to my brothers, a stranger to my mother’s sons, because zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me.
R/ Lord, in your great love, answer me.
Insult has broken my heart, and I am weak; I looked for sympathy, but there was none; for consolers, not one could I find. Rather they put gall in my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
R/ Lord, in your great love, answer me.
I will praise the name of God in song, and I will glorify him with thanksgiving: “See, you lowly ones, and be glad; you who seek God, may your hearts revive! For the LORD hears the poor, and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.”
R/ Lord, in your great love, answer me.
Gospel Acclamation
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory!
Hail to you, our King, obedient to the Father;
you were led to your crucifixion like a gentle lamb to the slaughter.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory!
The Gospel — Matthew 26:14-25
One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples approached Jesus and said, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?” He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The teacher says, “My appointed time draws near; in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.”‘” The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered, and prepared the Passover.
When it was evening, he reclined at table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, “Surely it is not I, Lord?” He said in reply, “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me. The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born.” Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” He answered, “You have said so.”
Reflection
In the depths of our heart marked by sin, let us allow these prophetic words to echo: “See, the Lord GOD is my help; who will prove me wrong?”
The Hymn of St. Kassiani
In the Eastern tradition, Great and Holy Wednesday is marked by the singing of the Hymn of St. Kassiani—a profound meditation on the sinful woman who anointed Jesus’ feet. This hymn, traditionally attributed to the 9th-century nun Kassiani, is one of the most beloved and theologically rich compositions of Byzantine hymnography .
The woman who had fallen into many sins,
perceiving your divinity, O Lord,
fulfilled the part of a myrrh-bearer.
With lamentations she brought sweet-smelling oil of myrrh to you before your burial.
“Woe is me,” she said,
“for night surrounds me, dark and moonless,
and stings my lustful passion with the love of sin.
Accept the fountain of my tears,
O you who draw down from the clouds the waters of the sea.
Incline to the groanings of my heart,
O you who in your ineffable self-emptying have bowed down the heavens.
I shall kiss your most pure feet
and wipe them with the hairs of my head,
those feet whose sound Eve heard at dusk in Paradise,
and hid herself for fear.
Who can search out the multitude of my sins
and the abyss of your judgments, O Savior of my soul?
Despise me not, your handmaiden,
for you have mercy without measure.”
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Evening Prayer for Wednesday of Holy Week
As darkness falls on Spy Wednesday, the Church traditionally prays Tenebrae—a service of increasing darkness that anticipates the death of the Lord. While the full Tenebrae service is lengthy, this evening prayer captures its spirit .
Opening
O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Alleluia .
A Prayer for the Evening
That this evening may be holy, good and peaceful, let us pray with one heart and mind.
(Silence is kept.)
As our evening prayer rises before you, O God,
so may your mercy come down upon us
to cleanse our hearts
and set us free to sing your praise
now and for ever. Amen .
A Reading from the Lamentations of Jeremiah
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return to the Lord your God.
My eyes fail with tears, my heart is troubled;
my soul is poured out on the earth
because of the destruction of the daughter of my people,
because children and infants faint away in the streets of the city.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return to the Lord your God .
The Magnificat
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel,
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever .
Concluding Prayer
Visit your people, O Lord, we pray,
and with ever-watchful love
look upon the hearts dedicated to you.
Since your Son Jesus Christ has given us
the greatest proof of love that can be,
help us by your grace to love one another
the way you loved us. Amen .
Prayers of Intercession for Holy Wednesday
Redeem me, Lord, and show me your mercy.
Redeem me, Lord, and show me your mercy.
Do not cast me away with sinners.
Redeem me, Lord, and show me your mercy.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Redeem me, Lord, and show me your mercy.
Intercessions
Lord, sustain us as we journey through these holy days: increase our faith as we draw near to the mystery of your Passion.
Lord, grant us your love.
We are assailed by doubts and weighed down by uncertainties: release our hearts to journey towards you with hope.
Lord, grant us your love.
Love keeps no score of wrongs and does not gloat over evil: help us to delight in the truth and rejoice in your gifts to others.
Lord, grant us your love.
Confirm the pilgrim Church in the faith of the apostles: help us to encourage each other, sharing our gifts.
Lord, grant us your love.
Bring those who have died in your peace to that knowledge which fulfills faith and answers hope: grant them the fullness of your love.
Lord, grant us your love.
A Meditation on the Two Paths
On this Wednesday of Holy Week, the Church places before us two figures: the sinful woman and the betrayer Judas. Both came to Jesus. Both had the opportunity to respond to his love. But their paths diverged completely.
The Woman with the Alabaster Jar
She came with nothing to offer but her tears, her hair, and her precious ointment. She did not calculate the worth or worry about what others would think. She poured out everything because she had encountered the One who is worth everything. And Jesus said, “Wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her”.
Judas Iscariot
He came with a question: “What will you give me?” He reduced the infinite God to a price, calculated his advantage, and found thirty pieces of silver more valuable than the presence of his Master. He walked in darkness because he preferred the darkness—not because Christ rejected him, but because he rejected Christ .
A Prayer of Examination
Lord Jesus, on this day when the paths of love and betrayal diverged, I examine my own heart. Am I like the woman, willing to pour out everything for you? Or am I like Judas, calculating what I can gain? Show me where I have valued silver above sacrifice, where I have complained about waste when love was being poured out. Grant me the grace to choose the better part—to love you without measure, without calculation, without reserve. Amen.
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The Prayer of St. Ephraim (Complete Form)
Though the full prostrations conclude on Wednesday, the prayer remains a powerful meditation for this day .
O Lord and Master of my life,
take from me the spirit of sloth, faint-heartedness, lust of power, and idle talk.
(Prostration)
But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to your servant.
(Prostration)
Yes, O Lord and King,
grant me to see my own sins and not to judge my brother,
for you are blessed unto ages of ages. Amen.
(Prostration)
O God, be gracious to me, a sinner.
O God, cleanse me of my sins and have mercy on me.
O Lord, forgive me, for I have sinned without number.
Conclusion
Wednesday of Holy Week stands at the threshold of the sacred Triduum. The hour draws near. The betrayer has made his deal. The woman has poured out her love. And Jesus—the Lamb of God—sets his face toward Jerusalem, toward the cross, toward the tomb, and toward the resurrection that lies beyond.
As you pray through these Catholic prayers for Wednesday of Holy Week, let the contrasts of this day speak to your heart. The love that pours out without counting the cost. The betrayal that values silver above salvation. The disciples who ask, “Is it I, Lord?”—a question that each of us must answer.
May your prayer on this day lead you to the feet of Jesus, there to pour out your love, your tears, your very self. For nothing given to him is ever wasted, and the only true waste is the love we hold back.
Through the prayers of the Most Holy Theotokos, of St. Mary Magdalene, of St. Kassiani the Hymnographer, and of all the saints, may we enter the sacred Triduum with hearts prepared to accompany our Lord from the Upper Room to Gethsemane, from the cross to the tomb, and from the tomb to the glory of the Resurrection.
Amen.
Morris Clark
