Lord, + open my lips.
– And my mouth will proclaim your praise.
Ant. Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.
Psalm 95
A call to praise God
Come, let us sing to the Lord *
and shout with joy to the Rock who saves us.
Let us approach him with praise and thanksgiving *and sing joyful songs to the Lord.
Ant. Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.
The Lord is God, the mighty God, *
the great king over all the gods.
He holds in his hands the depths of the earth *
and the highest mountains as well.
He made the sea; it belongs to him, *
the dry land, too, for it was formed by his hands.
Ant. Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.
Come, then, let us bow down and worship, *
bending the knee before the Lord, our maker.
For he is our God and we are his people, *
the flock he shepherds.
Ant. Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.
Today, listen to the voice of the Lord: †
Do not grow stubborn, as your fathers did
in the wilderness, *
when at Meriba and Massah
they challenged me and provoked me, *
Although they had seen all of my works.
Ant. Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.
Forty years I endured that generation. *
I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray
and they do not know my ways.”
So I swore in my anger, *
“They shall not enter into my rest.”
Ant. Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.
HYMN
In prayer together let us fall,
And cry for mercy, one and all,
And weep before the Judge’s feet,
And his avenging wrath entreat.
Thy grace have we offended sore,
By sins, O God, which we deplore;
But pour upon us from on high,
O pardoning One, thy clemency.
Remember thou, though frail we be,
That yet thine handiwork are we;
Nor let the honor of thy name
Be by another put to shame.
Forgive the sin that we have wrought;
Increase the good that we have sought:
That we at length, our wanderings o’er,
May please thee here and evermore.
Blest Three in One, and One in Three,
Almighty God, we pray to thee,
That this our fast of forty days
May work our profit and thy praise. Amen.
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 Lord, you are our savior; we will praise you for ever.
Psalm 44
The misfortune of God’s people
I
We heard with our own ears, O God, *
our fathers have told us the story
of the things you did in their days, *
you yourself, in days long ago.
To plant them you uprooted the nations: *
to let them spread you laid peoples low.
No sword of their own won the land; *
no arm of their own brought them victory.
It was your right hand, your arm *
and the light of your face: for you loved them.
It is you, my king, my God, *
who granted victories to Jacob.
Through you we beat down our foes; *
in your name we trampled down our aggressors.
For it was not in my bow that I trusted *
nor yet was I saved by my sword:
it was you who saved us from our foes, *
it was you who put our foes to shame.
All day long our boast was in God *
and we praised your name without ceasing.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Lord, you are our savior; we will praise you for ever.
Ant. 2 Spare us, O Lord; do not bring your own people into contempt.
II
Yet now you have rejected us, disgraced us: *
you no longer go forth with our armies.
You make us retreat from the foe *
and our enemies plunder us at will.
You make us like sheep for the slaughter *
and scatter us among the nations.
You sell your own people for nothing *
and make no profit by the sale.
You make us the taunt of our neighbors, *
the laughing stock of all who are near.
Among the nations, you make us a byword, *
among the peoples a thing of derision.
All day long my disgrace is before me: *
my face is covered with shame
at the voice of the taunter, the scoffer, *
at the sight of the foe and avenger.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Spare us, O Lord; do not bring your own people into contempt.
Ant. 3 Rise up, O Lord, and save us, for you are merciful.
III
This befell us though we had not forgotten you; *
though we had not been false to your covenant,
though we had not withdrawn our hearts; *
though our feet had not strayed from your path.
Yet you have crushed us in a place of sorrows *
and covered us with the shadow of death.
Had we forgotten the name of our God *
or stretched out our hands to another god
would not God have found this out, *
he who knows the secrets of the heart?
It is for you that we face death all day long *
and are counted as sheep for the slaughter.
Awake, O Lord, why do you sleep? *
Arise, do not reject us for ever!
Why do you hide your face from us *
and forget our oppression and misery?
For we are brought down low to the dust; *
our body lies prostrate on the earth.
Stand up and come to our help! *
Redeem us because of your love!
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Rise up, O Lord, and save us, for you are merciful.
READINGS
FIRST READING
From the letter to the Hebrews
4:14-5:10
Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our profession of faith. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet never sinned. So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and favor and to find help in time of need.
Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal patiently with erring sinners, for he himself is beset by weakness and so must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. One does not take this honor on his own initiative, but only when called by God as Aaron was.
