(Make the sign of the cross with your right thumb on your lips, saying:)

Lord, open my lips and my mouth will proclaim your praise.

INVITATORY: Come, let us worship Christ.
For our sake he endured temptation and suffering.

Psalm 150
Praise God in his holy place,
praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his pow'rful deeds,
praise his surpassing greatness.

O praise him with sound of trumpet,
praise him with lute and harp.
Praise him with timbrel and dance,
praise him with strings and pipes.

O praise him with resounding cymbals,
praise him with clashing of cymbals.
Let everything that lives and that breathes
give praise to the Lord.

Glory be 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

Come, let us worship Christ.
For our sake he endured temptation and suffering.

ANT: The lord delights in his people;
He honors the humble with victory.

Psalm 149
Sing a new song to the Lord,
his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel rejoice in its Maker;
let Zion's people exult in their king.
Let them praise his name with dancing
and make music with timbrel and harp.

For the Lord takes delight in his people.
He crowns the poor with salvation.
Let the faithful rejoice in their glory,
shout for joy and take their rest.
Let the praise of God be on their lips
and a two-edged sword in their hand,

to deal out vengeance to the nations
and punishment on all the peoples;
to bind their kings in chains
and their nobles in fetters of iron;
to carry out the sentence pre-ordained:
this honor is for all his faithful.

Glory be 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 delights in his people;
He honors the humble with victory.

READING (Nehemiah 8:9,10)
Today is holy to the Lord your God.
Do not be sad, and do not weep;
for today is holy to our Lord.
Do not be saddened this day,
for rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength!

[Reflect on the Reading, applying it to your life today.]

ANT: Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil;
and when he had fasted for forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.

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 be 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: Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil;
and when he had fasted for forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.

INTERCESSIONS
In his love for us, the Father sent his only Son
that we might know him and be one with him.
Let us join with those praying today for the needs
of our family, community and world.

For all ministers of the Gospel
that they devote themselves unreservedly and successfully
to the salvation of those to whom they minister.

For our civil authorities, that they work
for justice and peace considering the needs of all people.

For our spiritual well being
and for the spiritual well being of our family and friends.

[Pray for your special intentions.]

OUR FATHER
And now we pray to God the Father in the words that Jesus taught us.

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, and the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen

PRAYER
Father, through our observance of Lent,
help us to understand the meaning
of your Son's death and resurrection,
and teach us to reflect it in our lives.
We pray in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen