Ash Wednesday Reflections

Dear Family of Love and God!

Lent has begun  with Ashes, Penitential Litanies, Holy Eucharist and just enough differences in liturgy to confuse even the regular parishioner. This year we opted for a less formal celebration that made us really take a look at the lessons and the Gospel more seriously than we ever have. Also we did Ashes to Go for 2 1/2 hours along the sidewalk outside the church. We imposed over 100 + of God's children with ashes. I am blessed to say that I really love Ash Wednesday because it truly reminds us what we are made of and what we will eventually become. "Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return", is a true saying. When you scatter loved ones ashes following cremation you never know that the ashes are pure white not dark like the ashes on Ash Wednesday. If you aren't familiar what makes up these ashes it might help you to know that they are made from dried palm crosses from Palm Sunday.When I think of ashes I don't like the dark ones, I prefer the pure white ones that remind me that we are made of stardust and share the same elemental make up found in the first moments of creation. Yes even the black ashes do have the same elemental components too. Isn't that wonderful? I think so. So as we begin our Lenten time together lest us Remember that We are Dust and to Dust we shall return. I wish everyone a Holy Lent full of amazement and a heart that is ever expanding with compassion, acceptance, love, and mercy. 

So let us begin with our traditional prayer vigil.

Lent
I make my prayer to you, O God; * be merciful to me.
I make my prayer to you, O God; be merciful to me.
Heal my soul, for I have sinned against you:
Be merciful to me.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
I make my prayer to you, O God, be merciful to me.
V. Create in me a clean heart, O God:
R. And renew a right spirit within me.


Dear Ones Let us begin our nightly Virtual Candlelight Prayer Vigils and Light our Candles and be at prayer:God, help us to begin our Lenten journey by laying down all the negative, hurtful, hate filled, and divisive thoughts, speech and actions that draw us away from You, each other, and ourselves. We pray that we may fill our hearts and heart homes with positive, healing, loving, and thoughts and actions that will unite us as one family in peace. We pray that we may seek to take on the CALM principle and be (Compassionate, Accepting, Loving, and Merciful) to all of our family members.

O God as we begin our Lenten pilgrimage may we always remember it is your holy road walk and that there will be challenges set before us. May we feel your presence and know that you are with us and all we have to do is keep ourselves in your loving and redeeming arms. Help us this Lent and always to let go of all the worry, anxiety, and accumulation of things and thoughts and fill ourselves with YOU and YOU alone. Amen.

Collect for Ash Wednesday

Almighty and everlasting God, you hate 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 wretchedness, 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. Amen.

Psalm 103 or 103:8-14

Benedic, anima mea

1 Bless the Lord, O my soul, *
and all that is within me, bless his holy Name.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, *
and forget not all his benefits.
3 He forgives all your sins *
and heals all your infirmities;
4 He redeems your life from the grave *
and crowns you with mercy and loving-kindness;
5 He satisfies you with good things, *
and your youth is renewed like an eagle's.
6 The Lord executes righteousness *
and judgment for all who are oppressed.
7 He made his ways known to Moses *
and his works to the children of Israel.]
8 The Lord is full of compassion and mercy, *
slow to anger and of great kindness.
9 He will not always accuse us, *
nor will he keep his anger for ever.
10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, *
nor rewarded us according to our wickedness.
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, *
so is his mercy great upon those who fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west, *
so far has he removed our sins from us.
13 As a father cares for his children, *
so does the Lord care for those who fear him.
14 For he himself knows whereof we are made; *
he remembers that we are but dust.
[15 Our days are like the grass; *
we flourish like a flower of the field;
16 When the wind goes over it, it is gone, *
and its place shall know it no more.
17 But the merciful goodness of the Lord endures for ever on those who fear him, *
and his righteousness on children's children;
18 On those who keep his covenant *
and remember his commandments and do them.
19 The Lord has set his throne in heaven, *
and his kingship has dominion over all.
20 Bless the Lord, you angels of his,
you mighty ones who do his bidding, *
and hearken to the voice of his word.
21 Bless the Lord, all you his hosts, *
you ministers of his who do his will.
22 Bless the Lord, all you works of his,
in all places of his dominion; *
bless the Lord, O my soul.]