Even Christ did not glorify himself with the office of high priest; he received it from the One who said to him,
“You are my Son; today I have begotten you”; just as he says in another place,
“You are a priest forever,
according to the order of Melchizedek.”
In the days when he was in the flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to God, who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered; and when perfected, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, designated by God as high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
RESPONSORY
Hebrews 5:8, 9, 7
Though he was the Son of God,
Christ learned obedience through what he suffered;
– and now, for all who obey him,
he has become the source of eternal life.
In the days of his earthly life he prayed, crying aloud,
and he submitted so humbly that his prayer was heard.
– And now, for all who obey him,
he has become the source of eternal life.
SECOND READING
From an Easter homily by Saint Melito of Sardis, bishop (Nn. 65071: SC 123, 95-101)
There was much proclaimed by the prophets about the mystery of the Passover: that mystery is Christ, and to him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
For the sake of suffering humanity he came down from heaven to earth, clothed himself in that humanity in the Virgin’s womb, and was born a man. Having then a body capable of suffering, he took the pain of fallen man upon himself; he triumphed over the diseases of soul and body that were its cause, and by his Spirit, which was incapable of dying, he dealt man’s destroyer, death, a fatal blow.
He was led forth like a lamb; he was slaughtered like a sheep. He ransomed us from our servitude to the world, as he had ransomed Israel from the land of Egypt; he freed us from our slavery to the devil, as he had freed Israel from the hand of Pharaoh. He sealed our souls with his own Spirit, and the members of our body with his own blood.
He is the One who covered death with shame and cast the devil into mourning, as Moses cast Pharaoh into mourning. He is the One who smote sin and robbed iniquity of offspring. He is the One who brought us out of slavery into freedom, out of darkness into light, out of death into life, out of tyranny into an eternal kingdom; who made us a new priesthood, a people chosen to be his own for ever. He is the Passover that is our salvation.
It is he who endured every kind of suffering in all those who foreshadowed him. In Abel he was slain, in Isaac bound, in Jacob exiled, in Joseph sold, in Moses exposed to die. He was sacrificed in the Passover lamb, persecuted in David, dishonored in the prophets.
It is he who was made man of the Virgin, he who was hung on the tree; it is he who was buried in the earth, raised from the dead, and taken up to the heights of heaven. He is the mute lamb, the slain lamb, the lamb born of Mary, the fair ewe. He was seized from the flock, dragged off to be slaughtered, sacrificed in the evening, and buried at night. On the tree no bone of his was broken; in the earth his body knew no decay. He is the One who rose from the dead, and who raised man from the depths of the tomb.
RESPONSORY
Romans 3:23-24; John 1:29
Everyone has sinned
and is deprived of God’s glory.
We are justified through the free gift of his grace
and through the redemption of Christ Jesus.
– God made Christ’s sacrificial death
the means of expiating the sins of all believers.
This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
– God made Christ’s sacrificial death
the means of expiating the sins of all believers.
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 Look, O Lord, and see my suffering. Come quickly to my aid.
Psalm 80
Lord, come, take care of your vineyard
O shepherd of Israel, hear us, *
you who lead Joseph’s flock,
shine forth from your cherubim throne *
upon Ephraim, Benjamin, Manasseh.
O Lord, rouse up your might, *
O Lord, come to our help.
God of hosts, bring us back; *
let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.
Lord God of hosts, how long *
will you frown on your people’s plea?
You have fed them with tears for their bread, *
an abundance of tears for their drink.
You have made us the taunt of our neighbors, *
our enemies laugh us to scorn.
God of hosts, bring us back; *
let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.
You brought a vine out of Egypt; *
to plant it you drove out the nations.
Before it you cleared the ground; *
it took root and spread through the land.
The mountains were covered with its shadow, *
the cedars of God with its boughs.
It stretched out its branches to the sea, *
to the Great River it stretched out its shoots.
Then why have you broken down its walls? *
It is plucked by all who pass by.
It is ravaged by the boar of the forest, *
devoured by the beasts of the field.
God of hosts, turn again, we implore, *
look down from heaven and see.
Visit this vine and protect it, *
the vine your right hand has planted.
Men have burnt it with fire and destroyed it. *
May they perish at the frown of your face.
