Ash Wednesday | 7.30pm | March 2, 2022

sleep [Music] r [Music] is [Music] watch [Music] is [Music] r [Music] oh [Music] my [Music] oh [Music] r [Music] cool [Music] r [Music] uh [Music] testing testing [Music] advise nothing that you have made you overlook people's sins to bring them to repentance and you spare them for you are the lord our god in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit amen the grace of our lord jesus christ and the love of god and the communion of the holy spirit be with you all and with your spirit this is already the third ash wednesday since the outbreak of the pandemic and perhaps worse we also find ourselves in a time of escalated and open wars and serious conflicts in a very deeply divided world this is also the third year that our gatherings for masses and other lantern activities have been disrupted clearly we have been badly deprived of the usual sacramental and community support and this can lead us to lose the very sense of land and the urgent need for conversion to prepare ourselves to share in the saving death and resurrection of the lord at easter but do all this deprivation and lots of atmosphere mean that we can postpone the need for repentance conversion and renewal the spirit of god in our heart clearly tells us no for we are always in need of conversion perhaps even more so now because of the many grave sins we have committed during this challenging time of the pandemic with the increased isolation and conflicts within and without the church and the family whether the times the seasons or the situations are conducive or not conducive for conversion saint paul bluntly tells us now is the favorable time this is the day of salvation let us therefore not be trapped in self-pity warning and crying about our deprivations rather let us rise above it and reasonably choose to enter this season of grace aware that our repentance tested and purified by this unusually challenging pandemic may even be deeper and more sincere let us respond to pope francis's christ to offer our fasting abstinence and prayer and this eucharist for peace in ukraine and the whole world let us pray grant o lord that we may begin with fully fasting this campaign of christian service so that as we take up battle against spiritual evils we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint through our lord jesus christ your son who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the holy spirit god forever and ever amen a reading from the prophet joel now now it is the lord who speaks come back to me with all your heart fasting weeping mourning [Music] let your hearts be broken not your garments torn [Music] turn to the lord your god again for he is all tenderness and compassion slow to anger rich in graciousness and ready to relent who knows if he will not turn again will not relent will not leave a blessing as he passes oblation and libation for the lord your god sound the trumpet in zion order a fast proclaim a solemn assembly call the people together summon the community assemble the elders gather the children even the infants at the breast let the bridegroom leave his bedroom and debride her alcohol between vestibule and altar let the priests the ministers of the lord lament let them say spare your people lord do not make your heritage a thing of shame a byword for the nations why should it be said among the nations where is their god then the lord jealous on behalf of his land took pity on his people the word of the lord thanks be to god have mercy on us o lord for we have sinned [Music] for we have sinned have mercy on me god in your kindness in your compassion blot out my offense o wash me more and more from my guilt and cleanse me from my sin have mercy on us lord for we have sinned my offenses truly i know them my sin is always before me against you you alone have i sinned what is evil in your sight i have done [Music] have mercy on us lord for we have sinned a pure heart create for me o god put a steadfast spirit within me do not cast me away from your presence nor deprive me of your holy spirit for we have sinned give me again the joy of your help with a spirit of fervor sustain me o lord open my lips and my mouth shall declare your praise have mercy on us o lord for we have sinned a reading from the second letter of saint paul to the corinthians we are ambassadors for christ it is as though god were appealing through us and the appeal that we make in christ's name is be reconciled to god for our sake god made the sinless one into sin so that in him we might become the goodness of god as his fellow workers we beg you once again not to neglect the grace of god that you have received for he says at the favorable time i have listened to you on the day of salvation i came to your help well now is the favorable time this is the day of salvation [Music] the word of the lord thanks be to god glory and praise to you lord jesus christ a pure heart create for me o god and give me again the joy of your help glory and praise to you lord jesus christ the lord be with you and with your spirit a reading from the holy gospel according to matthew glory to you o lord jesus said to his disciples be careful not to perhaps your good deeds before men to attract their notice by doing this you will lose all reward from your father in heaven so when you give alms do not have it trumpeted before you this is what the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win man's admiration i tell you solemnly they have had their reward but when you give arms your left hand must not know what your right is doing your arms giving must be secret as your father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you and when you pray do not imitate the hypocrites they love to say their prayers standing up in the synagogues and at the street corners for people to see them i tell you solemnly they have had their reward but when you pray go to your private room and when you have shut your door pray to the father who is in that secret place and your father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you when you fast do not put on a gloomy look as the hypocrites do they put long faces to let men know they are fasting i tell you solemnly they have had their reward but when you fast put oil on your head and wash your face so that no one will know you are fasting except your father who sees all that is done in secret and your father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you the gospel of the lord praise to you lord jesus christ dear brothers and sisters fellow sinners but call to conversion a new life we go to confession because we not others have sinned often however instead of humbly and honestly confessing our own sins we end up talking about the sins of others in our confession and even at great length blaming others and somehow minimizing and justifying our own sins because others have forced us to fall we tell the priest i'm angry bitter unforgiving revengeful incapable of praying and serving others because people have cruelly hurt me and we go into details on what happened and how others forced us to fall [Music] but when i go to confession i'm supposed to tell the priests that i have greatly sinned through my fault through my fault through my own most grievous fault the fatal reality is that all have sinned the prophet joel tells us to sound the trumpet and call all to assemble to admit repent and seek god's mercy and forgiveness to gather the whole community from the elders down to children at the best even the bride and groom priests and ministers no one is to be left out because all have sinned and utterly need to repent so that we may not die all should be ashamed and remorseful but all should also be hopeful for god is tenderness and compassion all that is needed is a humble and contrite heart which the lord does not spurn so where is this terrible obstacle that often prevents us to admit the deadly reality of our sins and our need to repent as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be in our life it is pride the first of the seven deadly sins that stops us we say pride comes before a fall driven by pride we want to see only our bigness and hide our smallness and we work hard also to make others to look at us in the same way and through the years we build and reinforce a mighty defense system to prevent us getting in real touch with our own weaknesses and sins we reach a stage when we have visually look at our sins casually and refuse to own the full responsibility but blame it [Music] on the situation and on others our enemies in this way we often succeed deceiving ourselves and come out thinking that we are more or less good in comparison to others and when we compare we also habitually judge and condemn others seeing the splinter in their eye but blind to the plank in our own without seeing and experiencing our own weaknesses and sins and the great difficulty to repent we also fail to understand the sins of others and their difficulty to repent as well when jesus condemns the hypocrisy in arms giving praying and fasting activities we need precisely to help us sleep and repent from our sins he is definitely aware of the pride [Music] and the mighty defense system we have built up to distract ourselves from seeing our own sins and to seek the approval of others in fact in a sense we should hide our good works from others since if our prayer fasting and almsgiving are true then they are revelation of our sinfulness an attempt to repent instead of trumpeting standing at the sleep corners looking dismay and gloomy for the approval of others we pray fast give us precisely because we have sinned do not use the manifestation of our sin and then gain approval and praise from others these disciplines prayer fasting obsessions are strictly an essential business between god and i and i and god my left hand should not know what the ride is doing my face should be anointed and refreshed freshen up and we should be hiding and praying desperately in the privacy of our room preaching the good news converting others and the whole world can only begin with our own humble admission and sincere repentance i remember at our last priest's retreat the retreat master told us that the first requirement to be a good priest to lead the flock well is that the priest must first accept and be aware of his own vulnerability his real weaknesses and real sins without knowing our own sins it is not possible to feel and understand the difficulties others face in admitting and repenting of their sins wreck as they are also by pride how are we going to be compassionate and help others when we ourselves do not see we too constantly fall and how difficult it is to accept god's grace to defeat our pride and seek forgiveness how are we going to be more like christ who came and died for sinners even unlike us he was truly without sin people may complain and say but how can a sinner lead an other sinners a blind leading the blind but i say to you the one who is truly blind is the one who does not see his own sins without accepting our own weaknesses and sins we can never help others to find the grace and courage to walk the straight and narrow path to conversion and new life our own repentance therefore is that unique channel of god's grace for those around us especially during land when we help each other to prepare to die and rise with christ at easter before we are sprinkled with ashes as a sign of our true repentance in a few moments let us resolve to mean sincerely what we say each time we say the i confess the con detail especially throughout land i i i confess to almighty god and to you my brothers and sisters that i have greatly sinned through my fault through my fault through my most grievous fall i shall now go forward there to bless the ashes those of you who are at home please get your ashes ready and then i will instruct on how we shall go about with it dear brothers and sisters let us humbly as god our father that he be pleased to bless with the abundance of his grace with ashes which we will put on our heads in penitence o god who are moved by acts of humility and respond with forgiveness to works of penance lend your merciful ear to our prayers and in your kindness pour out the grace of your blessing on your servants who are marked with these ashes that as they follow the lantern observances they may be worthy to come with minds made pure to celebrate the paschal mystery of your son through christ our lord amen now for the wilson will sprinkle ashes on my head and then i will sprinkle ashes on all the servers present here at home the one appointed may now sprinkle the ashes on the head of the household after which the head of the household will sprinkle ashes on each member of the household we shall continue with the universal prayer turn from your sins and believe in the good news this word of god for us today let us pray for our needs as we respond lord hear our prayer lord hear our prayer as we begin our 40 days of lent we ask god to raise in our minds an awareness of sin in our lives and a deep desire to turn to god we pray to the lord lord hear our prayer saint paul teaches that we are to be christ's ambassadors at this time of land may we renew our desire to witness to the good news of god's love revealed to us in christ we pray to the lord lord hear our prayer we asked for a spirit of honesty before god that we might relish the time spent in prayer not regarding it as a burden but a time of joy and reflection in the presence of our god we pray to the lord lord hear our prayer may we learn to follow the teaching of jesus and discipline ourselves during lent by prayer and fasting and acts of charity so that we may have a true understanding of what is of lasting value in life we pray to the lord lord hear our prayer humbly we ask for the mighty lenten grace that our pride may be conquered that we may be given the gift of repentance and conversion and join jesus to rise in new life at easter united with the holy father pope francis we pray for peace in the ukraine and in all parts of the world where there is conflict sufferings and we pray for a swift end to the pandemic that all may return to serve you and to find true grace in this testing time let's seek the company of mother mary in this next 40 days of land that we may be faithful to all the disciplines and practices of self-denial shall mary full of grace the lord is with thee blessed are thou among thee women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb jesus holy mary mother of god pray for our sins amen blessed are you lord god of all creation for tree of goodness we have received the bread we offer you future of the earth work of human hands it will become for us the bread of life blessed be god forever blessed are you lord god of all creation the tree of goodness we have received the wine we offer you fruit of divine work of human hands to become our spiritual dream blessed be god forever pray brothers and sisters that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to god the almighty father may the lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of his name for our good and the good of all his holy church as we solemnly offer the annual sacrifice for the beginning of lent we entreat you o lord that through works of planets and charity we may turn away from humble pleasures and cleanse from our sins may become worthy to celebrate devoutly the passion of your son who lives and reigns forever and ever amen the lord be with you and with your spirit lift up your hearts we lift them up to the lord let us give thanks to the lord our god it is right and just it is truly right and just our duty and our salvation always and everywhere to give you thanks lord holy father almighty and eternal god for you have given your children a sacred time for the renewing and purifying of their hearts that freed from disordered affections they may so deal with the things of this passing world as to hold rather to the things that eternally endure and so with all the angels and saints we praise you as without and we acclaim holy holy holy lord god of hosts heaven and earth are full of your glory hosanna in the highest blessed is he who comes in the name of the lord hosanna in the highest you are indeed holy or not a found of all holiness make holy therefore gifts we pray by sending down your spirit upon them like the do you fall so that they may become for us the body and blood of our lord jesus christ at the time he was betrayed and entered willingly into his passion he took bread and giving thanks broke it and gave it to his disciples saying take this all of you and eat of it for this is my body which will be given up for you in a similar way when disciple was entered he took the chalice and once more giving thanks he gave it to his disciples saying take this all of you and drink from me for this is the chalice of my blood the blood of the new and eternal covenant which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins do this in memory of me the mystery of faith we proclaim your death o lord and profess your resurrection until you come again therefore as we celebrate the memorial of his death and resurrection we offer you lord the bread of life and the chalice of salvation giving thanks that you have held us worthy to be in your presence and minister to you humbly we pray the partaking of the body and blood of christ we may be gathered into one by the holy spirit remember lord your church spread throughout the world and bring her to the fullness of charity together with francis our pope and john now bishop and all the clergy remember also our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection and all who have died in your mercy welcome them into the light of your face have mercy on us all we pray that with the blessed virgin mary mother of god with blessed joseph her spouse with the blessed apostle simon the zealot and all the saints who have pleased you throughout the ages you may merit to be co-aced to eternal life and may praise and glorify you through your son jesus christ to him and with him and in him o god almighty father in the unity of the holy spirit all glory and honor is yours forever and [Music] at the everybody command and formed by divine teaching we dare to say 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 those trespasses trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil deliver us lord we pray from every evil graciously grant peace in our days that by the help of your mercy we may be always free from sin and saved from all distress as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our savior jesus christ for the kingdom the power and the glory are yours now and forever lord jesus christ who said to your apostles peace i leave you my peace i give you do not on our sins but on the faith of your church and graciously grant her peace and unity in accordance with your will who live and reign forever and ever amen the peace of the lord be with you always and with your spirit let us offer each other the sign of peace lamb of god you take away the sins of the world have mercy on us lamb of god you take away the sins of the world and mercy on us lamb of god you take away the sins of the world grant us peace behold the lamb of god behold him who takes away the sins of the world blessed are those called to the supper of the lamb lord i am not worthy that you should enter under my roof but only say the word and my soul shall be you he who ponders the law of the lord day and night will yield fruit in due season let us pray may the sacrament we have received sustain us the lord that our lenten past may be pleasing to you and be for us a healing remedy through christ our lord amen [Music] we shall reopen mass this sunday at 8 30 a.m the first sunday in land the booking online is already open you may start booking even from tonight there will be there is an updated sop please go through it especially you know the so people those who may and may not come to physical mass we have stations of the course this friday at 8 p.m only via zoom please join us daily mass will resume on this coming monday the 7th of march and on the same day 8 p.m every night we also have our rosary so brothers and sisters a blessed holy land let's pray and support each other the lord be with you and with your spirit pour out a spirit of compunction of god on those who bow before your majesty that by your mercy may they merit the rewards you promised to those who do penance through christ our lord amen may almighty god bless you the father and the son and the holy spirit amen go forth the mass is ended thanks be to god you

Channel: St Simon Likas

Views: 2,879

Keywords: Catholic service, St Simon Catholic Church Likas, live-stream, Eucharistic celebration, Mass, Live Mass, 2022, Ash Wednesday

Id: OCVTMFVgozA

Length: 59min 55sec (3595 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 02 2022