Sarum Missal and Processional: Ash Wednesday (the Use of Salisbury, as printed c. 1500)

The Seven Psalms and Preces

Ash Wednesday.

After sext, first shall the sermon, if there be one, be addressed to the people. Then shall the clerks prostrate themselves in the quire, and say the seven penitential Psalms [Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143], with Glory be to the Father etc., and As it was etc., and with the Anthem Remember not etc. The superior priest, having put on his priestly vestments, being in a red silk cope, with the deacon on his right hand, and the subdeacon on his left, and with the rest of the ministers of the altar vested in albs and amices, in prostration before the altar, shall say by themselves the seven penitential Psalms with the anthem Remember not etc.

Anthem. Remember not, Lord, our offences, nor the offences of our forefathers, neither take thou vengeance of our sins.

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Our Father, etc.

All the above are said, without chanting, both by the priests and by the whole quire, a boy meanwhile holding a sackcloth banner near the left side of the altar. Then the priest shall rise, with the deacon and subdeacon, and turning himself to the east, and standing in front of the right side of the altar, shall say over the people as follows, alone:

And lead us not into temptation.

The quire shall answer: But deliver us from evil.

O my God, save thy servants and thy handmaids: that put their trust in thee.

Send them, O Lord, help from thy holy place: and defend them out of Sion.

Turn thee again, O Lord, at the last: and be gracious unto thy servants.

Help us, O God of our salvation: and for the glory of thy name deliver us, O Lord, and be merciful unto our sins for thy name's sake.

Lord, hear my prayer. And let my crying come unto thee.

The Lord be with you. And with thy spirit.

The Collects and Absolution

Let us pray.

O Lord, we beseech thee, hear our prayers, and spare all those who confess their sins unto thee, that they whose consciences by sin are accused by thy merciful pardon may be absolved. Through etc. ℟. Amen.

All these Collects are said with Let us pray and are to be concluded after the manner of a Lesson. The Lord be with you is said before the first Collect only.

Collect. Inspire, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy servants with thy saving grace, that their hearts being melted by plenteousness of tears may be so softened and subdued that the working of thy anger may be turned away by a fitting satisfaction. Through etc.

Collect. Grant, we beseech thee, O Lord our God, unto these thy servants that by repentance they may continually work out the conditions of their purification; and that to enable them more effectually to fulfil the same the grace of thy visitation may prevent and follow them. Through etc.

Collect. Let thy merciful kindness, O Lord, we beseech thee, prevent these thy servants, that all their iniquities may be blotted out by thy speedy forgiveness. Through etc.

Collect. Be favourable, O Lord, to our supplications, and let not the pitifulness of thy mercy be far from thy servants; heal their wounds, and forgive their sins, that being separated from thee by no iniquities, they may ever hold fast to thee their Lord. Through etc.

Collect. O Lord our God, who art not overcome by our transgression, but dost graciously accept satisfaction, look, we beseech thee, upon thy servants who confess that they have grievously sinned against thee; to thee it appertaineth to give absolution from offences, and to grant pardon to sinners; thou hast said that thou wouldest rather the repentance than the death of sinners; grant, therefore, O Lord, to these thy servants, that they may keep unto thee the vigil of penitence, and amending their ways may rejoice that everlasting joys have been conferred on them by thee. Through etc.

Collect. O God, whose pardon every man needeth, remember thy servants and thy handmaidens; and because through the uncertain frailty of their mortal bodies, they are despoiled of virtue, and in many things have done amiss, we beseech thee that thou wouldest give pardon to them as they confess their sins, and spare thy suppliants, that they who are accused by their own deserts may be saved by thy pity. Through etc.

At this point neither The Lord be with you nor Let us pray are said; but the priest shall turn to the people, and extending his hand shall say over them, without chanting, but audibly, as follows:

We absolve you in the place of blessed Peter, prince of the Apostles, to whom there hath been granted by the Lord the power of binding and loosing; and so far as self-accusation appertaineth to you and remission to us, may almighty God be unto you life and salvation, and the gracious pardoner of all your sins. Who liveth etc.

The Blessing and Giving of the Ashes

Here shall all rise from prostration, kissing the earth or the stalls, while the priest is saying Who liveth etc. Then shall take place the blessing of ashes, without either The Lord be with you or Let us pray, the priest turning to the east.

