An Anglican order for Imposition of Ashes

Ash Wednesday 6 February 2008 ~ Chapel of the Ecumenical Centre 17.00

Ash Wednesday is a solemn day of prayer and penitence that begins the forty-day season of Lent. During Lent we prepare for the celebration of the Three Days of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Lent is also a time when we journey with those in our community and around the world preparing for baptism at Easter.
On Ash Wednesday we confess our sin in a litany of penitence. During Lent’s forty days we are invited to observe the traditional Lenten disciplines of fasting, prayer, and works of love.
We receive the sign of ashes as an external mark of penitence. Ashes are an ancient symbol of repentance and mourning, reminding us of our mortality. We recall God’s words to Adam and Eve following their disobedience: You are dust, and to dust you shall return. The use of ashes also calls to mind the words of the funeral liturgy, “ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” By honestly facing our need for forgiveness and healing, we turn to the springtime of God’s mercy and grace.
With the cross on our brow, we journey through Lent, longing for the baptismal waters of Easter, our spiritual rebirth.

Gathering
Greeting
L The Lord be with you. C And also with you.

Prayer of the Day
L Almighty and ever-living God, you hate nothing you have made, and you forgive the sins of all who are penitent. Create in us new and honest hearts, so that, truly repenting of our sins, we may receive from you, the God of all mercy, full pardon and forgiveness, through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever Amen

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming, it is near— a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness spread upon the mountains a great and powerful army comes; their like has never been from of old, nor will be again after them in ages to come.
Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing. Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain-offering and a drink-offering for the Lord, your God?
Blow the trumpet in Zion; sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly; gather the people. Sanctify the congregation; assemble the aged; gather the children, even infants at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her canopy.
Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep. Let them say, ‘Spare your people, O Lord, and do not make your heritage a mockery, a byword among the nations. Why should it be said among the peoples, “Where is their God?” ’
L The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Psalm 51
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
‘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.
L The gospel of the Lord.
C Praise to you, O Christ.

Silence is kept

Agape 83 ~ Seigneur Rassemble-nous dans la paix de ton Amour, strophes 1-5 en français

Invitation to the Lenten Discipline
L Friends in Christ, every year at the time of our Lord Jesus Christ’s Passover from death to life, with the church throughout the world we celebrate our redemption from sin, death, and the devil. Lent is a time to renew our life in the paschal mystery of Jesus’ death and resurrection, in which we participate through the sacramental life of the church. It is also a time to prepare candidates for baptism.
We begin this holy season by acknowledging our need for repentance and for the mercy and forgiveness proclaimed in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We show our resolve to amend our lives with the sign of ashes, which speak of our mortality and symbolize our repentance.
I invite you, therefore, to observe a holy Lent, committing yourselves to self-examination and penitence, prayer and fasting, almsgiving and works of love; and to attend to the word of God and receive the sacraments of Christ as we journey through these forty days to the great Three Days of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Confession of Sin
L Let us stand before God, our creator and redeemer, and confess our sin.
Our Lord Jesus Christ said, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’ We have been proud and overbearing. We have asserted our own importance and been jealous of others. We have despised the weak and slandered those we envy and dislike. Lord, have mercy.
C Christ, have mercy.
L Our Lord Jesus said, ‘Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.’ We have been angry in our hearts and in our words. We have returned evil for evil. We have done violence ourselves and condoned the violence of others. Lord, have mercy.
C Christ, aie pitié.
L Our Lord Jesus Christ said, ‘ Blessed are those who weep, for they shall be consoled.’ We have not borne our own sorrow and suffering with the patience which comes from faith. We have failed to show compassion and care for others who suffer. Lord, have mercy.
C Christ, erbarme dich.
L Our Lord Jesus Christ said, ‘ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall be satisfied.’ We have cared little for the injustice, inequality, and poverty around us. We have hungered and thirsted for our own comfort and safety, and turned away from the injustice done to others. Lord, have mercy.
C Christ, have mercy.
L Our Lord Jesus Christ said, ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.’ We have looked on our neighbor’s faults and weaknesses with a hard and intolerant eye. We have failed to show understanding and sympathy, but judged harshly and too soon. Lord, have mercy.
C Christ, aie pitié.
L Our Lord Jesus Christ said, ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.’ We have been suspicious, distrustful, and insincere in the thoughts of our hearts. We have spoiled the joy and beauty of our senses and our love through lust and self-indulgence. Lord, have mercy.
C Christ, erbarme dich.
L Our Lord Jesus Christ said, ‘ Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.’ We have broken the loving peace of friends and families with quarrelling and selfishness. We have disturbed the peace of our land with violence and civil strife. We have filled the world with wars and the fear of fear. Lord, have mercy.
C Christ, have mercy.
L Our Lord Jesus Christ said, ‘Blessed are those who suffer persecution for the sake of justice, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’ We have neglected in our prayers and in our charity those who are persecuted for their faith, their beliefs, or their race. We have encouraged or left unrebuked those who, in word or deed, deny the equality of the children of God. Lord, have mercy.
C Christ, have mercy.

A period of silence is kept.

L Most holy and merciful God,
C we confess to you and to one another,
and to the whole communion of saints in heaven and on earth,
that we have sinned by our fault,
by our own fault,
by our own most grievous fault,
in thought, word, and deed
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
L Restore us, O God, and let your anger depart from us.
C Favorably hear us, O God, for your mercy is great.

Imposition of Ashes
L Almighty God, you have created us out of the dust of the earth. Bless these ashes and those who receive them. May this sign of our mortality and penitence remind us that only by the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ are we given eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Saviour.
C Amen.

People may come forward to receive the ashes. Ministers mark the forehead of each person with ashes, using the words: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

During the imposition of ashes we sing Agape 46 ~ La ténèbre n’est point ténèbre devant toi

L Accomplish in us, O God, the work of your salvation,
C That we may show forth your glory in the world.
L By the cross and passion of your Son, our Savior,
C Bring us with all your saints to the joy of Christ’s resurrection.
L Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life.
C Amen.

Lord’s Prayer
L Gathered into one by the Holy Spirit, let us pray as Jesus taught us, each in our own language…
Peace
L The peace of the Lord be always with you.
C And also with you.

Sending
Agape 70 Ososo ~ verse 1 in Korean, verse 2 English, verse 3 German, verse 4 French

Blessing
L Go forth into the world to serve God with gladness; be of good courage; hold fast to that which is good; render to no one evil for evil; strengthen the fainthearted; support the weak; help the afflicted; honour all people; love and serve God, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit. Almighty God, Father, + Son, and Holy Spirit, bless you now and forever.
L Go in peace. Remember the poor
C Thanks be to God.