Lamentations 3:17-26

OLD TESTAMENT READING (First Reading)

   6.     Lamentations 3:17-26

A Reading from the Book of Lamentations

 My soul is deprived of peace,
      I have forgotten what happiness is;
I tell myself my future is lost,
      all that I hoped for from the Lord.
The thought of my homeless poverty
      is wormwood and gall;
Remembering it over and over
      leaves my soul downcast within me.
But I will call this to mind,
      as my reason to have hope:
The favors of the Lord are not exhausted,
      his mercies  are not spent;
They are renewed each morning,
      so great is his faithfulness.
My portion is the Lord, says my soul;
      therefore will I hope in him.

Good is the Lord to one who waits for him,
      to the soul that seeks him;
It is good to hope in silence
      for the saving help of the Lord.

The word of the Lord