On Ash Wednesday.
Hear us, O Lord, for Thy mercy is kind: look upon us, O Lord, according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies.
Save me, O God; for the waters are come in even unto my soul.
V. Glory be to the Father, etc
The Antiphon Exaudi nos is repeated. Then the priest, standing at the Epistle corner of the altar, says:
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
Almighty, everlasting God, spare those who are penitent, be merciful to those who supplicate Thee, and vouchsafe to send Thy holy angel from heaven to bless ✠ and sanctify ✠ these ashes, that they may be a wholesome remedy to all who humbly implore Thy holy name, and, conscious of their sins, accuse themselves, deploring their crimes before Thy divine mercy, or humbly and earnestly calling upon Thy bountiful loving-kindness; and grant, through the invocation of Thy most holy name, that all those whosoever shall be sprinkled with these ashes, for the remission of their sins, may receive both health of body and salvation of soul. Through Christ Our Lord. R. Amen.
Let us pray.
O God, Who desirest not the death but the repentance of sinners: graciously look down upon the frailty of human nature, and in Thy mercy vouchsafe to bless + these ashes, which we design to place upon our heads in token of our humility, and to obtain forgiveness; that we, who know that we are but ashes, and for the demerits of our wickedness must return to dust, may deserve to obtain of Thy mercy the pardon of all our sins, and the rewards promised to the penitent. Through Christ Our Lord. R. Amen.
Let us pray.
O God, Who art moved by humiliation, and by satisfaction appeased: incline the ear of Thy fatherly love unto our prayers, and mercifully pour forth upon the heads of Thy servants, sprinkled with these ashes, the grace of Thy blessing; that Thou mayest both fill them with the spirit of compunction, and effectually grant those things for which they have justly prayed; and ordain that what Thou hast granted may be established and remain unmoved forever. Through Christ Our Lord. R. Amen.
Let us pray.
Almighty and eternal God, Who didst grant the remedy of Thy pardon to the Ninivites doing penance in ashes and sackcloth: mercifully grant that we may so imitate their penance that we may follow them in obtaining forgiveness. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, etc. R. Amen.
The priest sprinkles the ashes thrice with holy water, saying the Antiphon Asperges me, Domine, and incenses them three times:
Thou shalt sprinkle me, O Lord, with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed; Thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.
The priest then puts the ashes on the foreheads of the people, saying:
Remember, O man, that dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt return.
While the people are receiving the ashes, the following Antiphons are sung:
Let us change our garments for ashes and sackcloth: let us fast and lament before the Lord: for our God is very merciful to forgive our sins.
Between the porch and the altar, the priests, the Lord’s ministers, shall weep, and shall say: Spare, O Lord, spare Thy people: and shut not the mouths of those who sing to Thee, O Lord.
R. Let us change for the better in those things in which we have sinned through ignorance: lest we be suddenly overtaken by the day of death, and seek space for penance, and find it not: † Hear, O Lord, and have mercy: for we have sinned against Thee.
V. Help us, O God our Savior: and for the honor of Thy name, O Lord, deliver us. Hear, O Lord, and have mercy: for we have sinned against Thee.
V. Glory be to the Father, etc. Hear, O Lord, and have mercy: for we have sinned against Thee.
When all have received the ashes, the priest says:
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
Grant us, O Lord, to begin our Christian warfare with holy fasts; that, as we are about to fight against the spirits of wickedness, we may be defended by the aids of self-denial. Through Christ Our Lord. R. Amen.
Then follows the Mass