A Song of Penitence Kyrie Pantokrator

Prayer of Manasseh, 1-2, 4, 6-7, 11-15


Especially suitable in Lent, and on other penitential occasions
O Lord and Ruler of the hosts of heaven, *
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
and of all their righteous offspring:
You made the heavens and the earth, *
with all their vast array.
All things quake with fear at your presence; *
they tremble because of your power.
But your merciful promise is beyond all measure; *
it surpasses all that our minds can fathom.
O Lord, you are full of compassion, *
long-suffering, and abounding in mercy.
You hold back your hand; *
you do not punish as we deserve.
In your great goodness, Lord,
you have promised forgiveness to sinners, *
that they may repent of their sin and be saved.
And now, O Lord, I bend the knee of my heart, *
and make my appeal, sure of your gracious goodness.
I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned, *
and I know my wickedness only too well.
Therefore I make this prayer to you: *
Forgive me, Lord, forgive me.
Do not let me perish in my sin, *
nor condemn me to the depths of the earth.
For you, O Lord, are the God of those who repent, *
and in me you will show forth your goodness.
Unworthy as I am, you will save me,
in accordance with your great mercy, *
and I will praise you without ceasing all the days of my life.
For all the powers of heaven sing your praises, *
and yours is the glory to ages of ages. Amen.

Isaiah 58:1-12

Shout out, do not hold back!
Lift up your voice like a trumpet!
Announce to my people their rebellion,
to the house of Jacob their sins.
Yet day after day they seek me
and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness
and did not forsake the ordinance of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments,
they delight to draw near to God.
"Why do we fast, but you do not see?
Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?"
Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day,
and oppress all your workers.
Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to strike with a wicked fist.
Such fasting as you do today
will not make your voice heard on high.
Is such the fast that I choose,
a day to humble oneself?
Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush,
and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Will you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?

Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator shall go before you,
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.

If you remove the yoke from among you,
the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
if you offer your food to the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
and your gloom be like the noonday.
The Lord will guide you continually,
and satisfy your needs in parched places,
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters never fail.
Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to live in.


The Second Song of Isaiah Quaerite Dominum

Isaiah 55:6-11

Seek the Lord while he wills to be found; *
call upon him when he draws near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways *
and the evil ones their thoughts;
And let them turn to the Lord, and he will have compassion, *
and to our God, for he will richly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, *
nor your ways my ways, says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, *
so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
For as rain and snow fall from the heavens *
and return not again, but water the earth,
Bringing forth life and giving growth, *
seed for sowing and bread for eating,
So is my word that goes forth from my mouth; *
it will not return to me empty;
But it will accomplish that which I have purposed, *
and prosper in that for which I sent it.
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.


2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10

We entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. For he says,

"At an acceptable time I have listened to you,
and on a day of salvation I have helped you."
See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation! We are putting no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see-- we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

The Song of Mary Magnificat
Luke 1:46-55
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; *
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant
From this day all generations will call me blessed: *
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him *
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm, *
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, *
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel, *
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.
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.

Matthew 6:1-6,16-21

Jesus said, "Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
"So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
"And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
"And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.


"The Song of Simeon Nunc dimittis
Luke 2:29-32
Lord, you now have set your servant free *
to go in peace as you have promised;
For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, *
whom you have prepared for all the world to see:
A Light to enlighten the nations, *
and the glory of your people 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.

Prayers from A Season of Prayer: 40 Days in the Desert ( A Season of Prayer : 40 Days in the Desert)  Week 1. Click on the link for more information.

Wednesday,
 March 1 
Ash Wednesday

Give thanksgiving for the diversity of races and cultures
O God, who created all peoples in your image, we thank you for
the wonderful diversity of races and cultures in this world. Enrich
our lives by ever-widening circles of fellowship, and show us your
presence in those who differ most from us, until our knowledge of
your love is made perfect in our love for all your children; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Creating God we give thanks for Ash Wednesday and the reminder that we are dust and to dust we shall return. Tonight we respond to these our petitions: We are dust and to dust we shall return.

Help us O God not to be complacent as we begin this season of fasting, penitence, self- reflection, service, and picking things up and laying things down. 
God help us to remember that we are dust and to dust we shall return.

Help us O God to see how precious life and living is and that we may never take our family members for granted and that our time together is sacred and tender.

God help us to remember that we are dust and to dust we shall return.

Help us O God to strive  for justice and peace and respect the dignity of every human being and never take anyone's rights or freedoms for granted. 
God help us to remember that we are dust and to dust we shall return.

