Collects of Lent: Ash Wednesday thru Good Friday

Collects of Lent


Ash Wednesday

Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting

This campaign of Christian service,

So that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils,

We may be armed with weapons of self-restraint.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Thursday after Ash Wednesday


Prompt our actions with your inspiration, we pray, O Lord,

And further them with your constant help,

That all we do may always begin from you

And by you be brought to completion.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Friday after Ash Wednesday


Show gracious favor, O Lord, we pray,

To the works of penance we have begun,

That we may have strength to accomplish with sincerity

The bodily observances we undertake.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Saturday after Ash Wednesday

Almighty, ever living God

Look with compassion on our weakness

And ensure us your protection

By stretching forth the right hand of your majesty.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


First Sunday of Lent

Grant, almighty God,

Through the yearly observances of holy Lent,

That we may grow in understanding

Of the riches hidden in Christ

And by worthy conduct pursue their effects.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Monday of First Week of Lent

Convert us, O God our Savior

And instruct our minds by heavenly teaching,

That we may benefit from the works of Lent.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Tuesday of First Week of Lent

Look upon your family, Lord,

That, through the chastening effects of bodily discipline,

Our minds may be radiant in your presence

With the strength of our yearning for you.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Wednesday of First Week of Lent

Look kindly Lord we pray

On the devotion of your people,

That those who by self-denial are restrained in body

May by the fruit of good works be renewed in mind.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Thursday of First Week of Lent

Bestow on us, we pray, O Lord

A spirit of always pondering on what is right

And of hastening to carry it out,

And, since without you we cannot exist,

May we be enabled to live according to your will.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Friday of First Week of Lent

Grant that your faithful, O Lord we pray,

May be so conformed to the paschal observances,

That the bodily discipline now solemnly begun

May bear fruit in the souls of all.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Saturday of First Week of Lent

Turn our hearts to you, eternal Father,

And grant that, seeking always the one thing necessary

And carrying our works of charity,

We may be dedicated to your worship.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Second Sunday of Lent

O God, who have commanded us

To listen to your beloved Son

Be pleased, we pray,

To nourish us inwardly by your word,

That with spiritual sight made pure,

We may rejoice to behold your glory.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Monday of Second Week of Lent

O God who have taught us

To chasten our bodies

For the healing of our souls,

Enable us, we pray,

To abstain from all sins,

And strengthen our hearts

To carry out your loving commands.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Tuesday of Second Week of Lent

Guard your Church, we pray, O Lord,

In your unceasing mercy,

And, since without you mortal humanity is sure to fail,

May we be kept by your constant helps from all harm

And directed to all that brings salvation.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Wednesday of Second Week of Lent

Keep your family, O Lord,

And so comfort them with your protection here

As to lead them graciously to gifts on high.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Thursday of Second Week of Lent

O God, who delight in innocence of and restore it,

Direct the hearts of your servants to yourself,

That, caught up in the fire of your Spirit,

We may be found steadfast in faith

And effective in works.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Friday of Second Week of Lent

Grant, we pray, almighty God,

That, purifying us by the sacred practice of penance,

You may lead us in sincerity of heart

To attain the holy things to come.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Saturday of Second Week of Lent

O God, who grant us by glorious healing remedies while still on earth

To be partakers of the things of heaven,

Guide us, we pray, through this present life

And bring us to that light in which you dwell.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Third Sunday of Lent

O God, author of every mercy and of all goodness,

Who in fasting, prayer and almsgiving

Have shown us a remedy for sin,

Look graciously on this confession of our lowliness,

That we, who are bowed down by our conscience,

May always be lifted up by your mercy.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Monday of the Third Week of Lent

May your unfailing compassion, O Lord,

Cleanse and protect your church,

And since without you she cannot stand secure,

May she be always governed by your grace.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent

May your grace not forsake us, O Lord, we pray,

But make us dedicated to your holy service

And at all times obtain for us your help.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent

Grant, we pray, O Lord,

That schooled through Lenten observance

And nourished by your word,

Through holy restraint

We may be devoted to you with all our heart

And be ever united in prayer.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Thursday of the Third Week of Lent

We implore your majesty most humbly, O Lord,

That as the feast of your salvation draws ever closer,

So we may press forward all the more eagerly

Towards the worthey celebration of the Paschal Mystery.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Friday of the Third Week of Lent

Pour your grace into our hearts, we pray, O Lord,

That we may be constantly drawn away from unruly desires

And obey by your own gift the heavenly teaching you give us.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Saturday of the Third Week of Lent

