What Psalter week is it today?
The four-week cycle, the four days it resets, and the one reset that catches almost everyone out.
Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time. Set your Psalter ribbon to Week IV, then to Monday within that week. You are in Volume IV (Ordinary Time, Weeks 18 to 34).
The four-week Psalter is the part of the Liturgy of the Hours that people most often lose their place in, because it does not follow the calendar. It runs on its own cycle of four weeks, labeled Week I through Week IV, and it restarts at Week I on four days each year.
How the cycle works
Every week of the liturgical year sits somewhere in a repeating group of four. The rule is simple arithmetic once you know where the count started:
- Weeks 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, 21, 25, 29 and 33 of Ordinary Time use Psalter Week I.
- Weeks 2, 6, 10, 14, 18, 22, 26, 30 and 34 use Psalter Week II.
- Weeks 3, 7, 11, 15, 19, 23, 27 and 31 use Psalter Week III.
- Weeks 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28 and 32 use Psalter Week IV.
The same pattern runs through Advent, Lent and Easter, counting from the first Sunday of each season.
The four reset points
These are the days the cycle returns to Week I, computed for the seasons around today:
| Reset day | Date | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| First Sunday of Advent | Nov 29, 2026 | Volume I opens, and the liturgical year begins. |
| First Sunday in Ordinary Time | Jan 17, 2027 | The Monday after the Baptism of the Lord begins Week 1; the Sunday that follows is Week I of the Psalter. |
| First Sunday of Lent | Feb 14, 2027 | Ash Wednesday and the days after it use Week IV; the cycle restarts on the First Sunday. |
| Easter Sunday | Mar 28, 2027 | The Octave of Easter runs on Week I. |
| First Sunday of Advent | Nov 28, 2027 | Volume I opens, and the liturgical year begins. |
The one that catches people out. Ash Wednesday does not reset the cycle. Ash Wednesday and the three days after it continue in Week IV, and Week I begins on the First Sunday of Lent. If your ribbon suddenly feels wrong in the first week of Lent, this is almost always why.
Working it out without a calculator
Take the number of the current week of the season, divide by four, and read the remainder. A remainder of one means Week I, two means Week II, three means Week III, and no remainder means Week IV. Today is the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time, which gives Week IV.
If you would rather not do the arithmetic before Morning Prayer, the daily guide does it for you and also tells you which of the four volumes to open and where the other ribbons go.
See today’s ribbon placements Free, no account, works offline once you have opened itCommon questions
What is the four-week Psalter?
It is the cycle of psalms and antiphons at the heart of the Liturgy of the Hours. Rather than repeating the same psalms daily, the office spreads them across four weeks, labeled Week I to Week IV. Each week has its own set for every day and every hour.
When does the Psalter cycle reset to Week I?
On four days each year: the First Sunday of Advent, the First Sunday in Ordinary Time, the First Sunday of Lent, and Easter Sunday. Between those points it simply advances one week at a time and wraps from Week IV back to Week I.
Which Psalter week is used in the days after Ash Wednesday?
Week IV. Ash Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday belong to the week that was already running, and the cycle restarts at Week I on the First Sunday of Lent.
Does the Psalter week change during the Octave of Easter?
Easter Sunday restarts the cycle at Week I and it holds there through the Saturday. The eighth day, the Second Sunday of Easter, is Week II. The proper of each day within the Octave comes from the Proper of Seasons rather than the Psalter.
Is the Psalter week the same as the week of Ordinary Time?
Not exactly, though they move together. The week of Ordinary Time counts up to thirty-four across the year. The Psalter week is that number reduced to a cycle of four: Week 24 of Ordinary Time uses Psalter Week IV, because twenty-four divides evenly by four.
Where is the Psalter in the four-volume set?
Immediately after the Ordinary, and it is the single largest section in each volume. One ribbon lives there permanently and moves only from day to day within the section. See the full ribbon placement guide.