The purpose of these “mini Lents” were to pray, fast and to
thank God for the gifts He gives us through nature. They follow the four seasons of the year with
the beauty and uniqueness of each particular season. They are here for us to teach us to use,
with moderation, what God gives us through nature, and to also share these
gifts with the poor.
Traditionally, these are the days on which priests were ordained.
The Ember Saturday Liturgy
INTROIT ¤
Ps. 79. 4, 2
Come, O
Lord, and show us Thy face, Thou that sittest upon the Cherubim: and we shall
be saved. -- (Ps. 79. 2). Give ear, O Thou that rulest Israel: Thou that
leadest Joseph like a sheep. V.: Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the
Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world
without end. Amen. Come, O Lord, and show us Thy face, Thou that sittest upon
the Cherubim: and we shall be saved.
COLLECT
Priest: Let
us pray. Deacon: Let us kneel. Subdeacon:
Arise.
O God, who
seest that we are afflicted because of our iniquity, mercifully grant that we
may be conforted by Thy visitation. Who livest and reignest, with God the
Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
LESSON ¤
Isaias 19. 20-22
Lesson from
the Book of the Prophet Isaias.
[God will
send a Redeemer and a Defender to deliver our souls.]
In those
days they shall cry to the Lord because of the oppressor, and He shall send
them a Savior and a defender to deliver them. And the Lord shall be known by
Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day, and shall worship Him
with sacrifices and offerings: and they shall make vows to the Lord and perform
them. And the Lord shall stike Egypt with a scourge, and shall heal it: and
they shall return to the Lord, and He shall be pacified towards them, and the
Lord our God shall heal them.
GRADUAL ¤
Ps. 18. 7, 2
His going
out is from the end of heaven: and His circuit even to the end thereof. V.: The
heavens show forth the glory of God: and the firmament declareth the work of
His hands.
COLLECT
Priest: Let us pray. Deacon: Let us kneel. Subdeacon: Arise.
Grant, we
beseech Thee, almighty God, that we who are bowed down by our old bondage under
the yoke of sin, may be freed by the new Birth of Thine only begotten Son, for
which we look. Who with Thee liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy
Ghost, God, world without end.
LESSON ¤
Isaias 35. 1, 7
Lesson from
the Book of the Prophet Isaias.
[God
Himself will come and will save you.]
Thus saith
the Lord: The land that was desolate and impassable shall be glad, and the
wilderness shall rejoice and shall flourish like the lily. It shall bud forth
and blossom, and shall rejoice with joy and praise: the glory of Libanius is
given to it: the beauty of Carmel, and Saron, they shall see the glory of the
Lord and the beauty of our God. Strengthen ye the feeble hands, and confirm the
weak knees. Say to the faint hearted: Take courage, and fear not. Behold your
God will bring the revenge of recompense: God Himself will come and will save
you. Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall
be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the
dumb shall be free: for waters are broken out in the desert, and streams in the
wilderness. And that which was dry land shall become a pool, and the thirsty
land springs of water: saith the Lord almighty.
GRADUAL ¤
Ps. 18. 6, 7
He hath set
His tabernacle in the sun: and He is as a bridegroom coming out of His
bridechamber. V.: His going out is from the end of heaven: and His circuit even
to the end thereof.
COLLECT
Priest: Let us pray. Deacon: Let us kneel. Subdeacon: Arise.
We beseech
Thee, O Lord, gladden by the coming of Thine only-begotten Son, us Thine unworthy
servants, who are made sorrowful by the guilt of our own deeds. Who liveth and
reigneth, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world
without end.
LESSON ¤
Isaias 40. 9-11
Lesson from
the Book of the Prophet Isaias.
[Behold
your God. The Lord God shall come with strength, and His arm shall rule: behold
His reward is with Him, and His work is before Him.]
