✠ Invitatory
℣. Lord, open my lips.
℟. And my mouth shall declare thy praise.
Antiphon: Come, let us adore Christ the Lord, who for our sake was tempted and suffered.
🎶 Hymn
The dawn is sprinkling in the east,
Its golden shower, as day flows in;
Fast mount the pointed shafts of light:
Farewell to darkness and to sin.
Away, ye guilty phantoms, fly!
Flee from the coming of the morn;
And from the light of Christ arise,
Our souls with grace and truth adorn.
📖 Psalmody
Psalm 62 — A thirst for God
Antiphon: O God, thou art my God; for thee I long.
O God, my God, to thee do I watch at break of day.
For thee my soul hath thirsted; for thee my flesh,
O how many ways!
In a desert land, and where there is no way, and no water:
So in the sanctuary have I come before thee,
To see thy power and thy glory.
For thy mercy is better than lives:
Thee my lips shall praise.
Thus will I bless thee all my life long:
And in thy name I will lift up my hands.
Let my soul be filled as with marrow and fatness:
And my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips.
If I have remembered thee upon my bed,
I will meditate on thee in the morning:
Because thou hast been my helper.
And I will rejoice under the covert of thy wings:
My soul hath stuck close to thee:
Thy right hand hath received me.
Canticle — Daniel 3:57–88, 56
Antiphon: Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord.
O all ye works of the Lord, bless the Lord:
Praise and exalt him above all forever.
O ye angels of the Lord, bless the Lord:
O ye heavens, bless the Lord.
O all ye waters that are above the heavens, bless the Lord:
O all ye powers of the Lord, bless the Lord.
O ye sun and moon, bless the Lord:
O ye stars of heaven, bless the Lord.
O every shower and dew, bless the Lord:
O all ye spirits of God, bless the Lord.
O ye fire and heat, bless the Lord:
O ye cold and heat, bless the Lord.
Let the earth bless the Lord:
Let it praise and exalt him above all forever.
Psalm 149 — The joy of God’s holy people
Antiphon: Sing to the Lord a new song; his praise in the assembly of the saints.
Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle:
Let his praise be in the church of the saints.
Let Israel rejoice in him that made him:
And let the children of Sion be joyful in their king.
Let them praise his name in choir:
Let them sing to him with timbrel and psaltery.
For the Lord is well pleased with his people:
And he will exalt the meek unto salvation.
The saints shall rejoice in glory:
They shall be joyful in their beds.
The high praises of God shall be in their mouth:
And two-edged swords in their hands.
📖 Short Reading — Joel 2:12–13
Now therefore saith the Lord:
Be converted to me with all your heart,
In fasting, and in weeping, and in mourning.
And rend your hearts, and not your garments,
And turn to the Lord your God:
For he is gracious and merciful,
Patient and rich in mercy.
🎵 Benedictus — Canticle of Zachary
Antiphon: Man doth not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God.
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel;
Because he hath visited and wrought the redemption of his people:
And hath raised up an horn of salvation to us,
In the house of David his servant…
(full traditional Benedictus continues)
🙏 Intercessions
Let us bless our Savior, who by his rising has enlightened the world:
℟. Lord, guide us in thy light.
— That we may begin this day in repentance and humility,
℟. Lord, guide us in thy light.
— That we may hunger more for thy word than for earthly bread,
℟. Lord, guide us in thy light.
— That our work today may be ordered toward thy glory,
℟. Lord, guide us in thy light.
— That we may see Christ in those we meet,
℟. Lord, guide us in thy light.
✠ Concluding Prayer
Grant, we beseech thee, Almighty God,
That we who are chastened by fasting and prayer
May be strengthened by thy grace;
And that we who seek thee with contrite hearts
May rejoice in thy mercy.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
✨ Paradox of the Day
“We fast from bread not because bread is unimportant—but because it is too important to be taken for granted.”
📜 G.K. Chesterton Quote
“You cannot love a thing without wanting to fight for it.”
— G.K. Chesterton
🕯️ Reflection (Chestertonian)
There is something gloriously unreasonable about fasting. It is the only act in which a man proves that he is not governed by his stomach, and therefore not governed by the world.
The modern man eats constantly and yet is never satisfied. The ancient saint ate sparingly and was always feasting. This is not because the saint despised bread, but because he understood it. He knew that bread is not merely a thing—it is a sign. It is a whisper of heaven, a crumb of creation, a sacrament of dependence.
To fast, then, is not to reject the world, but to recover it.
When a man refuses bread for a time, he discovers that he cannot refuse God at all. Hunger becomes a kind of honesty. It reveals what we are—creatures in need, souls in search, beggars at the door of a generous King.
And here is the great reversal: the man who denies himself bread becomes more capable of receiving it. He tastes it as if for the first time. He sees it not as a right, but as a gift.
Thus Lent is not a season of subtraction, but of restoration. We strip away the unnecessary so that the necessary may shine. We go without so that we may truly receive.
For in the end, man does not live by bread alone—but when he finally understands bread, he begins at last to live.
— Chesterton Radio
Broadcasting from the Heart of America 🇺🇸
Listen live:
http://Listen.ChestertonRadio.com