Help us O God to work for an end to all forms of violence, hatred, abuse and  become your peacemakers. Let us never see violence and killing as a means to shed the blood of our family members. 
God help us to remember that we are dust and to dust we shall return.

Help us to conserve your precious Cathedral of Life and that every molecule you created is sacred and that we must never seek destroy it. 
God help us to remember that everything is dust and to dust it shall return.

We add our own prayers __________________

God help us to remember that we are dust and to dust we shall return to you, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. 



Or these:

Gracious God as we begin our yearly pilgrimage to Calvary and beyond may we walk lightly and find ourselves walking lightly upon the pathway you have set before us.

God we pray this night for all of us who are struggling with anything that makes our hearts hurt.

God we pray that we may be reconciled with all our brothers and sisters during this holy time.

God we pray for all who are ill that they may receive your gift of healing. We pray this day for_____.

God we pray for peace in this broken and war torn world of yours.

God we pray for all of our family members who are seeking to come to know their true selves and live authentically.

God we pray for all refugees, captives, victims of human trafficking and all of our family members who are in danger.

God we pray for all who travel nearby and far away that they may have safe journeys. 

God we ask forgiveness for anything we have done amiss and may we have loving and forgiving hearts.

God we pray for all those who have died and are dying this night.

God we pray for all who mourn and are mourning that they may be comforted.

God may we rest gentle in your arms this night and continue to meditate upon the above questions and seek to find the answers that only come from you.

We lift up these our prayers in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Tonight's Psalms  for Meditation: 40 days of Psalmody! We will be using the evening psalms and next day morning psalms. 

First Day: Evening Prayer

6  Domine, ne in furore
1 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger; *
do not punish me in your wrath.
2 Have pity on me, Lord, for I am weak; *
heal me, Lord, for my bones are racked.
3 My spirit shakes with terror; *
how long, O Lord, how long?
4 Turn, O Lord, and deliver me; *
save me for your mercy’s sake.
5 For in death no one remembers you; *
and who will give you thanks in the grave?
6 I grow weary because of my groaning; *
every night I drench my bed
and flood my couch with tears.
7 My eyes are wasted with grief *
and worn away because of all my enemies.
8 Depart from me, all evildoers, *
for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my supplication; *
the Lord accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies shall be confounded and quake with fear; *
they shall turn back and suddenly be put to shame.

Psalm 7
Domine, Deus meus
1 O Lord my God, I take refuge in you; *
save and deliver me from all who pursue me;
2 Lest like a lion they tear me in pieces *
and snatch me away with none to deliver me.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done these things: *
if there is any wickedness in my hands,
4 If I have repaid my friend with evil, *
or plundered him who without cause is my enemy;
5 Then let my enemy pursue and overtake me, *
trample my life into the ground,
and lay my honor in the dust.
6 Stand up, O Lord, in your wrath; *
rise up against the fury of my enemies.
7 Awake, O my God, decree justice; *
let the assembly of the peoples gather round you.
8 Be seated on your lofty throne, O Most High; *
O Lord, judge the nations.
9 Give judgment for me according to my
righteousness, O Lord, *
and according to my innocence, O Most High.
10 Let the malice of the wicked come to an end,
but establish the righteous; *
for you test the mind and heart, O righteous God
11 God is my shield and defense; *
he is the savior of the true in heart.
12 God is a righteous judge; *
God sits in judgment every day.
13 If they will not repent, God will whet his sword; *
he will bend his bow and make it ready.
14 He has prepared his weapons of death; *
he makes his arrows shafts of fire.
15 Look at those who are in labor with wickedness, *
who conceive evil, and give birth to a lie.
Psalm 7 591
16 They dig a pit and make it deep *
and fall into the hole that they have made.
17 Their malice turns back upon their own head; *
their violence falls on their own scalp.
18 I will bear witness that the Lord is righteous;
I will praise the Name of the Lord Most High.

8 Domine, Dominus noster
1 O Lord our Governor, *
how exalted is your Name in all the world!
2 Out of the mouths of infants and children *
your majesty is praised above the heavens.
3 You have set up a stronghold against your adversaries, *
to quell the enemy and the avenger.
4 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, *
the moon and the stars you have set in their courses,
5 What is man that you should be mindful of him? *
the son of man that you should seek him out?
6 You have made him but little lower than the angels; *
you adorn him with glory and honor;
7 You give him mastery over the works of your hands; *
you put all things under his feet:
8 All sheep and oxen, *
even the wild beasts of the field,
9 The birds of the air, the fish of the sea, *
and whatsoever walks in the paths of the sea.
10 O Lord our Governor, *
how exalted is your Name in all the world!

