Psalm 51: 3-4, 5-6ab, 12-13, 14, 17
For Ash Wednesday, our responsorial psalm comes from Psalm 51, one of the most familiar of the seven Penitential Psalms (the others are Psalms 6, 32, 38, 102, 130, and 143). This Christian designation dates from the 7th century AD for psalms suitable to express repentance.