Rejoicing in this annual celebration

Of our Lenten observance,

We pray, O Lord,

That with our hearts set on the pascal mysteries,

We may be gladdened by their full effects.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Fourth Sunday of Lent

O God, who through your word

Reconcile the human race to yourself in a wonderful way,

Grant we pray,

That with prompt devotion and eager faithful

The Christian people may hasten

Toward the solemn celebrations to come.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent

O God, who renew the world

Through mysteries beyond all telling,

Grant, we pray,

That your Church may be guided by your eternal design

And not be deprived of your help in this present age.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

May the venerable exercises of holy devotion

Shape the hearts of your faithful, O Lord,

To welcome worthily the Paschal Mystery

And proclaim the praises of your salvation.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

O God, who reward the merits of the just

And offer pardon to sinners who do penance,

Have mercy, we pray, on those who call upon you,

That the admission of our guilt

May serve to obtain your pardon for our sins.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent

We invoke your mercy in humble prayer, O Lord,

That you may cause us, your servants,

Corrected by penance and schooled by good works,

To persevere sincerely in your commands

And come safely to the paschal festivities.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent

O God, who have prepared

Fitting helps for us in our weakness,

Grant we pray, that we may receive

Their healing effects with joy

And reflect them in a holy way of life.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent

May the working of your mercy, O Lord, we pray,

Direct our hearts aright,

For without your grace

We cannot find favor in your sight.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Fifth Sunday of Lent

By your help, we beseech you, Lord our God,

May we walk eagerly in that same charity

with which, out of love for the world,

Your Son handed himself over to death.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent

O God, by whose wondrous grace

We are enriched with every blessing,

Grant us so to pass from former ways to newness of life,

That we may be made ready for the glory

Of the heavenly kingdom.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Grant us, we pray, O Lord,

Perseverance in obeying your will,

That in our days the people dedicated to your service

May grow in both merit and number.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Enlighten, O God of compassion,

The hearts of your children, sanctified by penance,

And in your kindness

Grant those you stir to a sense of devotion

A gracious hearing when they cry out to you.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Be near, O Lord to those who plead before you,

And look kindly on those who place their hope in your mercy,

That, cleansed from the stain of their sins,

They may persevere in holy living

And be made full heirs of your promise.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Pardon the offenses of your peoples, we pray, O Lord,

And in your goodness set us free

From the bonds of the sins

We have committed in our weakness.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Or

O God, who in this season

Give your church the grace

To imitate devoutly the Blessed Virgin Mary

In contemplating the Passion of Christ,

Grant we pray, through her intercession

That we may cling more firmly each day

To your Only Begotten Son

And come at last to the fullness of grace.

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent

O God, who have made all those reborn in Christ

A chosen race and a royal priesthood,

Grant us, we pray, the grace to will and to do what you command,

That the people called to eternal life

May be one in the faith of their hearts

And homage of their deeds.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Holy Week


Palm Sunday

Almighty ever-living God,

Who as an example of humility

For the human race to follow

Caused our Savior to take flesh and submit to the Cross,

Graciously grant that we may heed his lesson

Of patient suffering

And so merit a share in his Resurrection.

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Monday of Holy Week

Grant we pray Almighty God

That, though in our weakness we fail,

We may be revived through

The Passion of your Only Begotten Son.

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.



Tuesday of Holy Week

Almighty, ever-living God,

Grant us so to celebrate

The mysteries of the Lord's Passion

That we may merit to receive your pardon.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Wednesday of Holy Week

O God, who willed your Son to submit for our sake

To the yoke of the Cross,

So that we might drive from us the power of the enemy,

Grant us your servants,

To attain the grace of the Resurrection.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Chrism Mass

O God, who anointed your Only Begotten Son with the Holy Spirit

And made him Christ and Lord,

Graciously grant

That, being made sharers in his consecration,

We may bear witness to your redemption in the world.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord's Supper

O God, who have called us to participate

In this most sacred Supper,

In which your Only Begotten Son,

When about to hand himself over to death,

Entrusted to the Church a sacrifice new for all eternity,

The banquet of his love,

Grant, we pray,

That we may draw from so great a mystery,

The fullness of charity and of life.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

God, for ever and ever.


Good Friday

Remember your mercies, O Lord,

And with your eternal protection sanctify your servants,

For whom Christ your Son,

By the shedding of his Blood,

Established the Paschal Mystery.

Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.



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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.

Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.

I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.

You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.