Holy Wednesday is the last day for the prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian:

O Lord and Master of my life, give me not a a spirit of sloth, vain curiosity, lust for power, and idle talk.

But give to me Thy servant a spirit of soberness, humility, patience, and love.

O Lord and King, grant me to see my own faults and not to condemn my brother: for blessed art Thou to the ages of ages. Amen.

Holy Wednesday

 

The theme of Holy Wednesday is repentance and forgiveness. We commemorate the woman that was a sinner, who anointed Christ's feet as He sat in the house of Simon. (It was Mary who annointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick Jn. 11:1). A second theme is the agreement made by Judas with the Jewish authorities: the repentance of the sinful harlot is contrasted with the tragic fall of the chosen disciple. Judas perished, not simply because he betrayed his Master, but because having fallen into the sin of betrayal, he then refused to believe in the possibility of forgiveness.