It is truly good and right
that we should give thanks to you, Lord God,
through Jesus Christ your Son,
who, being God eternal,
was pleased to become fully human for our salvation.
O single, unequaled Mystery of our Savior!
For he, being one and the same,
God most high, and perfect Man,
both supreme High Priest and most sacred Sacrifice,
according to his divine power created all things,
and according to his human condition delivered man.
By virtue of his Sacrifice he atoned for those stained by sin,
in right of his priesthood he reconciled those alienated from God.
O single, unequaled Mystery of redemption
by which those ancient wounds
were healed by the Lord’s new medicine,
and the judgment passed before on the first man
was lifted by the gifts of our Savior.
In self-indulgence Adam reached his hands to the tree.
In loving patience Christ fixed his hands to the cross.
Therefore the punishment borne by innocence
became the freedom of the debtor,
for debts are remitted to debtors
paid by him who owed nothing.
We thank you, O God and Father of Jesus our Savior,
for your holy name,
which you have made to dwell among us;
and that knowledge
of faith, love, and immortality which you have given us
through your Son Jesus.
O Almighty Lord,
God of the universe,
by your Son
you have created the world,
and all that is in it.
You have planted your law in our souls,
and prepared things to provide for our needs.
O God of our holy and blameless fathers,
Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob,
your faithful servants,
God powerful, faithful and true,
you are faithful to all your promises.
You sent Jesus your Christ to live with men on earth as a man,
when he was God the Word,
and man to take away error by the roots.
For his sake, remember this, your holy Church,
which you have purchased with the precious blood of your Christ,
and deliver it from all evil,
and perfect it in your love and your truth,
and gather us all together into your kingdom which you have prepared.
Let this your kingdom come. Amen.
We thank you, our Father,
for that life which you have made known to us by Jesus your Son,
by whom you made all things,
and take care of the whole world.
You sent him to become man for our salvation.
You allowed him to suffer and to die.
You raised him up,
glorified him,
and have set him at your right hand,
and in him you have promised us the resurrection of the dead.
O Lord Almighty, eternal God,
gather together your Church from the ends of the earth into your kingdom,
as grain was once scattered,
and now has become one loaf.
Our Father,
we also thank you for the precious blood of Jesus Christ,
which was shed for us,
and for his precious body,
as himself appointed us,
“to proclaim his death.”
For through him glory is to be given to you forever. Amen.
Blessed are all your saints, my God and King,
who have travelled over the tempestuous sea of mortality,
and have at last made the desired port of peace and happiness.
Be gracious to us who are still in our dangerous voyage.
Remember and help us in our distress,
and remember those who are exposed
to the rough storms of troubles and temptations.
Strengthen our weakness,
that we may fight valiantly in this spiritual war.
Help us fight against our own negligence and cowardice,
and defend us from the treachery of our unfaithful hearts.
We are very frail,
and unable to carry out any virtuous and gallant undertaking.
Grant, O Lord, that we may bring our vessel safe to shore,
to our desired haven. Amen.
O God, our true Life,
in whom and by whom all things live,
you command us to seek you,
and you are ready to be found.
You command us to knock,
and open when we do so.
To know you is life,
to serve you is freedom,
to enjoy you is a kingdom,
to praise you is the joy and happiness of the soul.
I praise, bless, and adore you,
I worship you, I glorify you, I give thanks to you for your great glory.
I humbly ask you to remain with me,
to reign in me,
to make my heart your holy temple,
a fit habitation for your Divine majesty.
Maker and Preserver of all things, visible and invisible,
preserve the work of your own hands,
your people who trust in your mercy alone for safety and protection.
Guard me with the power of your grace,
here and in all places,
now and at all times, forevermore. Amen.
Most merciful God,
descend into my soul,
which you prepared for your reception
by the desire you breathed into it.
Before ever I cried to you,
you, most Merciful,
you called and sought me,
that I might find you,
and finding you, love you.
Even so I sought and found you, Lord,
and desire to love you.
Increase my desire,
and grant me what I ask.
See, I love you, but too little.
Strengthen my love.
When my spirit aspires to you,
and meditates on your unspeakable goodness,
the burden of the flesh becomes less heavy,
the tumult of thought is stilled,
the weight of mortality is less oppressive.
Then my soul would find wings,
and my spirit rise in tireless flight
upwards to your glorious throne,
and there be filled with the refreshing solace
that belongs to the citizens of heaven. Amen.
This version of the Palm Sunday Procession with Palms combines elements from several sources. The response: “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!” is taken from the Palm Sunday Gospel, and is found in the most ancient Palm Sunday liturgies.
The service begins in the back of the church.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dear friends in Christ, during Lent we have been preparing for the celebration of Christ’s death and resurrection. Today we come together to begin this solemn celebration with the church throughout the world. Christ entered Jerusalem this day in triumph, a triumph that led through suffering and death to resurrection and new life. In faith and love may we follow our Messiah, this humble ruler, who comes riding on a donkey.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!
Let us pray.
O God, to love and cherish you is true righteousness. Increase in our hearts the gifts of your grace. Just as you have given us hope for the things we believe through the death of your only Son, by his resurrection lead us to follow him where he has gone; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
A thanksgiving over the palms may be said here:
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give him thanks and praise.
We give you thanks, almighty and eternal God, for sending your only Son in the fullness of time to redeem the world with his obedient life and innocent death. When he entered Jerusalem he was hailed as king by those who spread their garments and palm branches on his path. We carry these branches as signs of the victory he accomplished. Let his victory remain with us, even as we take up our crosses and follow him, that we may die and rise with him, and finally enter his kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
If Palm Sunday is observed as Passion Sunday, the Palm Sunday Gospel is read here.
The Holy Gospel according to St. _____, the _____ chapter.
O holy and unspeakable,
wonderful and mighty God,
your power and wisdom have no end.
Before you all powers tremble,
at your glance the heavens and the earth flee away.
You are Love,
you are my Father,
and I will love and worship you forever and ever!
You have shown pity on me,
and a ray from your light has shone on mine inward eye.
Guide me into the perfect light,
that it may illumine me wholly,
and that all darkness may flee away.
Let the holy flame of your love
burn in my heart that it be made pure,
and I may see you, O God.
It is the pure in heart who see you.
You have set me free.
You have drawn me to you.
Therefore forsake me not,
but keep me always in your grace.
Guide me, rule me, and perfect me for your kingdom. Amen.
Grant me, even me, my dearest Lord,
to know you, and love you, and rejoice in you.
And, if I cannot do these perfectly in this life,
let me at least advance to higher degrees every day,
until I can come to do them in perfection.
Let the knowledge of you increase in me here,
that it may be full hereafter.
Let the love of you grow every day more and more here,
that it may be perfect hereafter;
that my joy may be full in you.
I know, O God, that you are a God of truth,
O make good your gracious promises to me,
that my joy may be full;
to your honor and glory,
with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
Come, O Lord,
with much mercy down into my soul,
and take possession and dwell there.
A lowly dwelling, I confess,
for so glorious a Majesty,
but you yourself are preparing it to receive you
by the holy and fervent desires you inspire.
Enter then, and adorn,
and make it what you would inhabit,
since it is the work of your hands.
Give me your own self,
for without you,
even though you should give me all that you have ever made,
my desires could not be satisfied.
Let my soul always seek you,
and let me persist in seeking,
until I have found you,
and am in full possession of you. Amen.
It is truly good and right
A Collection of Prayers 