Ash Wednesday - February 17

Scriptures and Hymns • February 17

The First Day of Lent, anciently called Ash-Wednesday

The Collect

Be with us, O Lord, in all our doings and further us with thy continual help, that in all our works, begun, continued and ended in thee, we may glorify thy holy name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle

The portion of scripture appointed for the epistle is taken from the third chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, beginning at the nineteenth verse.

REPENT ye therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. And he shall send Jesus Christ, who before was preached unto you; whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said unto the fathers: A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. Yea and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. Ye are the children of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham: And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first, God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.

The Gospel

The holy gospel is taken from the third chapter of the Gospel according to St John, beginning at the third verse.

Jesus said unto Nicodemus: Amen, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him: How can a man be born when he is old? And Jesus answered: Amen, amen, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus said: How can these things be? Jesus answered: Amen, amen I say unto thee, we speak that we do know and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to heaven but him that came down from heaven, even the Son of man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth may in him have eternal life.