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: He is my comfort and my refuge. In him I put my trust.

Psalm 144
Prayer for victory and peace
Christ learned the art of warfare when he overcame the world, as he said, "I have overcome the world." (Saint Hilary)

            I
Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
who trains my arms for battle,
who prepares my hands for war.

He is my love, my fortress;
he is my stronghold, my savior
my shield, my place of refuge.
He brings peoples under my rule.

Lord, what is man that you care for him,
mortal man, that your keep him in mind;
man, who is merely a breath
whose life fades like a passing shadow?

Lower your heavens and come down;
touch the mountains; wreathe them in smoke.
Flash your lightnings; rout the foe,
shoot your arrows and put them to flight.

Reach down from heaven and save me;
draw me out from the mighty waters,
from the hands of alien foes
whose mouths are filled with lies,
whose hands are raised in perjury. Glory...

                      II
To you, O God, will I sing a new song;
I will play on the ten-stringed harp
to you who give kings their victory,
who set David your servant free.

You set him free from the evil sword;
you rescued him from alien foes
whose mouths were filled with lies,
whose hands were raised in perjury.

Let our sons then flourish like saplings
grown tall and strong from their youth,
our daughters graceful as columns,
adorned as though for a palace.

Let our barns be filled to overflowing
with crops of every kind;
our sheep increasing by thousands,
myriads of sheep in our fields,
our cattle heavy with young,

no ruined wall, no exile,
no sound of weeping in our streets.
Happy the people with such blessings;
happy the people whose God is the Lord. Glory...

Antiphon 2 Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord.


Antiphon 3 Now the victorious reign of our God has begun.

We praise you, the Lord God Almighty,
Who is and who was.
You have assumed your great power,
You have begun your reign.

The nations have raged in anger,
But then came your day of wrath
And the moment to judge the dead:
The time to reward your servants the prophets
And the holy ones who revere you,
The great and the small alike.

Now have salvation and power come,
The reign of our God and the authority
Of his Anointed One,
For the accuser of our brothers is cast out,
Who night and day accused them before God.

They defeated him by the blood of the Lamb
And by the word of their testimony;
Love for life did not deter them from death.
So rejoice, you heavens,
And you that dwell therein! Glory...

Antiphon 3 Now the victorious reign of our God has begun..


READING           James 4:7-8,10
Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you of two minds. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.


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: The works that I do speak on my behalf, says the Lord. They prove that the Father has sent me.


INTERCESSIONS
In his mercy, God sends the Holy Spirit to shine on us, so that our lives may radiate holiness and faith.  Let us raise our voices in prayer and say:

   Lord, give life to your people, whom Christ has redeemed.

Lord, source of all holiness, draw bishops, priests and deacons closer to Christ through the eucharistic mystery,
 - may they grow daily in the grace of their ordination.

Teach Christ's faithful people to be devout and attentive at the table of his word and of his body,
 - so that they may bring into their daily lives the grace they receive through faith and sacrament.

Grant, Lord, that we may see in each person the dignity of one redeemed by your Son's blood,
 - so that we may respect the freedom and the conscience of all.

Teach us to restrain our greed for earthly goods,
 - and to have concern for the needs of others.

Be merciful to your faithful people whom you have called to yourself today,
 - grant them the gift of eternal happiness.


Our Father...


COLLECT
We invoke your mercy in humble prayer, O Lord,
that you may cause us, your servants,
corrected by penance and schooled by good works,
to persevere sincerely in your commands
and come safely to the paschal festivities.
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.


The English translation of Psalm Responses, Alleluia Verses, Gospel Verses from Lectionary for Mass © 1969, 1981, 1997, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation (ICEL); the English translation of Antiphons, Invitatories, Responsories, Intercessions, Psalm 95, the Canticle of the Lamb, Psalm Prayers, Non-Biblical Readings from The Liturgy of the Hours © 1973, 1974, 1975, ICEL; excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, ICEL. All rights reserved. Used with permission.