Thus saith
the Lord: Get thee up upon a high mountain, thou that bringest good tidings to
Sion: lift up thy voice with strength, thou that bringest good tidings to
Jerusalem: lift it up, fear not. Say to the cities of Juda: Behold your God:
behold the Lord God shall come with strength, and His arm shall rule: behold
His reward is with Him, and His work is before Him. He shall feed His flock
like a shepherd: He shall gather together the lambs with His arm, and shall
take them up in His bosom, the Lord our God.
GRADUAL ¤
Ps. 79. 20, 3
O Lord God
of hosts, convert us: and show Thy face, and we shall be saved. V.: Stir up Thy
might, O Lord, and come to save us.
COLLECT
Priest: Let us pray. Deacon: Let us kneel. Subdeacon: Arise.
Grant, we
beseech Thee, almighty God, that the coming solemnity of Thy Son, may both
bestow upon us healing in this present life and grant to us rewards in the life
to come. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with
Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
LESSON ¤
Isaias 45. 1-8
Lesson from
the Book of the Prophet Isaias.
["Drop
down dew, ye heavens, from above and let the clouds rain the Just: let the
earth be opened and bud forth a Savior."]
Thus saith
the Lord to my anointed Cyrus: whose right hand I have taken hold of, to subdue
nations before his face, and to turn the backs of kings, and to open the doors
before him, and the gates shall not be shut. I will go before thee: and will
humble the great ones of the earth: I will break in pieces the gates of brass,
adn will burst the bars of iron. And I will give thee hidden treasures and the
concealed riches of secret places: that thou mayest know that I am the Lord who
call thee by thy name, the God of Israel. For the sake of My servant Jacob, and
Israel My elect, I have even called Thee by thy name: I have made a likeness of
thee, and thou hast not known Me. I am the Lord, and there is none else: there
is no God besides Me: I girded thee, and thou hast not known Me: that they may
know who are from the rising of the sun, and they who are from the west, that
there is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is none else: I form the
light and create darkness, I make peace and create evil: I, the Lord, that do
all these things. Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds
rain the just: let the earth be opened and bud forth a Savior: and let justice
spring up together: I the Lord have created Him.
GRADUAL ¤
Ps. 79. 3, 2
Stir up Thy
might, O Lord, and come to save us. V.: Give ear, O Thou that rulest Israel:
Thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep: Thou that sittest upon the Cherubims,
shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasses.
COLLECT
Priest: Let us pray. Deacon: Let us kneel. Subdeacon: Arise.
Mercifully
hear, O Lord, we beseech Thee, the prayers of Thy people: that we who are
justly afflicted for our sins may be conforted by the visitation of Thy loving
kindness. Who livest and reignest, with God the Father, in the unity of the
Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
LESSON ¤
Daniel 3. 47-51
Lesson from
the Book of the Prophet Daniel.
[Azarias
and his companions in the fiery furnace: the Angel of the Lord drove forth the
flame of fire. With one mouth they praised, glorified and blessed God.]
In those
days the Angel of the Lord went down with Azarias and his companions into the
furnace: and he drove the flame of the fire out of the furnace, and made the
midst of the furnace like the blowing of a wind bringing dew. And the flame
mounted up above the furnace nine and forty cubits: and it broke forth, and
burnt such of the Chaldeans as it found near the furnace, the king's servants
that heated it. And the fire touched them not at all, nor troubled them nor did
them any harm. Then these three as with one mouth praised and glorified and
blessed God in the furnace, saying:
HYMN ¤
Daniel 3. 52-56
Blessed art
Thou, O Lord, the God of our fathers: and worthy to be praised and glorified
for ever.
And blessed
is the name of Thy glory, which is holy: and worthy to be praised and glorified
for ever.
Blessed art
Thou in the holy temple of Thy glory: and worthy to be praised and glorified
for ever.
Blessed art
Thou on the holy throne of Thy kingdom: and worthy to be praised and glorified
for ever.
Blessed art
Thou upon the sceptre of Thy divinity: and worthy to be praised and glorified
for ever.
