ENTRANCE ANTIPHON
The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in mercy.
He does not treat us according to our sins,
but, as a father pities his children,
so the Lord pities those who fear him.
We seek refuge in the nearness of his love,
that we may come to celebrate with joy
the Resurrection of our Saviour.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you all.
And with your spirit.
Brethren (brothers and sisters), let us acknowledge our sins,
and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.
I confess to almighty God
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have greatly sinned,
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done and in what I have failed to do,
[All strike their breast]
through my fault, through my fault,
through my most grievous fault;
therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin,
all the Angels and Saints,
and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord our God.
May almighty God have mercy on us,
forgive us our sins,
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
COLLECT
Let us pray.
Come to the aid of your Church, O Lord, as we embark on this journey of penitence. May our souls be humble and open to your will, so that, as we wash ourselves from the ancient stain of sin, we may, in newness of life, gain the glory of your Resurrection.
Through Christ, our Lord,
Amen.
LITURGY OF THE WORD
FIRST READING
A reading from the Prophet Isaiah (Is 57:15-58:4a)
Isaiah spoke, saying: ‘Thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite. For I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry; for from me proceeds the spirit, and I have made the breath of life. Because of the iniquity of his covetousness I was angry, I struck him, I hid my face and was angry; but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart. I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and repay him with comfort, creating for his mourners the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace, to the far and to the near, says the Lord; and I will heal him. But the wicked are like the tossing sea; for It cannot rest, and its waters toss up mire and dirt. There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked.” Cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to my people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that did righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God; they ask of me righteous judgements, they delight to draw near to God. “Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?” Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers. Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with wicked fist.’
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
PSALM
Psalm 50 (51)
R. Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness.
Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness;
in your compassion blot out my offence.
O wash me more and more from my guilt
and cleanse me from all my sins. R.
My offences truly I know them,
my sin is always before me.
Against you, you alone, have I sinned;
what is evil in your sight I have done. R.
Indeed you love truth in the heart;
then in the secret of my heart teach me wisdom.
From my sins turn away your face
and blot out all my guilt. R.
EPISTLE
A reading from the Second Letter of St Paul to the Corinthians (2Cor 4:16b-5:9)
My brothers, though our outer man is wasting away, our inner man is being renewed every day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, because we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made of hands, eternal in the heavens. Here indeed we groan, and long to put on our heavenly dwelling, so that by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we sigh with anxiety; not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage; we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. We are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
Man does not live by bread alone,
But by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you
And with your spirit.
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Matthew (4:1-11)
Glory to you, O Lord.
Now Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ But he said in reply, ‘It is written,
“Man does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”’
Then the devil took him to the holy city, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,
“He will give his angels charge of you,”
and “On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.”’
Jesus said to him, ‘Again it is written, “You shall not tempt the Lord, your God.”’
Again the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them; and he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’
Then Jesus said to him, ‘Begone, Satan! for it is written,
“You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.”’
Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
AFTER THE GOSPEL
Behold: this is the acceptable time;
behold: the hour of salvation has come.
Let us prepare ourselves in a spirit of patience,
a spirit of renunciation, with the weapons of justice,
by the grace of God.
May we none of us be found in the day of salvation
still clinging to our old, sinful ways.
PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL
Dear brothers and sisters, filled with paschal joy,
let us pray earnestly to God that he, who graciously listened
to the prayers and supplications of his beloved Son,
may now be pleased to look upon us in our lowliness.
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer
CONCLUSION OF THE LITURGY OF THE WORD
Forgive, O Lord, the sins of your servants and purify our hearts, that we may undertake with a joyful will this Lenten journey and merit to obtain the help we ask of you in faith.
Through Christ our Lord,
Amen.
THE LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation,
for through your goodness we have received
the bread we offer you:
fruit of the earth and work of human hands,
it will become for us the bread of life.
Blessed be God forever.
Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation,
for through your goodness we have received
this wine we offer you:
fruit of the vine and work of human hands,
it will become our spiritual drink.
Blessed be God forever.
PROFESSION OF FAITH
I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified.
who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS
We offer you, eternal God, the sacrifice which marks the beginning of the season of Lent. Grant that as we practice acts of penitence and charity we may be brought ever further from selfishness; and in cleansing ourselves from our sins we may be made worthy to celebrate the Resurrection of your Son, who lives and reigns forever and ever.
Amen.
PREFACE
The Lord be with you.
And with your spirit.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right and just.
It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give you thanks,
Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God.
Through Christ our Lord you nourish the faith of those who fast,
You give life to our hope,
You reignite our love.
In him we recognise your Word through which all things were created;
In him we rediscover the true and living Bread,
Which, here on earth, sustains us in our daily toil and, in heaven, will fully satisfy us in eternal bliss.
Your servant Moses, nourished by this bread, fasted for forty days and forty nights when he received the law.
To better savour its sweetness he abstained from food;
Reinvigorated by the vision of your glory he felt not the hunger of the body nor gave thought to earthly sustenance:
Enough for him was the word of God and the light of the Spirit that descended upon him.
