INTRODUCTION
God, + come to my assistance.
— Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
— as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
HYMN
O Jesus, you have set apart
these forty days for abstinence
and you decreed a lenten fast
to heal and save our mind and heart.
Now come, be present to your Church,
be near and aid our penitence,
as we bow down before you, Lord,
and beg you wash away our sins.
Remit and pardon with your grace
misdeeds from which we turn aside;
from future perils keep us safe
by your most meek and gentle guard,
That, filled with sorrow for our sins
and cleansed by yearly penitence,
we may press on to celebrate
the Paschal Feast with worthy praise.
Let all your works adore you, Lord,
O merciful and Triune God.
Renewed by pardon, let us sing
a new song to your holy name. Amen.
Tune: JENA, 8 8 8 8
Music: later form of melody by Melchior Vulpius, ca. 1570-1615, composed in 1609
or Mode IV, melody 81; Liber Hymnarius, Solesmes, 1983
Text: Iesu, quadragenariæ, ca. 10th c., © 2023 ICEL
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 Those who sow in tears will reap in joy.
Psalm 126
Joyful hope in God
Just as you share in sufferings so you will share in the divine glory (2 Corinthians 1:7).
When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage, *
it seemed like a dream.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter, *
on our lips there were songs.
The heathens themselves said: “What marvels *
the Lord worked for them!”
What marvels the Lord worked for us! *
Indeed we were glad.
Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage *
as streams in dry land.
Those who are sowing in tears *
will sing when they reap.
They go out, they go out, full of tears, *
carrying seed for the sowing:
they come back, they come back, full of song, *
carrying their sheaves.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Psalm Prayer
Lord, you have raised us from the earth; may you let the seeds of justice, which we have sown in tears, grow and increase in your sight. May we reap in joy the harvest we hope for patiently.
Ant. Those who sow in tears will reap in joy.
Ant. 2 May the Lord build our house and guard our city.
Psalm 127
Apart from God our labors are worthless
You are God’s building (1 Corinthians 3:9).
If the Lord does not build the house, *
in vain do its builders labor;
if the Lord does not watch over the city, *
in vain does the watchman keep vigil.
In vain is your earlier rising, *
your going later to rest,
you who toil for the bread you eat: *
when he pours gifts on his beloved while they slumber.
Truly sons are a gift from the Lord, *
a blessing, the fruit of the womb.
Indeed the sons of youth *
are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.
O the happiness of the man *
who has filled his quiver with these arrows!
He will have no cause for shame *
when he disputes with his foes in the gateways.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Psalm Prayer
You command the seed to rise, Lord God, though the farmer is unaware. Grant that those who labor for you may trust not in their own work but in your help. Remembering that the land is brought to flower not with human tears but with those of your Son, may the Church rely only upon your gifts.
Ant. May the Lord build our house and guard our city.
Ant. 3 He is the first-born of all creation; in every way the primacy is his.
Canticle: Colossians 1:12-20
Christ the first-born of all creation and the first-born from the dead
Let us give thanks to the Father *
for having made you worthy
to share the lot of the saints *
in light.
He rescued us *
from the power of darkness
and brought us *
into the kingdom of his beloved Son.
Through him we have redemption, *
the forgiveness of our sins.
He is the image of the invisible God, *
the first-born of all creatures.
In him everything in heaven and on earth was created, *
things visible and invisible.
All were created through him; *
all were created for him.
He is before all else that is. *
In him everything continues in being.
It is he who is head of the body, the church! *
he who is the beginning,
the first-born of the dead, *
so that primacy may be his in everything.
It pleased God to make absolute fullness reside in him *
and, by means of him, to reconcile everything in his person,
both on earth and in the heavens, *
making peace through the blood of his cross.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. He is the first-born of all creation; in every way the primacy is his.
READING
Philippians 2:12b-15a
Work with anxious concern to achieve your salvation. It is God who, in his good will toward you, begets in you any measure of desire or achievement. In everything you do, act without grumbling or arguing; prove yourselves innocent and straightforward, children of God without reproach.
RESPONSORY
To you, O Lord, I make my prayer for mercy.
— To you, O Lord, I make my prayer for mercy.
Heal my soul, for I have sinned against you.
— I make my prayer for mercy.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
— To you, O Lord, I make my prayer for mercy.
GOSPEL CANTICLE
Ant. The one who obeys God’s law and teaches others to do so will be great in the kingdom of heaven.
