First Sunday in Lent
Introit
Psalm 90:15-16
HE shall cry to me, and I will hear him: I will deliver him, and I will glorify him: I will fill him with length of days. Ps. He that dwelleth in the aid of the Most High shall abide under the protection of the God of Heaven. V. Glory be to the Father.
Collect
O GOD, who dost purify Thy Church by the yearly observance of forty days; grant to Thy household that what we strive to obtain from Thee by self denial, we may secure by good works. Through our Lord.
Epistle
2 Corinthians 6:1-10
BRETHREN: We exhort you that you receive not the grace of God in vain. For He saith: In an accepted time have I heard thee, and in the day of salvation have I helped thee. Behold, now is the acceptable time, behold now is the day of salvation. Giving no offence to any man, that our ministry be not blamed: but in all things let us exhibit ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in tribulation, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in prisons, in seditions, in labours, in watchings, in fastings, in chastity, in knowledge, in longsuffering, in sweetness, in the Holy Ghost, in charity unfeigned, in the word of truth, in the power of God: by the armour of justice on the right hand and on the left: by honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers and yet true, as unknown and yet known: as dying, and behold we live: as chastised and not killed: as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing: as needy, yet enriching many: as having nothing and possessing all things.
Gradual
Psalm 90:11-12
GOD hath given His angels charge over Thee, to keep Thee in all Thy ways. V. In their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest Thou dash Thy foot against a stone.
Tract
Psalm 90:1-7,11-16
HE that dwelleth in the aid of the Most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of heaven. V. He shall say to the Lord: Thou art my protector and my refuge: my God, in Him will I trust. V. For He hath delivered me from the snare of the hunters, and from the sharp word. V. He will overshadow thee with His shoulders, and under His wings thou shalt trust. V. His truth shall compass thee with a shield: thou shalt not be afraid of the terror of the night. V. Of the arrow that flieth in the day, of the business that walketh about in the dark, of invasion or of the noonday devil. V. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand: but it shall not come nigh thee. V. For He hath given His angels charge over Thee, to keep Thee in all Thy ways. V. In their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest Thou dash Thy foot against a stone. V. Thou shalt walk upon the asp and the basilisk, and Thou shalt trample under foot the lion and the dragon. V. Because he hoped in Me I will deliver him: I will protect him, because he hath known My name. V. He shall cry to Me, and I will hear him: I am with him in tribulation. V. I will deliver him, and I will glorify him: I will fill him with length of days, and I will show him My salvation.
Gospel
Matthew 4:1-11
AT that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert, to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterwards He was hungry. And the tempter coming said to Him: If Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. Who answered and said: It is written: Not in bread alone doth man live, but in every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God. Then the devil took Him up into the holy city and set Him upon the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him: If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down. For it is written: That He hath given His angels charge over Thee, and in their hands shall they bear Thee up, lest perhaps Thou dash Thy foot against a stone. Jesus said to him: It is written again: Thou shalt not tempt the Lord Thy God. Again the devil took Him up into a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, and said to Him: All these will I give Thee, if falling down Thou wilt adore me. Then Jesus saith to him: Begone, Satan! for it is written: The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and Him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil left Him: and behold angels came, and ministered to Him.
Offertory
Psalm 90:4-5
THE Lord will overshadow thee with His shoulders, and under His wings thou shalt trust: His truth shall compass thee with a shield.
Secret
WE solemnly offer Thee, O Lord, the sacri-fice of the beginning of Lent, beseeching Thee, that by refraining from flesh at our meals, we may learn also to avoid sinful pleasures. Through our Lord.
Communion
Psalm 90:4-5
The Lord will overshadow thee with His shoulders, and under His wings thou shalt trust: His truth shall compass thee with a shield.
Postcommunion
May the holy partaking of Thy sacrament, restore us, O Lord, and cleansing us from our old life, make us to pass into the fellowship of the mystery of salvation. Through our Lord.