That same Bread, which is Christ, your living Word,
You now give to us at your altar, O Father,
And we are moved to sing its endless praise.
Through him we unite our voices with the ranks of the heavenly host and raise our hymn of praise:
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
EUCHARISTIC PRAYER
You are indeed Holy, O Lord,
The fount of all holiness.
Make holy, therefore, these gifts, we pray,
by sending down your Spirit upon them like the dewfall,
so that they may become for us
the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
At the time he was betrayed
And entered willingly into his Passion,
he took bread and, giving thanks, broke it,
and gave it to his disciples, saying:
Take this, all of you, and eat of it,
For this is my Body,
Which will be given up for you.
In a similar way, when supper was ended,
he took the chalice
and, once more giving thanks,
he gave it to his disciples, saying:
Take this, all of you, and drink from it,
for this is the chalice of my Blood,
the Blood of the new and eternal covenant,
Which will be poured out for you and for many
for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this in memory of me.
The mystery of faith.
We proclaim your Death, O Lord,
and profess your Resurrection
until you come again.
Therefore, as we celebrate
the memorial of his Death and Resurrection,
we offer you, Lord,
the Bread of life and the Chalice of salvation,
giving thanks that you have held us worthy
to be in your presence and minister to you.
Humbly we pray
that, partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ,
we may be gathered into one by the Holy Spirit.
Remember, Lord, your Church,
spread throughout the world,
and bring her to the fullness of charity,
together with Francis our Pope
and Mario our Bishop,
and all the clergy.
Remember also our brothers and sisters
who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection,
and all who have died in your mercy:
welcome them into the light of your face.
Have mercy on us all, we pray,
that with the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God,
with blessed Joseph, her Spouse
with the blessed Apostles,
and all the Saints who have pleased you throughout the ages,
we may merit to be coheirs to eternal life,
and may praise and glorify you
through your Son, Jesus Christ.
Through him, and with him, and in him,
O God, almighty Father,
In the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all glory and honour is yours,
Forever and ever
Amen.
THE COMMUNION RITE
BREAKING OF THE BREAD
How tender is your spirit, O Lord!
Through your works you have taught your people
in every time and place you have sustained them.
You, our God, are kind are true,
patient,
and ruling all things in mercy.
At the Saviour’s command
and formed by divine teaching,
we dare to say:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil,
graciously grant peace in our days,
that, by the help of your mercy,
we may be always free from sin
and safe from all distress,
as we await the blessed hope
and the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
For the kingdom,
the power and the glory are yours
now and forever.
Lord Jesus Christ,
who said to your Apostles:
Peace I leave you, my peace I give you,
look not on our sins,
but on the faith of Your Church,
and graciously grant her peace and unity
in accordance with your will.
Who live and reign for ever and ever.
Amen.
The peace and communion of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always.
And with your spirit.
Behold the Lamb of God,
behold him who takes away the sins of the world.
Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.
Lord, I am not worthy
that you should enter under my roof,
but only say the word
and my soul shall be healed.
AT HOLY COMMUNION
We walk in love,
following Christ who first loved us,
and rejoice in this banquet in the sight of our God.
May the peace of Christ reign in our hearts,
the peace of the one who has called us into one body.
The Body of Christ.
Amen.
AFTER HOLY COMMUNION
Let us pray.
Nourished at your table, O Lord, we pray: grant us always to desire to receive this Bread which strengthens our failing hearts with the vigour of eternal life.
Through Christ our Lord,
Amen.
The Lord be with you.
And with your spirit.
Kyrie, eleison. Kyrie, eleison. Kyrie, eleison.
May almighty God bless you,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Go in peace.
In the name of Christ.
The Blessing and Imposition of Ashes
My brothers, let us gather together
in humble prayer
before God our Father
that he may bless us
and accept the penitential action
we offer in his presence.
PRAYER
Merciful and loving Father,
hear our prayer:
as once you were moved to pity
on behalf of the people of Niniveh,
when they covered their heads in ashes
and invoked your mercy,
so now look with favour upon the humility of this rite:
Bless these ashes
which will be sprinkled upon our heads
as a sign of our trust in your mercy;
and pour out upon us your sanctifying grace,
that through this symbol of our penitence
all your faithful
may obtain the grace
of conversion of heart
and the forgiveness of their sins.
Through Jesus Christ your Son, our Lord and our God,
who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
forever and ever.
Amen.
IMPOSITION OF ASHES
Repent, and believe in the Gospel.
OR
Remember that you are but dust,
and to dust you shall return.
ANTIPHONS
Come back to me with all your hearts,
fasting, weeping, mourning.
I do not desire the death of the sinner,
but that he turn back to me, and live.
Almighty and eternal Lord,
God of Israel,
who have brought your people
out of slavery from the land of Egypt,
we have sinned
and lawlessly departed from you.
Have mercy on us,
O Saviour of the world.
Remember, Lord, that we are but dust.
Have mercy on us and forgive us our sins.
From my sins turn away your face, O God,
and blot out all my guilt.
