September 27, 2003, Memorial of St. Vincent de Paul, priest.

A reading from the book of the prophet Ezra.

At the time of the evening sacrifice, I, Ezra, rose in my wretchedness,

and with cloak and mantle, torn, I fell on my knees,

stretching out my hands to the Lord, my God.

I said, My God, I am too ashamed and confounded to raise my face to you.

Oh, my God, for our wicked deeds are heaped up above our heads,

and our guilt reaches up to heaven.

From the time of our fathers, even to this day, great has been our guilt.

And for our wicked deeds, we have been delivered up. We, and our kings,

and our priests, to the will of the kings of foreign lands, to the sword, to captivity, to pillage,

and to disgrace, as is the case today.

And now, but a short time ago,

mercy came to us from the Lord, our God,

who left us a remnant and gave us a stake in His holy place.

Thus our God has brightened our eyes and given us relief in our servitude.

For slaves we are, but in our servitude our God has not abandoned us.

Rather, he has turned the goodwill of the kings of Persia toward us. Thus, he has given us new life,

to raise again the house of our God and restore its ruins, and has granted us a fence in Judah

and Jerusalem. The Word of the Lord

The Responsorial Psalm.

The response is

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