My LORD’s BibleThe Roman Missal: Septuagesima and Lent, to the Saturday of the Fourth Week (English) 4
2Antiphon. Ps. lxviii. Hear us, O Lord, for thy mercy is kind: look upon us, O Lord, according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.—Save me, O God, for the waters have come in even unto my soul. Glory, &c.
3Hear us, O Lord, &c.
4S. The Lord be with you. And with thy spirit. S. Let us pray.
5Prayer. Omnipotens. O Almighty and eternal God, spare us penitents, be merciful to us thy supplicants; and vouchsafe to send thy holy angel from heaven, to bless ✠ and sanctify ✠ these ashes, that they may be a wholesome remedy to all who humbly implore thy holy name, and accuse themselves through a consciousness of their sins, deploring their crimes before thy divine clemency, or humbly and earnestly beseeching thy mercy: and grant through the invocation of thy most holy name that all who may be sprinkled with them, for the remission of their sins, may receive health of body and support of soul. Through Christ our Lord. R. Amen.
6Prayer. Deus qui non mortem. O God, who desirest not the death, but the repentance of sinners, look down with the greatest goodness upon the frailty of human nature, and in thy mercy vouchsafe to bless ✠ these ashes which we intend to put upon our heads, that we may exercise humility and deserve pardon; that we who know that we are dust, and for the demerits of our wickedness are to return to dust, may deserve to obtain of thy mercy the pardon of all sins, and the rewards promised to penitents. Through Christ our Lord. R. Amen.
7Prayer. Deus qui humiliatione. O God, who art moved by humiliation, and appeased by satisfaction, incline the ear of thy mercy to our prayers, and favourably pour forth upon the heads of thy servants sprinkled with these ashes the grace of thy blessing: that thou mayest both fill them with the spirit of compunction, and effectually grant what they have justly prayed for: and decree that what thou hast granted may be permanently established and remain inviolate. Through Christ our Lord. R. Amen.
8Prayer. Omnipotens. Almighty and eternal God, who didst grant the remedy of thy pardon to the Ninivites doing penance in ashes and sackcloth, mercifully grant that we may so imitate them in our attire as to follow them in obtaining forgiveness. Through our Lord, &c.
9[Then the Priest sprinkles the ashes thrice with holy water, saying the Antiphon, Asperges, &c. and incenses them three times.]
10[While the people are receiving the ashes, the choir sings as follows:]
11Antiphon. Let us change our garments for ashes and sackcloth: let us fast and lament before the Lord: for our God is plenteous in mercy to forgive our sins.
12Another Antiphon. 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.
13R. Let us amend and do better for those things in which we have sinned through ignorance: lest suddenly prevented by the day of death, we seek time for penance, and be not able to find it. Attend, O Lord, and have mercy: for we have sinned against thee. Help us, O God, our Saviour: and for the honour of thy name, O Lord, deliver us. Attend, O Lord, &c. Glory, &c. Attend, &c.
15Remember man, that thou art dust, and into dust thou shalt return.
16[When all have received ashes, the Priest says:]
17The Lord be with you. And with thy spirit. Let us pray.
18Prayer. Concede nobis. Grant us, O Lord, to begin the defence of our Christian warfare with holy fasts; that, being about to fight against the spirits of wickedness, we may be defended by the help of self-denial. Through our Lord, &c. R. Amen.
19[Mass.]
20Introit. Wisd. xi. Thou hast mercy upon all, O Lord, and hatest none of the things which thou hast made, winking at the sins of men for the sake of repentance, and sparing them; for thou art the Lord our God. Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me; for my soul trusteth in thee. Glory, &c.
22[From this day till Passion Sunday, the two following prayers are said.]
23[For the Intercession of the Saints. A cunctis as above, p. 102.]
24For Living and Dead. Omnipotens. O Almighty and eternal God, who hast dominion over the living and the dead, and art merciful to all whom thou foreknowest shall be thine by faith and good works; we humbly beseech thee that they for whom we have purposed to pour forth prayers, and whom either the present world still detains in the flesh, or the future has received already out of the body, may by the intercession of all thy saints, and the clemency of thy mercy obtain the pardon of all their sins. Through our Lord, &c.
25Lesson. Joel, ii. 12—19. Thus saith the Lord, Be converted to me with all your heart, in fasting, and in weeping, and in mourning. And rend your hearts and not your garments, and turn to the Lord your God; for he is gracious and merciful, patient and rich in mercy, and ready to repent of the evil. Who knoweth but he will return, and forgive, and leave a blessing behind him, sacrifice and libation to the Lord your God? Blow the trumpet in Sion; sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly; gather together the people; sanctify the church; assemble the ancients; gather together the little ones, and them that suck at the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth from his bed, and the bride out of her bride-chamber. Between the porch and the altar the priests, the Lord's ministers, shall weep; and shall say, Spare, O Lord, spare thy people; and give not thine inheritance to reproach, that the heathens should rule over them. Why should they say among the nations, Where is their God? The Lord hath been zealous for his land, and hath spared his people. And the Lord answered, and said to his people, Behold I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and you shall be filled with them; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations; saith the Lord Almighty.
26Gradual. Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me: for my soul trusteth in thee. He hath sent from heaven, and delivered me; he hath made them a reproach that trod upon me.
27Tract. O Lord, repay us not according to the sins we have committed, nor according to our iniquities. O Lord, remember not our former iniquities: let thy mercies speedily prevent us, for we are become exceeding poor. 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.
28[The above Tract is said every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, till Wednesday in Holy Week, unless a proper one be appointed.]
29Gospel. St Matthew, vi. 16—21. At that time, Jesus said to his disciples, When you fast, be not as the hypocrites, sad. For they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head and wash thy face; that thou appear not to men to fast, but to thy Father who is in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret will repay thee. Lay not up to yourselves treasures on earth, where the rust and moth consume, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up to yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither the rust nor moth doth consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also.
30Offertory. I will extol thee, O Lord, for thou hast upheld me; and hast not made my enemies to rejoice over me: O Lord, I have cried to thee, and thou hast healed me.
31Secret. We beseech thee, O Lord, to fit us for offering these gifts, by which we celebrate the beginning of the venerable Sacrament itself. Through, &c.
32[For the Intercession of the Saints, as above, p. 102.]
33For the Living and Dead. O God, who alone knowest the number of the elect to be placed in the happiness of heaven, grant we beseech thee, that by the intercession of all thy saints, the book of blessed predestination may contain the names of all those who have been recommended to our prayers, and of all the faithful. Through our Lord, &c.
34[Preface, Qui corporali jejunio, as in the Ordinary of the Mass, (p. 17,) which is said every day till Passion Sunday, except on Feasts which have a proper Preface.]
36Postcom. Percepta. May the sacraments we have received, O Lord, afford us support, that our fasts may be pleasing to thee, and be a healing remedy to us. Through, &c.
37[For the Intercession of the Saints. Mundet, as above, p. 103.]
38For the Living and the Dead. Purificent. May the sacraments which we have received purify us, we beseech thee, O Almighty and merciful God; and by the intercession of all thy saints, grant that this thy sacrament may not be made to us a source of guilt and punishment, but salutary intercession for pardon: may it be the washing away of sins, the strength of the weak, a defence against all the dangers of the world, and a remission of all the sins of the faithful, living and dead. Through our Lord, &c.
39[Over the People. Let us pray. Bow down your heads before God.]
40Prayer. Inclinantes. Look down, O Lord, in thy mercy, upon those who bow before thy Majesty; that they who are nourished with a divine gift may be ever fed with heavenly succours. Through our Lord, &c.