BLESSING OF THE ASHES
Antiphona.
Ps 68:17
Hear me, O Lord, for thy mercy is kind; look upon me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies, O Lord.
Ps 68:2
Save me, O God: for the waters are come in even unto my soul.
Glory Be to the Father…
Hear me, O Lord, for thy mercy is kind; look upon me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies, O Lord.
Afterwards the Priest, standing at the Epistle side, without turning towards the people, with his hands joined, says
P. The Lord be with you.
℟. And with your spirit.
Let us pray.
Almighty, everlasting God, spare those who are repentant, be merciful to those who pray to You, and graciously send Your holy angel from heaven to bless ☩ and hallow ☩ these ashes, that they may be a wholesome remedy for all who humbly implore Your holy Name; who accuse themselves by acknowledging their sins, who weep for their evil deeds in the sight of Your divine mercy; who humbly and earnestly seek Your fatherly love. Grant to us who call upon Your holy Name, that all who are sprinkled with these ashes for the forgiveness of their sins, may receive health for their bodies and salvation for their souls. Through Christ our Lord.
Let us pray.
O God, You Who desire not the death but the repentance of sinners, look graciously upon the weakness of our human nature, and in Your fatherly love mercifully bless ☩ these ashes which are to be placed upon our heads as a sign of humility and a pledge of Your forgiveness. We know that we are but ashes, and because of our wickedness must return to dust. May we obtain from Your mercy the pardon of all our sins and the rewards promised to those who repent. Through Christ our Lord.
Let us pray.
O God, You Who are moved by our acts of humility and appeased by our works of penance, turn Your ear lovingly to our prayers, and by the ashes sprinkled upon the heads of Your servants mercifully pour forth upon them the grace of Your blessing, fill them with the spirit of repentance and truly grant what they ask for in the right way; and may whatever You grant remain fixed and unchanged always. Through Christ our Lord.
Let us pray.
Almighty, everlasting God, Who bestowed upon the people of Niniveh, who repented in sackcloth and ashes, Your merciful remedies, graciously grant that we may so imitate their outward behavior as inwardly to obtain Your forgiveness.
Through Christ our Lord.
℟. Amen.
Postea Celebrans, imposito incenso in thuribulo, ter aspergit cineres aqua benedícta, dicendo Antiphonam Aspérges, sine cantu et sine Psalmo, et ter adolet incenso. Deinde dignior Sacerdos ex Clero accedens ad Altare, imponit cineres Celebranti non genuflexo. Si vero non adsit alius Sacerdos, ipsemet Celebrans, genibus flexis coram Altari, sibi ipsi cineres imponit in capite, nihil dicens, et cantatur statim a choro:
Antiphona.
Joel 2:13
Let us change our garment for ashes and sackcloth: let us fast and lament before the Lord: for our God is plenteous in mercy to forgive sins.
Alia Antiph.
Joel 2:17
Between the porch and the altar the priests the Lord’s ministers shall weep, and shall say: Spare, O Lord, spare thy people: and shut not the mouths of them that sing to thee, O Lord?
Responsorium
Esther 13; Joel 2
Let us amend for the better in those things in which we have sinned through ignorance: lest suddenly overtaken by the day of death, we seek space for penance, and are not able to find it. Hear O Lord, and have mercy: for we have sinned against thee.
Ps 78:9
Help us, O God, our saviour: and for the glory of thy name, O Lord, deliver us: and forgive us our sins for thy name’s sake: O Lord deliver us. Listen, O Lord.
℣. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost. Listen, O Lord.
Sacerdos vero, dum cantantur Antiphonæ et Responsorium, detecto capite, primo imponit cineres digniori Sacerdoti, a quo ipse accepit, deinde Ministris paratis, genibus flexis coram Altari, dicens:
Imposition of the Ashes.
Gen. 3:19
Remember, man, that you are dust and into dust you shall return.
P. The Lord be with you.
℟. And with your spirit.
Let us pray.
