First Sunday of Lent

COLLECT
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.
Amen.

SIT

1. God of mercy and compassion,
look with pity upon me;
Father, let me call thee Father,
‘tis thy child returns to thee.

Jesus, Lord, I ask for mercy,
knowing it is not in vain:
all my sins I now detest them,
help me not to sin again.

2. Only by thy grace and mercy
may I hope for heav’n above,
where the saints rejoice for ever
in a sea of boundless love.

3. See our Saviour, bleeding, dying
on the cross of Calvary;
to that cross my sins have nailed him,
yet he bleeds and dies for me.

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON Cf. Ps 90: 15-16
When he calls on me, I will
answer him;
I will deliver him and give him glory,
I will grant him length of days.

22nd February 2026

Priest: In the name of the Father and
of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit.
People: Amen.

Grace to you and peace from God our
Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
And with your spirit.
PENITENTIAL ACT
Brethren (Brothers and sisters),
let us acknowledge our sins,
and so prepare ourselves to
celebrate the sacred mysteries.

I confess to almighty God
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have greatly sinned,
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done and in what I
have failed to do,
Striking your breast as you say:
through my fault, through my fault,
through my most grievous fault;
therefore I ask blessed Mary
ever-Virgin,
all the Angels and Saints,
and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord our God.

The absolution by the priest follows:

May almighty God have mercy on us,
forgive us our sins,
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.

Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy.
Christ have mercy. Christ have mercy.
Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy.

The Liturgy of the Word

Entrance Hymn

FIRST READING 2:7-9;3:1-7
A reading from the book of Genesis
The Lord God fashioned man of dust
from the soil. Then he breathed into
his nostrils a breath of life, and thus
man became a living being.
The Lord God planted a garden in
Eden which is in the east, and there
he put the man he had fashioned. The
Lord God caused to spring up from
the soil every kind of tree, enticing to
look at and good to eat, with the tree
of life and the tree of knowledge of
good and evil in the middle of the
garden.
The serpent was the most subtle of
all the wild beasts that the Lord God
had made. It asked the woman, “Did
God really say you were not to eat
from any of the trees in the garden?’

The woman answered the serpent,
“We may eat the fruit of the trees in
the garden. But of the fruit of the tree
in the middle of the garden God said,
“You must not eat it, nor touch it,
under pain of death.’ “Then the
serpent said to the woman, “No! You
will not die! God knows in fact that on
the day you eat it your eyes will be
opened and you will be like gods,
knowing good and evil.” The woman
saw that the tree was good to eat and
pleasing to the eye, and that it was
desirable for the knowledge that it
could give. So she took some of its
fruit and ate it. She gave some also to
her husband who was with her, and
he ate it. Then the eyes of both of
them were opened and they realised
that they were naked. So they sewed
fig-leaves together to make
themselves loin-cloths.

The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Ps50:3-6.12-14.17.R.v.3
R. Have mercy on us, O Lord,
for we have sinned.
1. Have mercy on me, God, in your
kindness.
In your compassion blot out my
offence.
O wash me more and more from
my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin. R.

2. My offences truly I know them;
my sin is always before me.
Against you, you alone, have I
sinned;
what is evil in your sight I have
done. R.

GOSPEL 4:1-11
The Lord be with you.
And with your spirit.
A reading from the holy
Gospel according to Matthew.
Glory to you, O Lord.