Second Day: Morning Prayer

9 Confitebor tibi

1 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with my whole heart; *
I will tell of all your marvelous works.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you; *
I will sing to your Name, O Most High.
3 When my enemies are driven back, *
they will stumble and perish at your presence.
4 For you have maintained my right and my cause; *
you sit upon your throne judging right.
5 You have rebuked the ungodly and destroyed the wicked; *
you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.
6 As for the enemy, they are finished, in perpetual ruin, *
their cities ploughed under, the memory of them perished;
7 But the Lord is enthroned for ever; *
he has set up his throne for judgment.
8 It is he who rules the world with righteousness; *
he judges the peoples with equity.
9 The Lord will be a refuge for the oppressed, *
a refuge in time of trouble.
10 Those who know your Name will put their trust in you, *
for you never forsake those who seek you, O Lord.
11 Sing praise to the Lord who dwells in Zion; *
proclaim to the peoples the things he has done.
12 The Avenger of blood will remember them; *
he will not forget the cry of the afflicted.
13 Have pity on me, O Lord; *
see the misery I suffer from those who hate me,
O you who lift me up from the gate of death;
14 So that I may tell of all your praises
and rejoice in your salvation *
in the gates of the city of Zion.
15 The ungodly have fallen into the pit they dug, *
and in the snare they set is their own foot caught.
16 The Lord is known by his acts of justice; *
the wicked are trapped in the works of their own hands.
17 The wicked shall be given over to the grave, *
and also all the peoples that forget God.
18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten, *
and the hope of the poor shall not perish for ever.
19 Rise up, O Lord, let not the ungodly have the upper hand; *
let them be judged before you.
20 Put fear upon them, O Lord; *
let the ungodly know they are but mortal.


10 Ut quid, Domine?

1 Why do you stand so far off, O Lord, *
and hide yourself in time of trouble?
2 The wicked arrogantly persecute the poor, *
but they are trapped in the schemes they have devised.
3 The wicked boast of their heart’s desire; *
the covetous curse and revile the Lord.
4 The wicked are so proud that they care not for God; *
their only thought is, “God does not matter.”
5 Their ways are devious at all times;
your judgments are far above out of their sight; *
they defy all their enemies.
6 They say in their heart, “I shall not be shaken; *
no harm shall happen to me ever.”
7 Their mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and oppression; *
under their tongue are mischief and wrong.
8 They lurk in ambush in public squares
and in secret places they murder the innocent; *
they spy out the helpless.
9 They lie in wait, like a lion in a covert;
they lie in wait to seize upon the lowly; *
they seize the lowly and drag them away in their net.
10 The innocent are broken and humbled before them; *
the helpless fall before their power.
11 They say in their heart, “God has forgotten; *
he hides his face; he will never notice.”
12 Rise up, O Lord;
lift up your hand, O God; *
do not forget the afflicted.
13 Why should the wicked revile God? *
why should they say in their heart, “You do not care”?
14 Surely, you behold trouble and misery; *
you see it and take it into your own hand.
15 The helpless commit themselves to you, *
for you are the helper of orphans.
16 Break the power of the wicked and evil; *
search out their wickedness until you find none.
17 The Lord is King for ever and ever; *
the ungodly shall perish from his land.
18 The Lord will hear the desire of the humble; *
you will strengthen their heart and your ears shall hear;
19 To give justice to the orphan and oppressed, *
so that mere mortals may strike terror no more.

11 In Domino confido

1 In the Lord have I taken refuge; *
how then can you say to me,
“Fly away like a bird to the hilltop;
2 For see how the wicked bend the bow
and fit their arrows to the string, *
to shoot from ambush at the true of heart.
3 When the foundations are being destroyed, *
what can the righteous do?”
4 The Lord is in his holy temple; *
the Lord’s throne is in heaven.
5 His eyes behold the inhabited world; *
his piercing eye weighs our worth.
6 The Lord weighs the righteous as well as the wicked, *
but those who delight in violence he abhors.
7 Upon the wicked he shall rain coals of fire and
burning sulphur; *
a scorching wind shall be their lot.
8 For the Lord is righteous;
he delights in righteous deeds; *
and the just shall see his face.

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Good Night Dear Ones! I love you and give God Thanks for you this night and always!

Love and blessings!

Sara