Thursday after Ash Wednesday
Leader: O Lord, open my lips. All: And my mouth shall declare your praise.
Come, let us worship Christ, our Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.
Psalm 143:1-11
Antiphon: At daybreak, be merciful to me, O Lord.
Lord, listen to my prayer;
turn your ear to my appeal.
You are faithful, you are just; give answer.
Do not call your servant to judgment
for no one is just in your sight.
The enemy pursues my soul;
he has crushed my life to the ground;
he has made me dwell in darkness
like the dead, long forgotten.
Therefore my spirit fails;
my heart is numb within me.
I remember the days that are past:
I ponder all your works.
I muse on what your hand has wrought
and to you I stretch out my hands.
Like a parched land my soul thirsts for you.
Lord, make haste and answer;
for my spirit fails within me.
Do not hide your face
lest I become like those in the grave.
In the morning let me know your love
for I put my trust in you.
Make me know the way I should walk:
to you I lift up my soul.
Rescue me, Lord, from my enemies;
I have fled to you for refuge.
Teach me to do your will
for you, O Lord, are my God.
Let your good spirit guide me
in ways that are level and smooth.
For your name’s sake, Lord, save my life;
in your justice save my soul from distress.
Glory to the Father...
Antiphon: At daybreak, be merciful to me, O Lord.
Reading: From a sermon by St. Leo the Great
Dear friends, what the Christian should be doing at all times should be done now with greater care and devotion, so that the Lenten fast enjoined by the apostles may be fulfilled, not simply by abstinence from food but above all by the renunciation of sin.
There is no more profitable practice as a companion to holy and spiritual fasting than that of almsgiving. This embraces under the single name of mercy many excellent works of devotion, so that the good intentions of all the faithful may be of equal value, even where their means are not. The love that we owe both God and man is always free from any obstacle that would prevent us from having a good intention. The angels sang: Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth. The person who shows love and compassion to those in any kind of affliction is blessed, not only with the virtue of good will but also with the gift of peace.
Pray either the Canticle of Zechariah or the Canticle of Mary. You can find them here.
Antiphon for the Canticle of Zechariah: If anyone wishes to be my disciple, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me, says the Lord.
Antiphon for the Canticle of Mary: Whoever gives up his life for my sake in this world will find it again for ever in the next, says the Lord.
Intercessions
May your graces illumine our lives.
Lord, give life to your people!
Give us respect for those around us.
Lord, give life to your people!
May our works of penance make us more attentive to those in need.
Lord, give life to your people!
Prayer
Merciful Father,
May our actions of penance bring us closer to you. We ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son who lives with you and the Holy Spirit forever. Amen.