Jesus was led by the Spirit out into
the wilderness to be tempted by the
devil. He fasted for forty days and

PROFESSION OF FAITH
I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial
with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
(All bow during the next three lines)
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate
of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under
Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven

Raising the host, the priest says:
Blessed are you, Lord, God of all
creation, for through your goodness
we have received the bread we offer
you: fruit of the earth and work of
human hands,
it will become for us the bread of life.
Blessed be God for ever.
The priest pours wine and a little water
into the chalice, saying quietly:
By the mystery of this water and wine
may we come to share in the divinity
of Christ,
who humbled himself to share in our
humanity.
Raising the chalice, the priest says:
Blessed are you, Lord, God of all
creation, for through your goodness
we have received the wine we offer
you: fruit of the vine and work of
human hands,
it will become our spiritual drink.
Blessed be God for ever.
Bowing the priest says quietly:
With humble spirit and contrite heart
may we be accepted by you, O Lord,
and may our sacrifice in your sight
this day be pleasing to you, O Lord.
Then the priest washes his hands, saying
quietly:
Wash me, O Lord, from my iniquity;
and cleanse me from my sin.

Facing the people the priest says:
Pray, brethren (brothers and sisters),
that my sacrifice and yours
may be acceptable to God,
the almighty Father.

SIT

PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL

and is seated at the right hand of the
Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord,
the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and
the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is
adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic and
apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the
forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection
of the dead
and the life of the world to come.
Amen.

Liturgy of the Eucharist

SECOND READING
*Shorter V. 5:12 17-19
A reading from the letter of St Paul
to the Romans

Sin entered the world through one
man, and through sin death, and
thus death has spread through the
whole human race because
everyone has sinned. If it is certain
that death reigned over everyone as
the consequence of one man’s fall,
it is even more certain that one
man, Jesus Christ, wil l cause
everyone to reign in l i fe who
receives the free gift that he does
not deserve, of being made
righteous. Again, as one man’s fall
brought condemnation on everyone,
so the good act of one man brings
everyone l i fe and makes them
justif ied. As by one man’s
disobedience many were made
sinners, so by one man’s obedience
many will be made righteous.

The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

ACCLAMATION Mt4:4
Praise to you, O Christ,

king of eternal glory!
Man does not live on bread alone

but on every word that comes
from the mouth of God.
Praise to you, O Christ,

king of eternal glory!

forty nights, after which he was very
hungry, and the tempter came and
said to him, “If you are the Son of
God, tell these stones to turn into
loaves.” But he replied, “Scripture
says: Man does not live on bread
alone but on every word that comes
from the mouth of God.”

The devil then took him to the holy
city and made him stand on the
parapet of the Temple. “If you are
the Son of God,” he said, “throw
yourself down; for scripture says:

He wil l put you in his angels’
charge,

and they will support you on their
hands in case you hurt your foot
against a stone.”

Jesus said to him, “Scripture also
says: You must not put the Lord
your God to the test.”

Next, taking him a very high
mountain, the devil showed him all
the kingdoms of the world and their
splendour. “I will give you all these”,
he said, “if you fall at my feet and
worship me.” Then Jesus replied,

“Be off, Satan! For scripture says:
You must worship the Lord your
God, and serve him alone.”

Then the devil left him, and angels
appeared and looked after him.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

3. A pure heart create for me, O God,
put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your
presence,
nor deprive me of your holy spirit. R.

4. Give me again the joy of your help;
with a spirit of fervour sustain me.
O Lord, open my lips
and my mouth shall declare your
praise. R.

PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGS
Give us the right dispositions, O Lord,
we pray, to make these offerings,
for with them we celebrate the
beginning of this venerable and
sacred time. Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
EUCHARISTIC PRAYER III
PREFACE: The Temptation of The Lord
The Lord be with you.
And with your Spirit.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right and just.
It is truly right and just, our duty and
our salvation,
always and everywhere to give you
thanks, Lord, holy Father, almighty
and eternal God,
through Christ our Lord.
By abstaining forty long days from
earthly food, he consecrated through
his fast the pattern of our Lenten
observance and, by overturning all the
snares of the ancient serpent,
taught us to cast out the leaven of
malice, so that, celebrating worthily
the Paschal Mystery,
we might pass over at last to the
eternal paschal feast.
And so, with the company of Angels
and Saints, we sing the hymn of your
praise, as without end we acclaim:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name
of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

