Today is the first day of Lent, Ash Wednesday, and it is a Major Fast for Anglicans. A special Mass is said today on which ashes on imposed on the forehead of the faithful.
Alleluias, which ceased being chanted on Septuagesima Sunday, continue to be suppressed in favour of the chanting of a Tract instead. As well, Gloria in excelsis Deo also ceases to be sung, and bells are no long rung.
The following is taken from:
- The Book of Common Prayer (1962), Anglican Church of Canada, Anglican Book Centre, Toronto © The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada, 1962, Used without permission.
- The English Gradual: Part II - The Proper, Edited by Francis Burgess, originally produced by the Plainchant and Mediaeval Music Society, Royal School of Church Music, Dorking.
- The Sarum Missal in English, Translated by A. H. Pearson, Wipf & Stock Publishers, Eugene, Oregon
The Sentences |
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Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Gospel of God and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent ye and believe the Gospel. St Mark 1. 14, 15. |
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All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. St John 6. 37. |
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| Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. St Matthew 11. 28–30. | |
| Then may be sung a penitential Hymn. | |
| The Priest shall turn to the people and say the following Exhortation: | |
| Brethern, in the primitive Church it was the custom to observe with great devotion the days of our Lord’s Passion and Resurrection, and to prepare for the same by a season of penitence and fasting. This season of Lent provided also a time in which converts to the faith were prepared for holy Baptism. It was also a time when such persons as had, by reason of notorious sins, been separated from the body of the faithful, were reconciled and restored to the fellowship of the Church by penitence and forgiveness. Thereby the whole Congregation was put in mind of the message of pardon and absolution contained in the Gospel of our Saviour, and of the need which all Christians continually have, of a renewal of their repentance and faith. I therefore invite you, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance, by prayer, fasting, and self-denial, and by reading and meditation upon God’s holy Word. | |
The Lesson |
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| Joel 2.12–18 | |
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Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God? Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? Then will the Lord be jealous for his land, and pity his people. |
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The Book of Common Prayer (1962), Page 612 |
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| Then the Priest, in the place where he is accustomed to say the Litany, shall Say with the People, all kneeling, PSALM 51, Miserere Mei | |
| HAVE mercy upon me, O God, after thy great goodness; / according to the multitude of thy mercies do away mine offences. | |
| Wash me throughly from my wickedness, / and cleanse me from my sin. | |
| For I acknowledge my faults, / and my sin is ever before me. | |
| Against thee only have I sinned, and done that which is evil in thy sight; / that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and clear when thou dost judge. | |
| Behold, I was brought forth in wickedness, / and in sin hath my mother conceived me. | |
| But lo, thou requirest truth in the inward parts, / and shalt make me to understand wisdom secretly. | |
| Thou shalt purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; / thou shalt wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. | |
| Thou shalt make me hear of joy and gladness, / that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. | |
| Turn thy face from my sins, / and put out all my misdeeds. | |
| Make me a clean heart, O God, / and renew a right spirit within me. | |
| Cast me not away from thy presence, / and take not thy holy spirit from me. | |
| O give me the comfort of thy help again, / and stablish me with a free spirit. | |
| Then shall I teach thy ways unto the wicked, / and sinners shall be converted unto thee. | |
| Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, thou that art the God of my salvation; / and my tongue shall sing of thy righteousness. | |
| O Lord, open thou my lips, / and my mouth shall show forth thy praise. | |
| For thou desirest no sacrifice, else would I give it; / but thou delightest not in burnt offerings. | |
| The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit: / a broken and contrite heart, O God, shalt thou not despise. | |
| O BE favourable and gracious unto Sion; / build thou the walls of Jerusalem. | |
| Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with the burnt offerings and oblations; / then shall they offer young bullocks upon thine altar. | |
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GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; / As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. The Book of Common Prayer (1962), Pages 394-395 |
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| After which he shall say: | |
| ℣ | Lord, have mercy upon us. |
| ℟ | Christ, have mercy upon us. |
| ℣ | Lord, have mercy upon us. |
| 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 them that trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. Amen. | |
| ℣ | O Lord, save thy servants; |
| ℟ | That put their trust in thee. |
| ℣ | Send unto them help from above; |
| ℟ | And evermore mightily defend them. |
| ℣ | Help us, O God our Saviour; |
| ℟ | And for the glory of thy Name deliver us; be merciful unto us sinners, for thy Name’s sake. |
| ℣ | O Lord, hear our prayer; |
| ℟ | And let our cry come unto thee. |
| Then the prayers flowing shall be said. | |
