Hymn: Blue #26 To You Before the Close of Day
Leader: The Lord be with you.
All: And also with you.
Collect of the Day
Almighty and everlasting God, you despise nothing you have made and 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 brokenness, 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.
The Proclamation of the Word
First Reading: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10
The Gospel
Hymn: Blue #177 A Spendthrift Lover Is The Lord
Sermon
Litany of Penitence
Leader: Dear friends in Christ, every year at the time of the Christian Passover we celebrate our redemption through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Lent is a time to prepare for this celebration and to renew our life in the paschal mystery. We begin this holy season by remembering our need for repentance, and for the mercy and forgiveness proclaimed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I invite you therefore, in the name of the Lord, to observe a holy Lent by self-examination, penitence, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, and by reading and meditating on the word of God. Let us kneel before our Creator and Redeemer.
Silence is kept for reflection
Psalm 51
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your loving kindness; * in your great compassion blot out my offences. Wash me through and through from my wickedness * and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions, * and my sin is ever before me. Against you only have I sinned * and done what is evil in your sight.
And so you are justified when you speak * and upright in your judgement. Indeed, I have been wicked from my birth, * a sinner from my mother’s womb.
For behold, you look for truth deep within me, * and will make me understand wisdom secretly. Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure; * wash me, and I shall be clean indeed.
Make me hear of joy and gladness, * that the body you have broken may rejoice. Hide your face from my sins * and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, * and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence * and take not your Holy Spirit from me…
The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit; * a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
The Litany
All: Most holy and merciful Father, we confess to you, to one another, and to the whole communion of saints in heaven and on earth, that we have sinned by our own fault in thought, word, and deed; by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven. Have mercy on us, Lord.
We have been deaf to your call to serve as Christ served us. We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved your Holy Spirit. Have mercy on us, Lord.
We confess to you, Lord, all our past unfaithfulness: the pride, hypocrisy, and impatience of our lives. We confess to you, Lord.
Our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our exploitation of other people, We confess to you, Lord.
Our anger at our own frustration, and our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves, We confess to you, Lord.
Our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts, and our dishonesty in daily life and work, We confess to you, Lord.
Our negligence in prayer and worship, and our failure to commend the faith that is in us, We confess to you, Lord.
Accept our repentance, Lord, for the wrongs we have done: for our blindness to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty, Accept our repentance, Lord.
For all false judgements, for uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbours, and for our prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us, Accept our repentance, Lord.
For our waste and pollution of your creation, and our lack of concern for those who come after us, Accept our repentance, Lord.
Restore us, good Lord, and let your anger depart from us; Hear us, Lord, for your mercy is great.
Almighty God, from the dust of the earth you have created us. May this day be for us a sign of our mortality and penitence, and a reminder that only by your gracious gift are we given eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.
Accomplish in us, O God, the work of your salvation. That we may show forth your glory in the world.
By the cross and passion of your Son, our Lord, Bring us with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection
The Peace
Leader: The peace of the Lord be always with you.
All: And also with you.
Hymn: #184 My Song Is Love Unknown
A Prayer for Spiritual Communion
Leader: The Lord be with you.
All: And also with you.
Leader: Merciful God, turn us from sin to faithfulness, acccept the offering of our hearts, and prepare us to celebrate the death and resurrection of Christ our Saviour, who is alive and reigns with you now and for ever. Amen.
Leader: Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry; whoever believes in me will never thirst…54 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; 55 for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. 56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. (John 6)
All: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
All: Dear Jesus, I believe that you are truly present in the Holy Sacrament. I love you above all things, and I desire to possess you within my soul. And since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, I beseech you to come spiritually into my heart. I unite myself to you, together with all your faithful people gathered around every altar of your Church, and I embrace you with all the affections of my soul. Never permit me to be separated from you. Amen.
Concluding Prayer
Leader: God of compassion, through your Son Jesus Christ you reconciled your people to yourself. Following his example of prayer and fasting, may we obey you with willing hearts and serve one another in holy love; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Hymn: Blue #24 Abide with Me
