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Opening Scriptures: “Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of Me the ordinances of justice; They take delight in approaching God. ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’ “In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, and exploit all your laborers. Indeed you fast for strife and debate, and to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as you do this day, to make your voice heard on high. Is it a fast that I have chosen, a day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, and to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ Isaiah 58:1–9

SALUTAT ION

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!y Amen! Matthew 28:19

The Lord be with you!y And also with you! Ruth 2: 4

Blessed be the name of the Lord our God,y Who redeems us from sin and death.

For us and for our salvation, Christ became obedient to the point of death,y Even the death of the cross. Philippians 2: 8

In God I have put my trust:y I will not be afraid what man can do unto me. Psalm 56:11

Yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge,y Until these calamities have passed by. Psalm 57:1b

Be merciful to me, O God,y For my soul trusts in you. Psalm 57:1 a

Blessed be the name of the Lord!y From this time forth and for evermore! Psalm 113:2

Ash Wednesday A Prayer Service

February 17, IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 2021

Psalm 119:169-176y Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made, and you forgive the sins of all

who are penitent. Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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T H E F I R S T O F T H E S E V E NPenitential Psalms

P S A L M 1 0 2

A prayer of the afflicted when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before the Lord

Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come to You.

y Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble;

Incline Your ear to me;y In the day that I call, answer me speedily.

For my days are consumed like smoke,y And my bones are burned like a hearth.

My heart is stricken and withered like grass, so that I forget to eat my bread.

y Because of the sound of my groaning my bones cling to my skin.

I am like a pelican of the wilderness;y I am like an owl of the desert.

I lie awake,y And am like a sparrow alone on the housetop.

My enemies reproach me all day long,y Those who deride me swear an oath against me.

For I have eaten ashes like bread,y And mingled my drink with weeping,

Because of Your indignation and Your wrath;y For You have lifted me up and cast me away.

My days are like a shadow that lengthens,y And I wither away like grass.

But You, O Lord, shall endure forever,y And the remembrance of Your name to all

generations.

You will arise and have mercy on Zion;y For the time to favor her, yes, the set time,

has come.

For Your servants take pleasure in her stones,y And show favor to her dust.

So the nations shall fear the name of the Lord,

y And all the kings of the earth Your glory.

For the Lord shall build up Zion;y He shall appear in His glory.

He shall regard the prayer of the destitute,y And shall not despise their prayer.

This will be written for the generation to come,y That a people yet to be created may praise

the LORD

For He looked down from the height of His sanctuary;

y From heaven the LORD viewed the earth,

To hear the groaning of the prisoner,y To release those appointed to death,

To declare the name of the Lord in Zion, and His praise in Jerusalem,

y When the peoples are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the Lord.

He weakened my strength in the way;y He shortened my days.

I said, “O my God, do not take me away in the midst of my days;

y Your years are throughout all generations.

Of old You laid the foundation of the earth,y And the heavens are the work of Your hands.

They will perish, but You will endure;y Yes, they will all grow old like a garment;

Like a cloak You will change them, and they will be changed.

y But You are the same, and Your years will have no end.

The children of Your servants will continue,y And their descendants will be established

before you.

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T H E S E C O N D O F T H E S E V E NPenitential Psalms

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P S A L M 3 2Homily

T H E T H I R D O F T H E S E V E NPenitential Psalms

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P S A L M 3 8

A Psalm of David. To bring to remembrance.

O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your wrath,y Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure!

For Your arrows pierce me deeply, y And Your hand presses me down.

There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your anger,

y Nor any health in my bones because of my sin.

For my iniquities have gone over my head;y Like a heavy burden they are too heavy

for me.

My wounds are foul and festeringy Because of my foolishness.

I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly;y I go mourning all the day long.

For my loins are full of inflammation,y And there is no soundness in my flesh.

I am feeble and severely broken;y I groan because of the turmoil of my heart.

Lord, all my desire is before You;y And my sighing is not hidden from You.

My heart pants, my strength fails me;y As for the light of my eyes, it also has

gone from me.

My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague,

y And my relatives stand afar off.

Those also who seek my life lay snares for me;y Those who seek my hurt speak of

destruction, and plan deception all the day long.

But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;y And I am like a mute who does not open

his mouth.