| O Lord, we beseech thee, mercifully hear our prayers, and spare all those who confess their sins unto thee; that they, whose consciences by sin are accused, by thy merciful pardon may be absolved; through Christ our Lord. Amen. | |
| O Most mighty God, and merciful Father, who hast compassion upon all men, and hatest nothing that thou hast made; who wouldest not the death of a sinner, but that he should rather turn from his sin, and be saved: Mercifully forgive our trespasses; receive and comfort us, who are grieved and wearied with the burden of our sins. Thy property is always to have mercy; to thee only it appertaineth to forgive sins. Spare, O Lord, spare thy people, whom thou hast deemed; enter not into judgement with thy servants, who truly repent us of our faults, but so make haste to help us in this world, that we may ever live with thee in the world to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. | |
| Then shall the Priest and people say: | |
| Turn thou us, O good Lord, and so shall we be turned. Be favourable, O Lord, Be favourable to thy people, Who turn to thee in weeping, fasting, and praying. For thou art a merciful God, Full of compassion, long-suffering, and of great pity. Thou sparest when we deserve punishment, And in thy wrath thinkest upon mercy. Spare thy people, good Lord, Spare them, and let not thine heritage be brought to confusion. Hear us, O Lord, for thy mercy is great, And according to the multitude of thy mercies took upon us; Through the merits and mediation of thy blessed Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. | |
| If there be a Communion, the Priest may then begin the Communion, rehearsing the Ten Commandments, with the Collect, Epistle, and Gospel provided for Ash Wednesday. | |
The Book of Common Prayer (1962), Pages 613-614
Antiphon: Wisdom 2 Thou hast mercy on all things, O Lord, and hatest nothing that thou hast created: and winkest at men's iniquituies, because they should amend, and sparest all men, for they are thine, O Lord, thou lover of souls.
Verse: Psalm 57 Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Repeat the Antiphon Thou hast mercy on ...
The English Gradual: Part II - The Proper, Pages 41-42
Almighty and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all them that are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we worthily lamenting our sins, and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
This Collect is to be read every day in Lent after the Collect appointed for the day until Holy Week.
The Book of Common Prayer (1962), Pages 138-139
God bestoweth abundant grace; wherefore the Scripture saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. Speak not evil one of another, brethren.
James 4:6-11a NIV KJV NRSV NASB RSV NKJV ESV
The Book of Common Prayer (1962), Page 139
Psalm 57 Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee. He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproof of him that would eat me up.
The English Gradual: Part II - The Proper, Pages 41-42
Psalm 103 O Lord, deal not with us after our sins; nor reward us according to wickednesses. Psalm 79 ℣. Lord, remember not our old sins, but have mercy upon us, and that soon: for we are come to great misery. ℣. Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy Name, O Lord: O deliver us and be merciful unto our sins, for thy Name's sake.
The English Gradual: Part II - The Proper, Pages 41-42
And Jesus spake unto his disciples, saying, When ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face, that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall recompense thee. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Matthew 6:16-21 NIV KJV NRSV NASB RSV NKJV ESV
The Book of Common Prayer (1962), Page 139
Psalm 30 I will magnify thee O Lord, for thou hast set me up, and not made my foes to triumph over me: O Lord, my God, I cried unto thee and thou hast healed me.
The English Gradual: Part II - The Proper, Pages 41-42
| After the Intercession but before Confession | |
Blessing of the Ashes |
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O God, who desireth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should turn from his wickedness and live: Graciously look upon the frailty of our condition and by thy loving-kindness vouchsafe to + bless and sanctify these ashes which, in token of our humility and contrition, we place upon our heads; that we, whom thou hast taught that we are but dust and ashes, and who know that by reason of our depravity we shall return unto dust, may mercifully obtain the pardon of our sins and the rewards of heaven promised to all them that truly repent and live in thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Based on the Sarum Missal in English |
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| All | Lord, for thy tender mercies’ sake, lay not our sins to our charge; But forgive that is past, and give us grace to amend our sinful lives; To decline from sin, and incline to virtue, That we may walk with a perfect heart before thee, now and evermore. |
| ℣ | Remember, O man, that dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. |
| ℟ | Lord, have mercy upon us. |
| ℣ | Lord, hear our prayer. |
| ℟ | And let our cry come unto thee. |
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The Book of Common Prayer (1962), Page 614 |
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The Imposition of Ashes |
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| Please come forward to the altar rail to receive the Imposition after which you can kneel or be seated. The prayer of Imposition: Remember, O man, that dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. | |
Then the service shall continue with the Invitation to Confession.
Psalm 1.2b,3b He who doth meditate on the law of the Lord day and night: will bring forth his fruit in due season.
The English Gradual: Part II - The Proper, Pages 41-42