Brothers and sisters: God created us to experience joy in communion with him,
to love all humanity, and to live in harmony with all of his creation. But sin separates us
from God, our neighbors, and creation, and so we do not enjoy the life our Creator
intended for us. Also, by our sin we grieve our Father, who does not desire us to come
under his judgment, but to turn to him and live.
As disciples of the Lord Jesus we are called to struggle against everything that leads us
away from love of God and neighbor. Repentance, fasting, prayer, and works of love--
the discipline of Lent--help us to wage our spiritual warfare. I invite you, therefore,
to commit yourselves to this struggle and confess your sins, asking our Father for strength
to persevere in your Lenten discipline.
Most
holy and merciful Father:
We confess to you and to one another, and to the whole communion of saints
in heaven and on earth, that we have sinned by our own fault in thought, word,
and
deed; by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength.
have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others,
as we have been
forgiven.
Have mercy on us, Lord.
We have been deaf to your call to serve as Christ served us.
We have not been true
to the mind of Christ. We have grieved your Holy Spirit.
Have mercy on us, Lord.
We confess to you, Lord, all our past unfaithfulness.
The pride, hypocrisy, and
impatience in our lives,
we confess to you, Lord.
Our
self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our exploitation of other people,
we confess to you, Lord.
Our
anger at our own frustration, and our envy of those more fortunate than
ourselves,
we confess to you, Lord.
Our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts, and our dishonesty in daily life
and work,
we confess to you, Lord.
Our
negligence in prayer and worship, and our failure to commend the faith that is
in us,
we confess to you, Lord.
Accept our repentance, Lord, for the wrongs we have done. For our blindness to
human
need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty,
accept our repentance, Lord.
For all false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbors,
and for
our prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us,
accept our repentance, Lord.
For our waste and pollution of your creation, and our lack of concern for those
who
come after us,
accept our repentance, Lord.
Restore
us, good Lord, and let your anger depart from us.
Hear us, Lord, for your mercy is
great. Amen
Remember
that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
Accomplish
in us, O God, the work of your salvation,
that we may show forth your glory
in the world.
By
the cross and Passion of your Son, our Lord,
bring
us with all your saints
to the joy of his resurrection.
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