APRIL 1 2026

Leader: O Lord, open my lips. All: And my mouth shall declare your praise.
Come, let us worship Christ, the Son of God, who redeemed us with his blood.

Canticle Philippians 2:6-11

Though he was in the form of God,
Jesus did not deem equality with God
something to be grasped at.

Rather, he emptied himself
and took the form of a slave,
being born in the likeness of men.

He was known to be of human estate,
and it was thus that he humbled himself,
obediently accepting even death,
death on a cross!

Because of this,
God highly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
above every other name,

So that at Jesus’ name
every knee must bend
in the heavens, on the earth,
and under the earth,
and every tongue proclaim
to the glory of God the Father:
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!

Reading: 1 Peter 2:21-24

Christ suffered for you and left you an example, to have you follow in his footsteps. He did no wrong; no deceit was found in his mouth. When he was insulted, he returned no insult. When he was made to suffer, he did not counter with threats. Instead, he delivered himself up to the One who judges justly. In his own body he brought your sins to the cross, so that all of us, dead to sin, could live in accord with God’s will. By his wounds you were healed.

Pray either the Canticle of Zechariah or the Canticle of Mary. You can find them here.
Antiphon for the Canticle of Zechariah:    Over his head they hung their accusation: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.
Antiphon for the Canticle of Mary:     When we were his enemies, God reconciled us to himself by the death of his Son.

Intercessions

Today our Savior suffered death on the cross for us. Let us ask him:
Teach us to obey the Father's will in all things,
Jesus, you are our Savior!
Sanctify your people whom you have redeemed by your blood,
Jesus, you are our Savior!
Unite us through the mystery of your cross,
Jesus, you are our Savior!

Dear Jesus,
As we contemplate your Passion and Death, may we draw closer to you. May we never forget your great sacrifice. We ask the Father for this in your name in union with the Holy Spirit. Amen.

For our sake Christ was obedient, accepting even death, death on a cross.
— For our sake Christ was obedient, accepting even death, death on a cross.