You are indeed Holy, O Lord,
and all you have created
rightly gives you praise, for through
your Son our Lord Jesus Christ,
by the power and working of the Holy
Spirit,
you give life to all things and make
them holy, and you never cease to
gather a people to yourself, so that
from the rising of the sun to its setting
a pure sacrifice may be offered
to your name.
Therefore, O Lord, we humbly implore

Then the Priest, with hands extended, says:
Therefore, O Lord, as we celebrate
the memorial of the saving Passion of
your Son,
his wondrous Resurrection and
Ascension into heaven, and as we
look forward to his second coming, we
offer you in thanksgiving this holy and
living sacrifice.
Look, we pray, upon the oblation of
your Church and, recognising the
sacrificial Victim by whose death
you willed to reconcile us to yourself,
grant that we, who are nourished by
the Body and Blood of your Son and
filled with his Holy Spirit, may become
one body, one spirit in Christ.
May he make of us
an eternal offering to you,
so that we may obtain an inheritance
with your elect,

t

May the Lord accept the sacrifice at
your hands
for the praise and glory of his name,
for our good, and the good of all
his holy Church.

especially with the most Blessed
Virgin Mary, Mother of God,
with blessed Joseph, her Spouse,
with the blessed Apostles and
glorious Martyrs (with Saint N., the
Saint of the day or Patron Saint) and
with all the Saints, on whose constant
intercession in your presence we rely
for unfailing help.
May this Sacrifice of our
reconciliation,
we pray, O Lord, advance the peace
and salvation of all the world. Be
pleased to confirm in faith and charity
your pilgrim Church on earth,
with your servant Leo, our Pope, and
N. our Bishop, his assistant Bishop(s)
the Order of Bishops, all the clergy,
and the entire people you have
gained for your own.
Listen graciously to the prayers of this
family,
whom you have summoned before you:
in your compassion, O merciful
Father, gather to yourself all your
children scattered throughout the world.
To our departed brothers and sisters
and to all who were pleasing to you
at their passing from this life,
give kind admittance to your kingdom.
There we hope to enjoy for ever the
fullness of your glory
The Priest joins his hands.
through Christ our Lord,
through whom you bestow on the
world all that is good. †

The Priest takes the chalice and the paten
with the host and, elevating both, he says:

Through him, and with him, and in him,
O God, almighty Father,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all glory and honour is yours,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

you: by the same Spirit graciously
make holy these gifts we have
brought to you for consecration, that
they may become the Body and @
Blood
of your Son our Lord Jesus Christ,
at whose command we celebrate
these mysteries.
For on the night he was betrayed
he himself took bread, and, giving you
thanks, he said the blessing,
broke the bread and gave it to his
disciples, saying:

TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND EAT
OF IT,
FOR THIS IS MY BODY,
WHICH WILL BE GIVEN UP FOR
YOU.
In a similar way, when supper was
ended, he took the chalice,
and, giving you thanks, he said the
blessing,
and gave the chalice to his disciples,
saying:
TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND
DRINK FROM IT,
FOR THIS IS THE CHALICE OF MY
BLOOD,
THE BLOOD OF THE NEW AND
ETERNAL COVENANT,
WHICH WILL BE POURED OUT
FOR YOU AND FOR MANY
FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS.
DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME.

At the Saviour’s command
and formed by divine teaching,
we dare to say:
Our Father, who art in heaven . . .
Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil,
graciously grant peace in our days,
that, by the help of your mercy,
we may be always free from sin
and safe from all distress,
as we await the blessed hope
and the coming of our Saviour, Jesus
Christ.
For the kingdom, the power and the
glory are yours, now and for ever.

The mystery of faith:
We proclaim your Death, O Lord,
and profess your Resurrection
until you come again.

Communion Rite

COMMUNION ANTIPHON Mt.4:4
One does not live by bread alone,
but on every word that comes from
the mouth of God.

The peace of the Lord be with you
always.
And with your Spirit.
The priest may add these or similar words.
Let us offer each other the sign of peace.

