Invocation
P In the Name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Scripture & Address
Joel 2:12-19 [ESV]
12“Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the Lord, your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
and he relents over disaster.
14Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
and leave a blessing behind him,
a grain offering and a drink offering
for the Lord your God?
15Blow the trumpet in Zion;
consecrate a fast;
call a solemn assembly;
16gather the people.
Consecrate the congregation;
assemble the elders;
gather the children,
even nursing infants.
Let the bridegroom leave his room,
and the bride her chamber.
17Between the vestibule and the altar
let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep
and say, “Spare your people, O Lord,
and make not your heritage a reproach,
a byword among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’”
18Then the Lord became jealous for his land
and had pity on his people.
19The Lord answered and said to his people,
“Behold, I am sending to you
grain, wine, and oil,
and you will be satisfied;
and I will no more make you
a reproach among the nations.
P Dear brothers and sisters of our Lord Jesus Christ, on this day the Church begins a holy season of prayerful and penitential reflection. Our attention is especially directed to the holy sufferings and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. From ancient times the season of Lent has been kept as a time of special devotion, self-denial, and humble repentance born of a faithful heart that dwells confidently on His Word and draws from it life and hope. Let us pray our dear Father in heaven, for the sake of His beloved Son and in the power of His Holy Spirit, might richly bless this Lententide for us so that we may come to Easter with glad hearts and keep the feast in sincerity and truth.
Litany for Ash Wednesday
P O Lord,
C have mercy.
P O Christ,
C have mercy.
P O Lord,
C have mercy.
P O Christ,
C hear us.
P God the Father in heaven,
C have mercy.
P God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
C have mercy.
P God the Holy Spirit,
C have mercy.
P Be gracious to us.
C Spare us, good Lord.
P Be gracious to us.
C Help us, good Lord.
P By the mystery of Your holy incarnation; by Your holy nativity; by Your baptism, fasting, and temptation; by Your agony and bloody sweat; by Your cross and passion; by Your precious death and burial; by Your glorious resurrection and ascension; and by the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter:
C Help us, good Lord.
P In all time of our tribulation; in all time of our prosperity; in the hour of death; and in the day of judgment:
C Help us, good Lord.
P We poor sinners implore You
C to hear us, O Lord.
P To prosper the teaching of Your Word; to bless our prayer and meditation; to strengthen and preserve us in the true faith; and to give heart to our sorrow and strength to our repentance:
C We implore You to hear us, good Lord.
P To draw all to Yourself; to bless those who are instructed in the faith; to watch over and console the poor, the sick, the distressed, the lonely, the forsaken, the abandoned, and all who stand in need of our prayer; to give abundant blessing to all works of mercy; and have mercy on us all:
C We implore You to hear us, good Lord.
P To turn our hearts to You; to turn the hearts of our enemies, persecutors, and slanderers; and graciously to hear our prayers:
C We implore You to hear us, good Lord.
P Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,
C we implore You to hear us.
P Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,
C have mercy.
P Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,
C have mercy.
P Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,
C grant us Your peace.
P O Christ,
C hear us.
P O Lord,
C have mercy.
P O Christ,
C have mercy.
P O Lord,
C have mercy. Amen.
Imposition of Ashes
A Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
Collect
P O God, you desire not the death of sinners, but rather that they turn from their wickedness and live. We implore You to have compassion on the frailty of our mortal nature, for we acknowledge that we are dust and to dust we shall return. Mercifully pardon our sins that we may obtain the promises You have laid up for those who are repentant; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
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