Canterbury Benedictional: the Order for those doing Public Penance and the Blessing of the Ashes (English) (an 11th-century Canterbury benedictional (British Library, Harley MS 2892))

The Order for those doing Public Penance

Wednesday at the Beginning of the Fast. The station at St Anastasia. The order for those doing public penance. First let them sing:

Antiphon. Let us amend for the better.

Afterwards let them make confession. Then:

Psalm. O Lord, rebuke me not in thine indignation [Psalm 6]. Twice.

Afterwards let him say:

Collect. Hear, we beseech thee, O Lord, the prayers of thy suppliants, and spare the sins of them that confess unto thee; that those whom the guilt of conscience accuseth, the pardon of thy mercy may absolve. Through our Lord.

Then let the priest bid the penitent rise with him, and on bended knees let him sing the psalm:

Psalm. Have mercy upon me, O God [Psalm 51], as far as "Then shall I teach thy ways unto the wicked".

Prayer. May the inspiration of saving grace be present, we beseech thee, O Lord, to this thy servant N., which may melt his heart with abundance of tears, and so subdue it by mortifying, that it may by fitting satisfaction appease the motions of thine anger. Through our Lord.

Psalm. Save me, O God, for thy name's sake [Psalm 54], to the end.

Prayer. Let thy mercy, we beseech thee, O Lord, go before this thy servant N., that all his iniquities may be blotted out by speedy pardon. Through our Lord.

Psalm. Bow down thine ear, O Lord, unto me [Psalm 86].

Prayer. Be present, O Lord, to our supplications, and let not the compassion of thy clemency be far from this thy servant: heal his wounds and forgive his sins, that, separated from thee by no iniquities, he may ever cleave to thee his Lord. Through our Lord.

Afterwards let him say:

Psalm. Praise the Lord, O my soul [Psalm 103], as far as "young and lusty as an eagle".

Prayer. O Lord our God, who art not overcome by our offence, but art appeased by satisfaction, look, we beseech thee, O Lord, upon this thy servant, who confesseth that he hath grievously sinned against thee. For thine it is to give the washing away of crimes and to grant pardon to sinners, who hast said that thou wouldest rather the repentance of sinners than their death. Grant therefore, O Lord, to him that he may keep unto thee the watches of penance, and, his deeds being amended, may rejoice to obtain from thee everlasting joys. Through our Lord.

Afterwards let him say:

Psalm. Hear my prayer, O Lord [Psalm 102], to the end.

Then let these preces be said thus:

Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am weak. And my soul is sore troubled.

Turn thee, O Lord, and deliver my soul.

O Lord, see my humility and my labour.

Shew the light of thy countenance upon thy servant.

Save thy servant.

Send him help, O Lord, from the sanctuary.

Lord, hear my prayer.

Prayer. Grant, we beseech thee, O Lord, to this thy servant to carry on by repentance the continual observance of his cleansing; and that he may be able effectually to fulfil it, may the grace of thy visitation go before him and follow him. Through [our Lord].

Another. O God, whose pardon every man needeth, remember thy servant; and since, deceived by the slippery and earthly frailty of the body, he hath offended in many things, we beseech thee that thou give pardon to him confessing, spare him suppliant; that we who are accused by our own deserts may be saved by thy compassion. Through our Lord.

When the intercessions of the foregoing prayers have been recited over the penitent, the same penitent is to be most devoutly commended by the priest to the clemency of Almighty God, this last prayer being said over him:

I entreat, O Lord, the majesty of thy clemency and mercy, that thou wouldest vouchsafe to grant pardon to this thy servant N., confessing his sins and crimes, and forgive the guilt of his past offences; thou who didst bring back upon thy shoulders the sheep that was lost. Be thou appeased also, O Lord, towards this thy servant; be thou graciously present to his prayers; that his weeping may continue in acceptable confession, and his petition may speedily entreat thy perpetual clemency; that, restored to thy holy altars and sacred mysteries, he may again be made over to the hope of eternal life and of thy heavenly glory. Through [our Lord].

