(In a darkened room, light a candle, or candles, safely before a cross or icon of Christ)

 Opening Chants

Oculi nostri ad Dominum Jesum, oculi nostri ad Dominum nostrum / Our eyes are on the Lord Jesus, our eyes are on the Lord our God

Christe, lux mundi, qui sequiturte, habebit lumen vitae, lumen vitae / O Christ, light of the word, whoever follows you will have the light of life.

Opening Prayer:

O God, who willed that your only–begotten Son
should take on our human nature,
and show us in his humanity a perfect image of your divinity,
grant, we beseech you,
that by venerating his sacred image
we may be united with him
in the mysteries of his Passion and Death,
and so come to contemplate him in glory
in the joy of the resurrection.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever.

Scripture (2 Cor 4:4-7,16-18 )

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Reflection (Pope Francis; Angelus; February 25, 2024)

 https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/angelus/2024/documents/20240225-angelus.html

Responsorial Chant

When the night becomes dark, Your love, O Lord, is a fire; Your love, O Lord, is a fire.

Intercessions

That the Church, as she continues on the Great Fast of Forty Days,
may direct the gaze of all believers
to the Crucified and Risen One,
the proclamation and pledge of our glory,
to the Lord we pray, Christ, hear us. R. Christ, graciously hear us.

That the leaders of nations
may turn aside from every project of destruction and war,
and, in the light of Christ,
seek to build up “the civilization of love,”
to the Lord we pray, Christ, hear us. R. Christ, graciously hear us.

That all who know weariness, humiliation, or suffering
may lift their eyes to Christ;
and that those despised by the powerful of this world
may recognize in him one like themselves,
to the Lord we pray, Christ, hear us. R. Christ, graciously hear us.

That the sick and the dying, may see on the Face of Christ all glory, all sorrow, and all love,
in the greatest peace, to the Lord we pray, Christ, hear us. R. Christ, graciously hear us.

That we may keep Jesus ever present before our eyes
and discover the secrets of his Heart,
to the Lord we pray, Christ, hear us. R. Christ, graciously hear us.

Veneration of the Cross

Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi, quia per crucem tuam sanctam redemisti mundum /

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, for by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Concluding Prayer

O Lord Jesus Christ,
beauty of the heavenly Father and light of souls,
we beseech you with confidence that,
as we advance in the darkness of this world,
your splendor may shine upon us
and that, in the light of your Countenance,
we may one day merit to contemplate the eternal light
in which you live and reign with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
forever and ever. Amen.

Closing Chant (John Michael Talbot)

Only in God is my soul at rest
In Him comes my salvation
He only is my Rock
My strength and my salvation

My stronghold my Savior
I shall not be afraid at all
My stronghold my Savior
I shall not be moved

Only in God is found safety
When the enemy pursues me
Only in God is found glory
When I am found meek and found lowly

My stronghold my Savior
I shall not be afraid at all
My stronghold my Savior
I shall not be moved

Only in God is my soul at rest
In Him comes my salvation