If you wish to use this service order, you can copy and paste it into the publishing application of your choice. This service order is reproduced from the Warren translation (1911) of the Sarum Missal.
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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, 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.
Pss. vi., xxxii., xxxviii., li., cii., cxxx., cxliii (as in the Prayer Book Commination Service).
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.
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. R. 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.
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.
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.
Ps. Be merciful unto me, O Lord, be merciful unto me, for my soul trusteth in thee.
The office is not to be repeated, but Glory be to the Father is to follow immediately. When Kyrie eleyson is finished, the Priest shall say The Lord be with you and Let us pray. Afterwards the deacon shall say Let us kneel, whereupon all shall kneel. Then shall the deacon say Rise, and all shall rise, and kiss the stalls.
Collect.
Grant, we beseech thee, O Lord, unto thy faithful people, that they may both enter upon the holy solemnities of the fast with befitting piety, and pass through them with undisturbed devotion. Through etc.
From this day till Maundy Thursday, at all masses of the fast, there shall be a memory for penitents, with this Collect O Lord, we beseech thee, hear the prayers etc. On this day and on the three days following, five Collects are said, as has been laid down in the directions for the first Sunday in Advent.
The Lesson. Joel ii. 12-19.
Thus saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God? Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? Then will the Lord be jealous for his land, and pity his people. Yea, the Lord will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen, saith the Lord Almighty.
Gradual.
Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me, for my soul trusteth in thee.
V. He shall send from heaven ; and save me from the reproof of him that would eat me up.
The quire shall then say the Tract alternately.
O Lord, deal not with us, after the sins which we have committed, nor reward us according to our iniquities.
V. O Lord, remember not our old sins, but have mercy upon us, and that soon, for we are come to great misery.
Here shall no genuflexion be made, while there is said:
V. Help us, O God of our salvation for the glory of thy name : O deliver us, and be merciful unto our sins for thy name's sake.
This Tract is said on every Monday and Friday at the mass of 'the fast, up to Maundy Thursday.
The Gospel. Matt. vi. 16-21.
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples, When ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Offertory.
I will magnify thee, O Lord, for thou hast set me up : and not made my foes to triumph over me. O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.
V. Thou, Lord, hast brought my soul out of hell; thou hast kept my soul from them that go down into the pit.
Secret.
Make us, we beseech thee, O Lord, to be duly fitted to present these offerings, by which we celebrate the beginning of this venerable fast. Through etc.
Preface. Who by the fasting of the body etc.
This Preface is said at every mass of the fast up to Maundy Thursday; also Let us kneel, Rise, and Bow down your heads before God.
Communion.
In the law of the Lord will he exercise himself day and night: he will bring forth his fruit in due season.
Postcommunion.
May the sacrament which we have received, O Lord, be our support, that our fast may both be acceptable to thee, and also avail to our healing. Through etc.
When the Postcommunions, with the exception of that said over the people, are finished, the priest shall say :
Let us pray.
Then shall the deacon say:
Bow down your heads before God.
Collect over the people.
Look mercifully, O Lord, upon those who bow themselves down before thy majesty, that they who have been refreshed with the divine gift, may ever be nourished by help from heaven. Through etc.
And thus shall the mass be concluded with
Let us bless the Lord.
Related posts:
I was just musing as I prepare for Ash Wednesday is the Commination Service a part of Patrimony? It appears in the Scottish 1637 as well as other more catholic prayer books.
Good question. I suppose it is, but the Sarum would seem to be much more gentle and clement in tone rather than hash and damning like in the Prayer Book Commination Service. At least, that is my impression.
Of course, the BCP has no outline for the actual blessing or imposition of ashes…
There is the beautiful "Turn thou us, O good Lord, and so shall we be turned" text at the end of the Penitential Office which if one is familiar with the (spurious though in the style of) Henry Purcell setting of it the moment can be quite awesome. Not to mention the traditional Quinquagesima Collect, seemingly cast out of the BCP makes a cameo. Cranmer was a clever devil, wasn't he?
However, I am inspired by your post to use the Sarum ritual. Thank you, Father.
Just copied and pasted to 'Pages' on my IMAC. Came out great. Thanks for this.
Wanted to add, love the image showing how the Imposition of Ashes should be done. The way Pope Benedict XVI does it. Never understood the smudge (which is how it mostly turns out!) cross on the forehead.
I have always done it this way, on the crown of the head. It goes well with the Gospel – "ashed" people not looking any different from "non-ashed" people, so that our penance is in the secret of our "room with the door closed". Clerics have always been "ashed" on the tonsure, that little half-crown* sized shaved circle on the crown of the head.
The restoration of the Tonsure, the Minor Orders and the Subdiaconate in the Anglican tradition would be a worthy subject of a study. But that's for later….
* for non-English readers, one of the largest coins we had in England until 1971, worth two shillings and sixpence.
Do you have a woman remove her head covering (I guess that you would make a mortal enemy smearing ashes on her veil) or do you administer the ashes to a woman's brow? Do you have folk stand or kneel?
The Sarum Missal gives no instruction for the priest (sine another cleric to do it) to administer the ashes upon himself; should this be done silently in the midst of the altar?
Obviously, one wouldn't put ashes on a lady's head covering, and in this case, one would ash the forehead – above the hair line.
But I have to admit that all the ladies who ever come to my Mass are bare-headed. That's the way it is these days. Then I ash on the crown of the head as for men.
Ladies…are bare-headed.
Does this mean that they are only half-ashed?
Have you no angels in Normandy? Lots of angels here in the USA and the ladies I know appreciate it.
…Blessed Quadragesimae.
I seem to recall that the old – pre-seventeenth century – Roman rubrics also required sprinkling on the head, not the sooty cross on the forehead.
Interesting – I have a Dominican handmissal before me, and (apart from the shortening of the prayers for the reconciliation of penitents to but one, and the omission of the second prayer for blessing the ashes) the whole service is almost identical. I've only seen a Premonstratensian missal once, but I recall it was if anything even closer as regards the long series of collects for the penitents.
Of course, this is to be expected – the Sarum and other English rites are closely related to these and others.
Indeed they are almost the same, because both Sarum and the Dominican Rite are essentially French. There are big differences between the French tradition of the Sunday lectionary and the Roman rite. This will be apparent to those who use the English Missal – the Sundays after Trinity are one week out of sync.
Sarum is almost identical to the old Use of Rouen – and I live in the territory of that venerable Archdiocese. St Roman, celebrated on October 23rd in the Sarum Use, was Bishop of Rouen.
As my Norman wife often says to me, the Norman Conquest of 1066 brought civilisation to England – and the Use of Sarum was no exception!