Blessed art
Thou that sittest upon the Cherubims, beholding the depths: and worthy to be
praised and glorified for ever.
Blessed art
Thou that walkest upon the wings of the wind, and on the waves of the sea: and
worthy to be praised and glorified for ever.
Let all Thy
Angels and Saints bless Thee: and praise Thee and glorify Thee for ever.
Let the
heavens, the earth, the sea, and all the things that are in them, bless Thee:
and praise Thee and glorify Thee for ever.
Glory be to
the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, who is worthy to be praised
and glorified for ever.
As it was in
the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. And worthy
to be praised and glorified for ever.
Blessed art
Thou, O Lord, the God of our fathers: and worthy to be praised and glorified
for ever.
COLLECT
O God, who
didst deaden the flames of fire for the three children: mercifully grant that
the flame of vice may not consume us Thy servants. Through the same Jesus
Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy
Ghost, God, world without end.
EPISTLE ¤
II Thess. 2. 1-8
Lesson from
the second Epistle of blessed Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians.
[Let us
prepare for the near approach of our Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, and for the
coming of our Judge.]
Brethren,
We beseech you by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of our gathering
together unto Him: that you be not easily moved from your sense, nor be
terrified, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by epistle as sent from us, as
if the day of the Lord were at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for
unless there come a revolt first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of
perdition who opposeth and is lifted up above all that is called God or that is
worshipped, so that he sitteth in the temple of God showing himself as if he
were God. Remember you not that, when I was yet with you, I told you these
things? And now you know what withholdeth, that he may be revealed in his time.
For the mystery of iniquity already worketh: only that he who now holdeth do
hold, until he be taken out of the way. And then that wicked one shall be
revealed, whom the Lord Jesus shall kill with the spirit of His mouth, and
shall destroy with the brightness of His coming.
TRACT ¤ Ps.
79. 2, 3
Give ear, O
Thou that rulest Israel: Thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep. V.: Thou that
sittest upon the Cherubims, shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasses.
V.: Stir up Thy might, O Lord, and come and save us.
GOSPEL ¤
Luke 3. 1-6
†
Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St. Luke.
Now in the
fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor
of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and Philip his brother tetrarch
of Iturea and the country of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilina,
under the high priests Annas and Caiphas: the word of the Lord was made unto
John, the son of Zachary, in the desert. And he came into all the country about
the Jordan, preaching the baptism of penance for the remission of sins, as it
was written in the book of the sayings of Isaias the prophet: A voice of one
crying in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord: make straight His
paths: every valley shall be filled; and every mountain and hill shall be brought
low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways plain: and all
flesh shall see the salvation of God.
OFFERTORY ¤
Zacharias 9. 9
Rejoice
greatly, O daughter of Sion, shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold thy
King will come to thee, the holy and Savior.
SECRET
O Lord, we
beseech Thee, look down favorably upon these present Sacrifices: that they may
profit us both unto devotion and salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy
Son, who liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without
end.
PREFACE
The Common
Preface
It is truly
meet and just, right and for our salvation, that we should at all times, and in
all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting
God, through Christ our Lord. Through whom the Angels praise Thy Majesty, the
Dominations worship it, the Powers stand in awe. The heavens and the heavenly
hosts together with the blessed Seraphim in triumphant chorus unite to
celebrate it. Together with them, we entreat Thee, that Thou mayest bid our
voices also to be admitted, while we say in lowly praise: Sanctus, Sanctus,
Sanctus…
COMMUNION ¤
Ps. 18. 6, 7
He hath
rejoiced as a giant to run the way: His going out is from the end of heaven,
and His circuit even to the end thereof.
POSTCOMMUNION
We beseech
Thee, O Lord, our God, that the most holy Mysteries, which Thou hast given us
for a safeguard of our renewal, may become our remedy both now and for time to
come. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee
in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