[Throughout these prayers the manuscript writes plural forms above the line ("us thy servants", "we confess"), so that they could also be said over the whole people.]

The Blessing of the Ashes

The blessing of the ashes.

O God, who art moved by humiliation and appeased by satisfaction, incline the ear of thy goodness to our prayers, and upon the heads of thy servants, touched with the sprinkling of these ashes, graciously pour out the grace of thy blessing; that thou mayest both fill them with the spirit of compunction, and effectually grant what they have justly asked, and ordain that what is granted remain for ever unbroken. Through [our Lord].

Another.

O God, who desirest not the death but the repentance of sinners, most graciously look upon the frailty of our human condition, and vouchsafe of thy goodness to bless these ashes, which, as a token of humility and to obtain pardon, we have ordained to be laid upon our heads; that, as thou hast willed that we should be ashes, and for the desert of our wickedness hast made us to return to dust, thou mayest mercifully grant to us that ask the pardon of our sins and the rewards promised to us. Through [our Lord].

Again another.

O God, maker and ruler of all things eternal, who didst will that man should be formed out of nothing after thine image: give thy heavenly and bountiful blessing upon these ashes, which, to despise the covetousness of this world, we lay this day upon our heads in the devotion of holy humility; that all who shall bear them may be found worthy to receive compunction of heart and holiness of soul; so that in these forty days, abstaining from vices and confessing our crimes, we may be found worthy to stand with pure and spotless minds before the sight of thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ when he riseth again. Through [our Lord].

Another.

With most devout prayers, almighty God, we implore the help of thine infinite goodness, that thou wouldest vouchsafe to incline the ears of thy mercy to the ministry of our office, and that the presence of the Holy Spirit may graciously be with us who ask; that by thy sanctification thou mayest bless and sanctify these ashes, that they may be a healthful remedy to us who receive them for the conscience of our guilt, and confess our crimes in the sight of thy divine majesty. To thee alone, the living and true God, the secrets of our heart are opened, and there is no mind of man that is not laid bare to thy knowledge; who didst once take the substance of our body from this element, and didst mercifully quicken it with the breath of thy divinity; and because thou, O Lord, at the transgression of the first-formed man, when thou didst banish us from the flowery pleasantness of paradise into this vale of weeping, didst declare that we are earth and shall return to earth, we humbly sprinkle ashes upon our heads, imploring the grace of thy mercy; that through the sighs of our lamenting we may mercifully come to the country of bliss whence we miserably fell. Through [our Lord].

The Imposition of Ashes

A humble admonition to each one when he is sprinkled with ashes:

Remember, O man, that thou art ashes and dust, and that unto dust thou shalt return.

Then let him begin the antiphon: Hear us, O Lord, for thy loving-kindness is gracious. Psalm: Save me, O God.

Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison. Our Father.

Psalm. God be merciful unto us [Psalm 67].

Prayer. Be mindful, we beseech thee, O Lord, of human frailty; and thou who justly scourgest sinners, at the intercession of the most blessed and glorious ever-virgin Mary and of all thy saints, graciously spare us afflicted sinners; that we who are justly afflicted for our deserts may, redeemed by thy holy compassion, be saved here and for ever. Through [our Lord].

Again another. Grant us, we beseech thee, O Lord, to begin with holy fasts the defences of the Christian warfare; that, as we go to fight against spiritual wickedness, we may be fortified by the aids of self-denial. Through [our Lord].

The Bishop's Blessing at Mass

The blessing on Wednesday at the Beginning of the Fast.

Look, O good shepherd, upon this gathering of thy people, and grant that they who abstain from earthly food may be fed with spiritual nourishment. Amen.

And whom thou grantest to be refreshed with divine sacraments, graciously absolve from all sins. Amen.

Grant them so to order their life in the days of fasting, that their wills be not found unlike thy will, but that they may be ever obedient in all thy commandments. Amen.

So also, by the office of our ministry, sanctify them with thy blessing, that their fasts may be ever acceptable in the eyes of thy goodness; and of thy goodness bid them be presented, pure in heart and body, at the longed-for day of thy holy resurrection. Amen.

Which may he vouchsafe to grant.