Collect. Almighty and everlasting God, who hath compassion upon all men, and hateth nothing that thou hast made, passing over the sins of men because of their repentance; who also succourest them that labour in necessity, vouchsafe to bless and sanctify these ashes, which thou hast ordered that, after the manner of the Ninevites, we should bear upon our heads, for the sake of humility, and of our holy religion, and for the cleansing away of our offences; and grant that by calling on thy holy name, all those who have thus borne ashes on their heads may be thought worthy to receive from thee pardon of all their sins, and so to-day commence the observation of their holy fasts, that on the day of Resurrection they may be found worthy to approach the holy Paschal feast with minds purified, and hereafter to share in glory everlasting. Through etc.

Here holy water shall be sprinkled over the ashes. Then is said The Lord be with you and Let us pray.

Collect. O God, who desirest not the death but the repentance of sinners, most graciously look upon the frailty of our human condition, and vouchsafe for thy lovingkindness to bless ✠ and sanctify ✠ these ashes which as a token of humility and for the obtaining of pardon, we have determined to have placed upon our heads; that we whom thou hast warned that we are but ashes, and who know that we shall return to the dust as the recompense of our depravity, may be mercifully found worthy to receive the pardon of all our sins and the rewards which have been promised anew to them that repent. Through etc.

Afterwards the ashes shall be distributed on the heads of the clergy and laity by the higher dignitaries, making the sign of the cross with the ashes, and saying thus:

Remember, O man, that thou art ashes, and unto ashes shalt thou return. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

In the meanwhile the following anthems shall be sung:

Hear us, O Lord, for thy lovingkindness is comfortable: according to the multitude of thy mercies look thou upon us, O Lord. Ps. Save me, O God; for the waters are come in, even unto my soul.

Only the first verse of the Psalm is said; then shall follow immediately Glory be to the Father etc., after which the anthem Hear us, O Lord etc., shall be repeated.

Another anthem. Let the priests and Levites, ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, saying, Spare thy people, O Lord, spare them, and turn not away the faces of them that call upon thee, O Lord.

Another anthem. Let us change our garments for sackcloth and ashes; let us fast and weep before the Lord, for our God is very merciful to put away our sins.

When this office is ended, the priest, standing at the step of the quire, shall say: The Lord be with you. And with thy spirit. Let us pray.

Collect. O God, who art justly angry, and dost mercifully pardon, accept the tears of thy afflicted people and graciously turn away thy wrathful indignation, which they righteously deserve. Through etc.

Another collect. Let us pray. Grant unto us, we beseech thee, O Lord, so to commence and protect our Christian warfare by holy fasts, that we who are about to fight against spiritual wickedness may be fortified by the aid of continence. Through etc.

The Casting Out of the Penitents (from the Processional)

[From the Sarum Processional; translated by AnglicanGuide.] When these are finished, let the procession go through the midst of the choir, without the cross, with the taperers and the thurifer, to the west door, the more exalted going first, and a banner of sackcloth going before. Then let the executor of the office cast out the penitents one by one by the hand, through the ministry of some priest of the choir, who delivers them to him by their right hands. And let the penitents go out kissing the hand of the executor. But if the bishop be present, let the archdeacon assist him in the said manner. And meanwhile let these two responsories be sung, with their verses, without Glory be, the chanter beginning:

The station on Ash Wednesday, while the bishop casteth out the penitents.

Responsory. Behold, Adam is become as one of us, to know good and evil: see lest he take also of the tree of life, and live for ever. ℣. The cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. See lest.

Responsory. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread, said the Lord to Adam. When thou hast tilled the earth, it shall not yield her fruits, but thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee. ℣. Because thou hast obeyed the voice of thy wife rather than me, cursed is the ground in thy work. It shall not yield.

When the penitents are cast out let the door of the church be shut, and let the procession return in the accustomed manner, the chanter beginning thus:

Responsory. Let us amend for the better in those things wherein we have sinned through ignorance; lest, suddenly overtaken by the day of death, we seek space for repentance and be not able to find it. Attend, O Lord, and have mercy, for we have sinned against thee. ℣. We have sinned with our fathers, we have done amiss, we have dealt wickedly. Attend. Without Glory be. Let neither versicle nor prayer be said, but straightway let the Mass be begun by the chanter.

The Office of the Mass

[Warren's translation resumes:] After the penitents have been ejected, in the way shewn by the office in the processionals, Mass shall be begun in the following manner.

Office. Thou hast mercy upon all, O Lord, and hatest nothing that thou hast made; and winkest at the sins of men, because they should amend. But thou sparest all, because thou art the Lord our God.