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Ash Wednesday
Dear People of God: The first Christians observed with great devotion the days of our Lord’s passion and resurrection, and it became the custom of the Church to prepare for them by a season of penitence and fasting. This season of Lent provided a time in which converts to the faith were prepared for Holy Baptism. It was also a time when those who, because of notorious sins, had been separated from the body of the faithful, were reconciled by penitence and forgiveness, and restored to the fellowship of the Church. In this manner, the whole Congregation was put in mind of the message of pardon and absolution set forth in the Gospel of our Savior, and of the need that all Christians continually have to renew our repentance and faith. I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent: by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and alms-giving; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word. And to make a right beginning, let us now pray for grace, that we may faithfully keep this Lent. (BCP 2019)
A long period of silent prayer and meditation follows.
Kyrie Pantokrator: A Song of Penitence
O Lord and Ruler of the hosts of heaven, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and of all their righteous offspring: You made the heavens and the earth, with all their vast array. All things quake with fear at your presence; they tremble because of your power. But your merciful promise is beyond all measure; it surpasses all that our minds can fathom. O Lord, you are full of compassion, long-suffering, and abounding in mercy. You hold back your hand; you do not punish as we deserve. In your great goodness, Lord, you have promised forgiveness to sinners, that they may repent of their sin and be saved. And now, O Lord, I bend the knee of my heart, and make my appeal, sure of your gracious goodness. I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned, and I know my wickedness only too well. Therefore I make this prayer to you: Forgive me, Lord, forgive me. Do not let me perish in my sin, nor condemn me to the depths of the earth. For you, O Lord, are the God of those who repent, and in me you will show forth your goodness. (Prayer of Manasseh, 1–2, 4, 6-7, 11–15)
Quaerite Dominum: Seek the Lord While He Wills To Be Found
Isaiah 55:6–11 with the Gloria Patri
That We May Hate Those Sins
O Lord our God, grant us grace to desire you with our whole heart: that desiring you, we may seek you; and that seeking you, we may find you; and that finding you, we may love you; and that loving you, we may hate those sins from which you have delivered us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Venite (Psalm 95)
Do not omit verses 7b–11
Matthew 3:2
Matthew 3:2 says, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” …
Psalm 51:9
Psalm 51:9 says, “Turn your face from my sins, and blot out all my misdeeds.” …
Mark 8:34
In Mark 8:34, Jesus says, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” …
1 John 1:8–9
First John 1:8–9, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” …
Psalm 51:3
Psalm 51:3 says, “For I acknowledge my faults, and my sin is ever before me.” …
Daniel 9:9
Daniel 9:9 says, “To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him.” …
Lenten Antiphon
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy:
O come, let us adore him.