Grant us, O Lord, to take up our duty as soldiers of Christ by holy fasting that we, who are going to struggle with the evil spirits, may be protected by the help of self-restraint. Through Christ our Lord.
INTROIT
Wis 11:24-25, 27.
You have mercy on all, O Lord, and hate none of the things which You have made, overlooking the sins of men for the sake of repentance, and sparing them: because You are the Lord our God.
Ps 56:2
Have pity on me, O God; have pity on me, for in You I take refuge.
Glory Be to the Father…
You have mercy on all, O Lord, and hate none of the things which You have made, overlooking the sins of men for the sake of repentance, and sparing them: because You are the Lord our God.
COLLECT
Grant, O Lord, that Your faithful people may, with true piety, undertake the time-honored custom of fasting and may carry it out with unwavering devotion.
Through our Lord…
EPISTLE
Lesson from the book of Joel
Joel 2:12-19
Thus says the Lord: Return to Me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God. For gracious and merciful is He, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment. Perhaps He will again relent and leave behind Him a blessing, offerings and libations for the Lord, your God. Blow the trumpet in Sion! proclaim a fast, call an assembly; gather the people, notify the congregation; assemble the elders, gather the children and the infants at the breast; let the bridegroom quit his room, and the bride her chamber. Between the porch and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep, and say, ‘Spare, O Lord, Your people, and make not Your heritage a reproach, with the nations ruling over them! Why should they say among the peoples: Where is their God?’ Then the Lord was stirred to concern for His land and took pity on His people. The Lord answered and said to His people: See, I will send you grain, and wine, and oil, and you shall be filled with them; no more will I make you a reproach among the nations, say the Lord almighty.
GRADUAL
Ps 56:2, 4.
Have pity on me, O God; have pity on me, for in You I take refuge.
℣. He has sent from heaven and saved me; He has made those a reproach who trample upon me.
Tractus
Ps 102:10
O Lord, deal with us not according to our sins, nor requite us according to our crimes.
Ps 78:8-9
O Lord, remember not against us the iniquities of the past; may Your compassion quickly come to us, for we are brought very low. (kneel)
℣. Help us, O God, our Saviour, because of the glory of Your Name, O Lord; deliver us and pardon our sins for Your Name’s sake.
GOSPEL
Continuation ☩ of the Holy Gospel according to Matthew
Matt. 6:16-21
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, who disfigure their face in order to appear to men as fasting. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. But you, when you do fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not be seen fasting by men, but by your Father, Who is in secret; and your Father, Who sees in secret, will reward you. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where rust and moth consume, and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither rust nor moth consumes, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.
OFFERTORY
Ps 29:2-3
I will extol you, O Lord, for You drew me clear and did not let my enemies rejoice over me. O Lord, I cried out to You and You healed me.
SECRET
O Lord, we beseech You, make us truly fit to offer these gifts by which we celebrate the beginning of this venerable observance.
Through our Lord…
PREFACE
Lent
It is truly meet and just, right and for our salvation, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God; Who by this bodily fast, dost curb our vices, dost lift up our minds and bestow on us strength and rewards; through Christ our Lord. Through whom the Angels praise Thy Majesty, the Dominations worship it, the Powers stand in awe. The Heavens and the heavenly hosts together with the blessed Seraphim in triumphant chorus unite to celebrate it. Together with these we entreat Thee that Thou mayest bid our voices also to be admitted while we say with lowly praise:
COMMUNION
Ps 1:2-3
He who shall meditate day and night on the law of the Lord shall yield his fruit in due season.
POSTCOMMUNION
May the sacrament that we have received, O Lord, give us help, that our fast may be pleasing to You and may profit us as a healing remedy.
Through our Lord…
PRAYER OVER THE PEOPLE
Prayer over the people
Let us pray.
Bow your heads to God.
Look graciously O Lord, upon those who bow down before Your divine majesty, that they, being fed by Your holy gift, may always be nourished by help from heaven.
Through our Lord…