Monday of the First Week of Lent
Introit
Psalm 122:2,1
As the eyes of servants are on the hands of their masters, so are our eyes on the Lord, our God, till He have mercy on us. Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us. Ps. To Thee I lift up mine eyes, Who art enthroned in heaven. Glory be to the Father.
Collect
O God, our Saviour, direct our minds by Thy heavenly teaching, so that the Lenten fast may profit us. Through our Lord.
Epistle
Ezechiel 34:11-16
Thus says the Lord God: I Myself will look after and tend My sheep. As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so will I tend My sheep. I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark. I will lead them out from among the peoples and gather them from the foreign lands; I will bring them back to their own country and pasture them upon the mountains of Israel in the land’s ravines and all its inhabited places. In good pastures will I pasture them, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing ground. There they shall lie down on good grazing ground, and in rich pastures shall they be pastured on the mountains of Israel. I Myself will pasture My sheep; I Myself will give them rest, says the Lord God. The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy, shepherding them rightly, says the Lord almighty.
Gradual
Psalm 88:10,9
Behold, O God, our Protector, and look upon Thy servants. V. O Lord God of Hosts, hear the prayers of Thy servants.
Tract
Psalm 102:10; 78:8, 9
O Lord, deal with us not according to our sins, nor requite us according to our crimes. V. O Lord, remember not against us the iniquities of the past; may Thy compassion quickly come to us, for we are brought very low. [Kneel.] V. Help us, O God, our Saviour, because of the glory of Thy Name, O Lord; deliver us and pardon our sins for Thy Name’s sake.
Gospel
Matthew 25:31-46
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples: When the Son of Man shall come in His majesty, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory; and before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate them one from anoth-er, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the king will say to those on his right hand: Come, blessed of My Father, take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave Me to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me to drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; naked and you covered Me; sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me. Then the just will answer Him, saying: Lord, when did we see Thee hungry, and feed Thee; or thirsty, and give you to drink? And when did we see Thee a stranger, and take Thee in; or naked, and clothe Thee? Or when did we see Thee sick, or in prison, and come to Thee? And, answering, the king will say to them: Amen I say to you, as long as you did it for one of these, the least of My brethren, you did it for Me. Then He will say to those on His left hand: Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the everlast-ing fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you did not give Me to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me. Then they also will answer Him and say: Lord, when did we see Thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to Thee? Then He will answer them, saying: Amen I say to you, as long as you did not do it for one of these least ones, you did not do it for Me. And these will go into everlasting, punishment, but the just into everlasting life.
Offertory
Psalm 118:18,26,73
I will lift up my eyes, that I may consider Thy wonders, O Lord; teach me Thy statutes; give me discernment that I may learn Thy commands.
Secret
Sanctify the gifts offered unto Thee, O Lord, and cleanse us from the stains of our sins. Through our Lord.
Communion
Matthew 25:40,34
Amen I say to you: What you did for one of these, the least of My brethren, you did for Me: come, blessed of My Father, take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Postcommunion
Refreshed by the sacramental gift of Thy salvation, we humbly beseech Thee, O Lord, that, enjoying its savour, we may be made new by its action. Through our Lord.