March 4

Prayer in Honor of the Five Wounds of Christ

Act of Faith

O Our Lord, Jesus Christ, we firmly believe in all that our Mother the Holy Church believes in and teaches us to believe in because You are the One who revealed it to her, O You, who are the Truth which neither deceives nor is deceived.

We beseech You, through your love for Your Holy Mother, the Virgin Mary, and for Saint Joseph, Your chosen Just One, and through the wound of Your LEFT FOOT, to grant us Your Grace so we may live and die with it.

Amen.

March 2

Prayer of Forgiveness

From the Book of Offering, Saint John Maron (March 2)

O Christ our God, Sun of Justice and Light of the Father, in your humility you taught us and gave us a perfect example of service. As we celebrate today the feast of our father, Saint John Maron, by meditating on his way of life and following his example, we cry out, proclaiming:

Blessed are you, Saint John Maron, for you began a blessed era in the history of our Church when you became our first patriarch. Blessed are you, for you inspired hearts and minds, by your teaching and example, and confirmed believers in the true faith. Blessed are you, for you were pleased to go to Lebanon to serve and guide your people. Blessed are you, for you fought the good fight for your people: you cared for the sick and the poor, and you established churches and monasteries, strengthening the holy Catholic faith, until God called you, in the state of holiness, to his heavenly kingdom.

Now, O Christ our God, we ask you, through the intercession of our father Saint John Maron, and with the fragrance of this incense, to confirm the children of your holy Church in the true faith and to keep away all divisions and strife from her.

With your Mother Mary, our father Saint John Maron, and all our holy fathers, make us worthy to meet you in your heavenly kingdom, that we may raise glory and thanks to you, to your Father, and to your Holy Spirit, for ever.

Amen.

February 27 — March 5

Prayer of Forgiveness

O Christ, Lover of all people, you gave the Church the holy season of Lent as a shield of protection and a healing remedy. Your fasting and sacrifices taught us to fast, and to understand the purpose and essence of life, the meaning of the world and its existence, and the greatness of your love and compassion. Shower your mercy on all people that they may repent, and soften their hearts that they may return to you, know you, and love you.

During these forty days of Lent, may we meditate on the benefits of fasting and prayer. Through fasting and prayer souls are made pure, bodies are made chaste, spirits are uplifted, passions are restrained, mercy abounds, and the Holy Spirit dwells in the soul that was created to be the temple of God.

I Yearn For Your Pardon, O Lord

I yearn for your pardon, O Lord, give me tears to repent in this Season of Lent. Lord have mercy.

I beg for your favors, O Lord, for your mercy I thirst, for your kindness and love. Lord, have mercy.

Against you, O Lord, I have sinned, hear the cry of my voice; turn your ear to my prayer. Lord, forgive me.

O wash me, O Lord, from my guilt; purify me and I shall be whiter than snow. Lord, forgive me.

O Jesus our Lord and our God, you have saved all your flock in your mercy and love. O Good Shepherd!

You came to return all the sheep who had wandered and strayed from the love of our God. O Good Shepherd!

February 27 — March 4

O Lord, at the beginning of this holy Lent,
grant us to contemplate of your signs and to sing of your glory.
Look upon us in your love and have mercy on us in your goodness.
We shall embrace penance and find strength in prayer,
working according to your commandments of life
and giving glory to the Holy Trinity, one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Ramsho Opening Prayer from the Maronite Prayer of the Faithful for Cana Sunday.