Thus I am like a man who does not hear,y And in whose mouth is no response.

For in You, O Lord, I hope;y You will hear, O LORD my God.

For I said, “Hear me, lest they rejoice over me, y Lest, when my foot slips, they exalt

themselves against me.”

For I am ready to fall,y And my sorrow is continually before me.

For I will declare my iniquity;y I will be in anguish over my sin.

But my enemies are vigorous, and they are strong;y And those who hate me wrongfully have

multiplied.

Those also who render evil for good,y They are my adversaries, because I follow

what is good.

Do not forsake me, O Lord;y O my God, be not far from me!

y ALL: Make haste to help me, O LORD, my salvation!

T H E F O U R T H O F T H E S E V E NPenitential Psalms

P S A L M 3 8Homily

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P S A L M 1 4 3

A Psalm of David

Hear my prayer, O Lord,y Give ear to my supplications!

In Your faithfulness answer me,y And in Your righteousness.

Do not enter into judgment with Your servant,y For in Your sight no one living is righteous.

For the enemy has persecuted my soul;y He has crushed my life to the ground;

He has made me dwell in darkness,y Like those who have long been dead.

Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me;y My heart within me is distressed.

I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works;y I muse on the work of Your hands.

I spread out my hands to You;y My soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Selah

Answer me speedily, O Lord; my spirit fails!y Do not hide Your face from me, lest I be like those who go down into the pit.

Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, for in You do I trust;y Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to You.

Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies;y In You I take shelter.

Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God;y Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.

Revive me, O Lord, for Your name’s sake!y For Your righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble.

In Your mercy cut off my enemies,y And destroy all those who afflict my soul; for I am Your servant.

T H E F I F T H O F T H E S E V E NPenitential Psalms

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P S A L M 6Homily

T H E S I X T H O F T H E S E V E NPenitential Psalms

L E N T E N L I T A N Y O F C O N F E S S I O N

Let us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God.y Almighty and most merciful Father; We have erred and strayed from Your ways like lost sheep.

We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against Your holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done; and there is no health in us. O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Spare those, O God, who confess their faults. Restore those who are penitent; according to your promises declared unto mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O merciful Father, for his sake; that we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life; to the glory of your holy name. Amen.

Remember not, Lord, our offenses, nor the offenses of our forefathers; neither take thou vengeance of our sins, whom thou hast redeemed with thy most precious blood, and be not angry with us forever.

y Spare us, good Lord.

From all evil and mischief; from sin; from the crafts and assaults of the devil; from thy wrath, and from everlasting damnation,

y Good Lord, deliver us.

From all blindness of heart; from pride, vainglory, and hypocrisy; from envy, hatred, and malice, and all uncharitableness,

y Good Lord, deliver us.

From all inordinate and sinful affections; and from all the deceits of the world, the flesh, and the devil,y Good Lord, deliver us.

From lightning and tempest; from earthquake, fire, and flood; from plague, pestilence, and famine; from battle and murder, and from sudden death,

y Good Lord, deliver us.

From all sedition, conspiracy, and rebellion; from all false doctrine, heresy, and schism; from hardness of heart, and contempt of thy Word and Commandment,

y Good Lord, deliver us.

By the mystery of thy holy Incarnation; by thy holy Nativity and Circumcision; by thy Baptism, Fasting, and Temptation,

y Good Lord, deliver us.

By thine Agony and Bloody Sweat; by thy Cross and Passion; by thy precious Death and Burial; by thy glorious Resurrection and Ascension, and by the Coming of the Holy Ghost,

y Good Lord, deliver us.

In all time of our tribulation; in all time of our prosperity; in the hour of death, and in the day of judgment,

y Good Lord, deliver us.

We sinners do beseech thee to hear us, O Lord God; and that it may please thee to rule and govern thy holy Church universal in the right way;

y We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

y All: Amen.

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T H E S E V E N T H O F T H E S E V E NPenitential Psalms

A B S O L U T I O N

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who in his great mercy has promised forgiveness of sins to all those who sincerely repent and with true faith turn to him, have mercy upon you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness, and bring you to everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. y Amen

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NOW MAY OUR GOD AND FATHER HIMSELF, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way. And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to

one another and to all. So that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.

Assurances of Forgiveness &Concluding Exhortation