The priest places a small piece of the host in
the chalice saying quietly:
May this mingling of the body and
blood of our Lord Jesus Christ
bring eternal life to us who receive it.
Meanwhile the people sing or say:
Lamb of God, you take away the
sins of the world:
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the
sins of the world
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the
sins of the world
grant us peace.

May the Body of Christ
keep me safe for eternal life.

The priest says quietly:
May the receiving of your Body and
Blood,
Lord Jesus Christ,
not bring me to judgement and
condemnation,
but through your loving mercy
be for me protection in mind and body,
and a healing remedy.

Raising the host the priest says:

Behold the Lamb of God,
behold him who takes away the sins of
the world.
Blessed are those called to the supper
of the Lamb.

And together with the people he says once:

Lord, I am not worthy
that you should enter under my roof,
but only say the word
and my soul shall be healed.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

Renewed now with heavenly bread,
by which faith is nourished, hope
increased, and charity strengthened,
we pray, O Lord, that we may learn to
hunger for Christ, the true and living
Bread, and strive to live by every
word which proceeds from your
mouth. Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

The Lord be with you.
And with your spirit.
Bow head for the blessing – short silence
And may the blessing of almighty God,
the Father, and the Son, X and the
Holy Spirit, come down on you and
remain with you for ever.
Amen.
Go and announce the Gospel of
the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Holy God we praise they name,
Lord of all we bow before thee.
All on earth thy sceptre own.
All in heaven above adore thee.
Endless is thy vast domain.
Ever lasting is thy reign.

Hark, with loud and pealing hymn,
Thee the angel choirs are praising;
Cherubim and seraphim,
One unceasing chorus raising,
Ever sing with sweet accord,
Holy, holy, holy Lord.

Spare thy people, Lord, we pray,
By a thousand snares surrounded:
Keep us free from sin today;
Never let us be confounded.
All my trust I place in thee,
Never, Lord, abandon me.

2

3

W

PRAYER OVER THE PEOPLE
May bountiful blessing, O Lord,
we pray, come down upon your
people, that hope may grow in
tribulation, virtue be strengthened in
temptation, and eternal redemption be
assured.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Imprimi Potest: Concordat Cum Originali: @ Most Rev. Alan McGuckian SJ, Bishop of Down and Connor. Nihil Obstat: Excerpts from the
English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy corporation. Origination and printing
by Shanway Press, email: info@shanway.com T: 028 9022 2070

You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord,
who abide in his shadow for life,
say to the Lord: ‘My refuge,
my rock in whom I trust!’

And he will raise you up on eagle’s wings,
bear you on the breath of dawn,
make you to shine like the sun,
and hold you in the palm of his hand.

The snare of the fowler will never
capture you,
and famine will bring you no fear.
Under his wings your refuge,
his faithfulness your shield.

You need not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day;
though thousands fall about you,
near you it shall not come.

For to his angels he’s given a command
to guard you in all of your ways;
upon their hands they will bear you up,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.

Communion Hymn

Private Prayer after Communion

Concluding Rites

Recessional Hymn
Lord, you were strong in your combat
with the devil; help me in my
weakness to overcome temptation,
to reject Satan, all his works and
empty promises,
to overcome the glamour of evil in the
world,
to conquer the demands of sin within
myself. Without you I cannot succeed:
with you I can overcome all things.
I know I can face the ups and downs
of life because of your great goodness.

Lord Jesus Christ,
who said to your Apostles:
Peace I leave you, my peace I give
you, look not on our sins,
but on the faith of your Church,
and graciously grant her peace and
unity in accordance with your will.
Who live and reign for ever and ever.
Amen.

The Priest reverently consumes the Body of
Christ.
Then he takes the chalice and says quietly:
May the Blood of Christ
keep me safe for eternal life.

The Priest raises a host slightly and shows it
to each of the communicants, saying:
The Body of Christ.
Amen.