Canticle of Mary
Luke 1:46-55
The soul rejoices in the Lord
My + soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, †
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior *
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: †
the Almighty has done great things for me, *
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him *
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm, *
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, *
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel *
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. The one who obeys God’s law and teaches others to do so will be great in the kingdom of heaven.
INTERCESSIONS
Blessed be almighty God, who watches over us as a Father; he knows all our needs but wants us to seek first his kingdom. Let us cry out to him as his people:
May your kingdom come, that justice may reign.
Father of all holiness, you gave us Christ as the shepherd of our souls; stay with your shepherds and the flock entrusted to them, do not leave this flock without the loving care of its shepherd,
— do not leave your shepherds without an obedient flock to follow them.
May your kingdom come, that justice may reign.
Teach Christians to help the weak with loving care,
— and in serving them to serve your Son.
May your kingdom come, that justice may reign.
Gather into your Church those who do not yet believe,
— and help them to build it up by good deeds done for love of you.
May your kingdom come, that justice may reign.
Help us to turn to you for forgiveness,
— and, as you forgive us, reconcile us also with your Church.
May your kingdom come, that justice may reign.
May the dead pass from this world to eternal life,
— to be with you for ever.
May your kingdom come, that justice may reign.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
(Remember us, Lord, when you come to your kingdom and teach us how to pray:)
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.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Lord,
during this Lenten season
nourish us with your word of life
and make us one in love and prayer.
Grant this this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
— Amen.
Or:
Grant, we pray, O Lord,
that, schooled through Lenten observance
and nourished by your word,
through holy restraint
we may be devoted to you with all our heart
and be ever united in prayer.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
— Amen.
DISMISSAL
If a priest or deacon presides, he dismisses the people:
The Lord be with you.
— And with your spirit.
May almighty God bless you,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
— Amen.
Another form of the blessing may be used, as at Mass.
Then he adds:
Go in peace.
— Thanks be to God.
In the absence of a priest or deacon and in individual recitation, Evening Prayer concludes:
May the Lord + bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
— Amen.
******
Lord, who throughout these forty days
For us did fast and pray,
Teach us with you to mourn our sins,
And close by you to stay.
As you with Satan did contend
And did the vict’ry win,
O give us strength in you to fight,
In you to conquer sin.
As you did hunger and did thirst,
So teach us, gracious Lord,
To die to self and so to live
By your most holy word.
Abide with us that through this life
Of suff’ring and of pain
An Easter of unending joy
We may at last attain.
Tune: St. Flavian C.M.
Music: Day’s Psalter, 1562
Text: Claudia Hernaman, 1838-1898, alt.
Or:
Take up your cross, the Savior said,
If you would my disciple be;
Deny yourself, the world forsake,
And humbly follow after me.
Take up your cross, let not its weight
Fill your weak spirit with alarm;
His strength shall bear your spirit up,
Shall brace your heart and nerve your arm.
Take up your cross then in his strength,
And ev’ry danger calmly brave,
To guide you to a better home,
And vict’ry over death and grave.
Take up your cross and follow Christ,
Nor think till death to lay it down;
For only he who bears the cross
May hope to wear the glorious crown.
To you, great Lord, the One in three,
All praise for evermore ascend;
O grant us here below to see
The heav’nly life that knows no end.
Tune: Breslau or Winchester New L.M.
Music: (Breslau) As Hymnodus Sacer, 1625, or (Winchester New) Musikalisches Handbuch, Hamburg, 1690
Text: Charles William Everest, 1814-1877, adapted by Anthony G. Petti
Or:
Forty days and forty nights
You were fasting in the wild;
Forty days and forty nights
Tempted and yet undefiled.
Shall not we your sorrow share
And from worldly joys abstain,
Fasting with unceasing prayer,
Strong with you to suffer pain?
Then if Satan on us press,
Flesh or spirit to assail,
Victor in the wilderness,
Grant we may not faint nor fail!
So shall we have peace divine:
Holier gladness ours shall be;
Round us, too, shall angels shine,
Such as served you faithfully.
Keep, O keep us, Savior dear,
Ever constant by your side;
That with you we may appear
At the ’ternal Eastertide.
Tune: Heinlein 77.77
Music: Attributed to Martin Herbst, 1654-1681
Text: George Hunt Smyttan 1822-1870