THE RITE OF MUTUAL FORGIVENESS

 

A Greek Devotional Icon, Showing Christ Receiving the Penitent Sinner

For the Eve of the Great Fast, commonly called Forgiveness Sunday

According to the Use of the Ancient Church of the West

✠ THE PREPARATION ✠

After Vespers or the concluding Office on the Eve of the Holy Fast, the Faithful shall remain in quiet prayer. The Altar may be vested in Lenten color, and the lights subdued. The Clergy stand before the Holy Table.

The Bishop or Priest shall say:

V. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

R. Amen.

V. Brethren, let us remember the words of our Lord Jesus Christ:

If ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you;

but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

R. Lord, have mercy upon us.

✠ THE SCRIPTURE EXHORTATION ✠

The Bishop or Priest shall read:

Matthew 6:14–21

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;

That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

✠ THE HOMILETIC EXHORTATION ✠

The Bishop or Priest may then give a brief exhortation concerning repentance, humility, and the beginning of the Holy Fast.

✠ THE ACT OF HUMILITY ✠

The Bishop or Priest shall then make a profound bow or kneel, and say:

Beloved in Christ, I, a sinner and unworthy shepherd, ask your forgiveness for all wherein I have offended you, whether in word, deed, or neglect; knowingly or unknowingly; in anger, haste, or weakness; and for every failure in love and charity.

Forgive me, for I have sinned against you.

The People respond:

May Almighty God forgive thee, and we forgive thee.

✠ THE MUTUAL FORGIVENESS ✠

The Clergy and Faithful shall then approach one another in reverence and charity. Each shall bow, or make such reverence as is fitting, saying:

“Forgive me, for I have sinned against thee.”

The other shall reply:

“May Almighty God forgive thee, and I forgive thee.”

They may then exchange the Kiss of Peace, according to local custom.

This shall continue until all who desire have reconciled one with another.

Suitable penitential psalms or hymns may be sung while this is being accomplished, such as:

Psalm 51

The Litany

Or other Lenten hymns.

✠ THE CONCLUDING PRAYER ✠

When the Rite is complete, the Bishop or Priest shall return before the Altar and say:

Let us pray.

O most merciful Father, who hast commanded us to forgive from the heart those who trespass against us; Grant, we beseech thee, that as we begin this holy Fast, we may be reconciled one to another in charity and truth; that, being cleansed from all bitterness and pride, we may worthily prepare for the Passion and Resurrection of thy Son; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end.

R. Amen.

✠ THE DISMISSAL ✠

V. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

R. Thanks be to God.