May your hand be on the man you have chosen, *
the man you have given your strength.
And we shall never forsake you again: *
give us life that we may call upon your name.
God of hosts, bring us back; *
let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Look, O Lord, and see my suffering. Come quickly to my aid.
Ant. 2 God is my savior; I trust in him and shall not fear.
Canticle: Isaiah 12:1-6
Joy of God’s ransomed people
I give you thanks, O Lord; †
though you have been angry with me, *
your anger has abated, and you have consoled me.
God indeed is my savior; *
I am confident and unafraid.
My strength and my courage is the Lord, *
and he has been my savior.
With joy you will draw water *
at the fountain of salvation, and say on that day:
Give thanks to the Lord, acclaim his name; †
among the nations make known his deeds, *
proclaim how exalted is his name.
Sing praise to the Lord for his glorious achievement; *
let this be known throughout all the earth.
Shout with exultation, O city of Zion, †
for great in your midst *
is the Holy One of Israel!
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. God is my savior; I trust in him and shall not fear.
Ant. 3 The Lord has fed us with the finest wheat; he has filled us with honey from the rock.
Psalm 81
Solemn renewal of the Covenant
Ring out your joy to God our strength, *
shout in triumph to the God of Jacob.
Raise a song and sound the timbrel, *
the sweet-sounding harp and the lute,
blow the trumpet at the new moon, *
when the moon is full, on our feast.
For this is Israel’s law, *
a command of the God of Jacob.
He imposed it as a rule on Joseph, *
when he went out against the land of Egypt.
A voice I did not know said to me: *
“I freed your shoulder from the burden;
your hands were freed from the load. *
You called in distress and I saved you.
I answered, concealed in the storm cloud, *
at the waters of Meribah I tested you.
Listen, my people, to my warning, *
O Israel, if only you would heed!
Let there be no foreign god among you, *
no worship of an alien god.
I am the Lord your God, †
who brought you from the land of Egypt. *
Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.
But my people did not heed my voice *
and Israel would not obey,
so I left them in their stubbornness of heart *
to follow their own designs.
O that my people would heed me, *
that Israel would walk in my ways!
At once I would subdue their foes, *
turn my hand against their enemies.
The Lord’s enemies would cringe at their feet *
and their subjection would last for ever.
But Israel I would feed with finest wheat *
and fill them with honey from the rock.”
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. The Lord has fed us with the finest wheat; he has filled us with honey from the rock.
READING
Hebrews 2:9-10
We see Jesus crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, that through God’s gracious will he might taste death for the sake of all men. Indeed, it was fitting that when bringing many sons to glory God, for whom and through whom all things exist, should make their leader in the work of salvation perfect through suffering.
RESPONSORY
By your own blood, Lord, you brought us back to God.
– By your own blood, Lord, you brought us back to God.
From every tribe, and tongue, and people and nation,
– you brought us back to God.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
– By your own blood, Lord, you brought us back to God.
GOSPEL CANTICLE
Ant. I have longed to eat this meal with you before I suffer.
Canticle of Zechariah
Luke 1:68-79
Blessed + be the Lord, the God of Israel; *
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior, *
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old †
that he would save us from our enemies, *
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers *
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham: *to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear, *
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High; *
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation *
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God *
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, *
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. I have longed to eat this meal with you before I suffer.
INTERCESSIONS
The Father anointed Christ with the Holy Spirit to proclaim forgiveness to those in bondage. Let us humbly call upon the eternal priest:
Lord, have mercy on us.
You went up to Jerusalem to suffer and so enter into your glory,
– bring your Church to the Passover feast of heaven.
Lord, have mercy on us.
You were lifted high on the cross and pierced by the soldier’s lance,
– heal our wounds.
Lord, have mercy on us.
You made the cross the tree of life,
– give its fruit to those reborn in baptism.
Lord, have mercy on us.
On the cross you forgave the repentant thief,
– forgive us our sins.
Lord, have mercy on us.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
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.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
God of infinite compassion,
to love you is to be made holy;
fill our hearts with your love.
By the death of your Son
you have given us hope, born of faith;
by his rising again
fulfill this hope
in the perfect love of heaven,
where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.
DISMISSAL
The Lord be with you.
– And with your spirit.
May almighty God bless you,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
– Amen.
Go in peace.
– Thanks be to God.
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