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

Lenten Hymns:
Lord Who Throughout These Forty Days
This Is Our Accepted Time
When I Survey The Wondrous Cross
Attende Domine
Audi, Benigne Conditor
Iesu, Quadragenariae

PSALMODY

Antiphon 1: The Lord is my light and my help; whom shall I fear?

                I
The Lord is my light and my help;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
before whom shall I shrink?

When evildoers draw near to devour my flesh,
it is they, my enemies and foes, who stumble and fall.

Though an army encamp against me
my heart would not fear.
Though war break out against me
even then would I trust.

There is one thing I ask of the Lord, for this I long,
to live in the house of the Lord, all the days of my life,
to savor the sweetness of the Lord,
to behold his temple.

For there he keeps me safe in his tent
in the day of evil.
He hides me in the shelter of his tent,
on a rock he sets me safe.

And now my head shall be raised above my foes who surround me,
and I shall offer within his tent a sacrifice of joy.
I will sing and make music for the Lord. Glory...

                  II
O Lord, hear my voice when I call;
have mercy and answer.
Of you my heart has spoken:
"Seek his face."

It is your face, O Lord, that I seek;
hide not your face.
Dismiss not your servant in anger;
you have been my help.

Do not abandon or forsake me, O God my help!
Though father and mother forsake me,
the Lord will receive me.

Instruct me, Lord, in your way;
on an even path lead me.
When they lie in ambush,
protect me from my enemy's greed.
False witnesses rise against me,
breathing out fury.

I am sure I shall see the Lord's goodness
in the land of the living.
Hope in him, hold firm and take heart.
Hope in the Lord! Glory...

Antiphon 2 I long to look on you, O Lord; do not turn your face from me.


Antiphon 3 He is the first-born of all creation; in every way the primacy is his.

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...

Antiphon 3 He is the first-born of all creation; in every way the primacy is his.


READING           Philippians 2:12-1
My beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work. Do everything without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world, as you hold on to the word of life.


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 to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
- To you, O Lord, I make my prayer for mercy.  


MAGNIFICAT (Canticle of Mary)
Antiphon: As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so will the Son of Man spend three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.


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.

Teach Christians to help the weak with loving care,
 - and in serving them to serve your Son.

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.

Help us to turn to you for forgiveness,
 - and, as you forgive us, reconcile us also with your Church.

May the dead pass from this world to eternal life,
 - to be with you for ever.


Our Father...


COLLECT
Look kindly, Lord, we pray,
on the devotion of your people,
that those who by self-denial are restrained in body
may by the fruit of good works be renewed in mind.
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.


May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.