Praying Together in Lent and Passiontide
@St Lukes, Holmes Chapel
you can download a copy for printing here
O Lord, open our lips;
And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Let your ways be known upon earth,
Your saving power among the nations.
*******************************************
_________________
Almighty and everlasting God,
You hate nothing that you have made
And forgive the sins of all those who are penitent:
Create and make in us new and contrite hearts
That we, worthily lamenting our sins
And acknowledging our wretchedness,
May receive from you, the God of all mercy,
Perfect remission and forgiveness;
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Ash Wednesday Collect
Hearing and responding to the Word of God
Bible readings can be found on the church website or Facebook page.
Read them out loud then finish with this response:
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Canticles
Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?
Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow;
Which was brought upon me,
Which the Lord inflicted on the day of his fierce anger.
For these things I weep: my eyes flow with tears;
for a comforter is far from me,
one to revive my courage;
Remember my afflictions and my bitterness,
the wormwood and the gall!
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
His mercies never come to an end;
They are new every morning;
Great is your faithfulness.
‘The Lord is my portion’ says my soul,
‘therefore I will hope in him.’
The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
To the soul that seeks him.
It is good that we should wait quietly
For the salvation of the Lord.
It is good to bear the yoke in our youth;
To sit alone in silence when he has imposed it
For the Lord will not reject for ever;
Though he causes grief, he will have compassion,
According to the abundance of his steadfast love;
For he does not willingly afflict or grieve anyone.
Selected from Lamentations 1, 3
_________________
Christ Jesus was in the form of God,
But he did not cling to equality with God.
He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant,
And was born in our human likeness.
Being found in human form he humbled himself,
And became obedient unto death,
even death on a cross.
Therefore God has highly exalted him,
And bestowed on him the name above every name,
That at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow,
In heaven and on earth and under the earth;
And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
To the glory of God the Father.
Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example,
that you should follow in his steps.
He committed no sin, no guile was found on his lips,
when he was reviled, he did not revile in turn.
When he suffered, he did not threaten,
but he trusted himself to God who judges justly.
Christ himself bore our sins in his body on the tree,
that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.
By his wounds, you have been healed,
for you were straying like sheep,
but have now returned
to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.
1 Peter 2.21b–25
_________________
Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel,
Who has come to his people and set them free
He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour,
Born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets God promised of old
to save us from our enemies,
and from the hands of all that hate us.
To show mercy to our ancestors,
And to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath God swore to our father Abraham
To set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship him without fear,
Holy and righteous in his sight, all the days of our life
And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.
To give his people knowledge of salvation
By the forgiveness of all their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
The dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness
And the shadow of death,
And to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Luke 1:68ff
Collects
Most merciful God,
who by the death and resurrection
of your Son Jesus Christ
delivered and saved the world:
grant that by faith in him who suffered on the cross
we may triumph in the power of his victory;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Almighty and everlasting God,
who in your tender love towards humanity
sent your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ
to take upon him our flesh
and to suffer death upon the cross:
grant that we may follow the example of his patience and humility,
and also be made partakers of his resurrection. Amen
Almighty and everlasting God,
we thank you that you have brought us safely
to the beginning of this day.
Keep us from falling into sin
or running into danger;
order us in all our doings
and guide us to do always
what is righteous in your sight;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let us pray to the Lord,
who is our refuge and stronghold.
For the health and well-being of our nation,
that all who are fearful and anxious
may be at peace and free from worry:
Lord, hear us,
Lord, graciously hear us.
For the isolated and housebound,
the vulnerable and the helpless,
the mistreated and the hurt:
Lord, hear us,
Lord, graciously hear us.
For our homes and families,
our schools and young people, health workers and carers,
and all who are in need or distress:
Lord, hear us,
Lord, graciously hear us.
For a blessing on our local community,
that our neighbourhoods
may be places of trust and friendship,
where all are known and cared for:
Lord, hear us,
Lord, graciously hear us.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever. Amen.
May Christ, who bore our sins on the cross,
set us free to serve him with joy.
Amen.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
*******************************************
Note: you can download a copy for printing here