Contents Introduction Making It Simple Special Notes Alleluia, the Gloria, and the Dignus Est Processions Weddings, Baptisms, and Confirmation Extras Responsory for Vespers Introits for Lent and the Names of the Sundays

Introduction

This page covers liturgy related to Lent, excluding Ash Wednesday and Holy Week (which have their own pages).

The page is divided into two main sections:

• Making It Simple
• Special Notes
• Extras
  

If you are looking for matters related to worship appointments (e.g., colors, candles, decorations, etc.), visit the Appointments for Lent page.

Making It Simple

We provide here downloadable MS-Word templates of the liturgy that you can easily copy & paste into your own bulletin and modify for local usage. These templates have the names of the elements of the worship service accompanied by their respective page numbers. They are not fully-printed services, as providing that would be a copyright infringement. This format can be used in accompaniment with your hymnals.

When a layperson leads the worship service, some modifications are required; these can be reviewed on our Liturgical Modifications for Lay Leadership page.

Special Notes

Alleluias, the Gloria, and the Dignus est

Alleluia is neither said nor sung during lent. An exception to this is the recitation of psalms in which the word Hallelujah appears, as this is part of the biblical text.

Neither the Gloria nor the Dignus est ("This is the feast...Worthy is Christ...") are used during Lent, even on communion Sundays.

Processions

• entering in procession in silence,
• using a side aisle rather than the central aisle,
• employing a Lenten processional such as Attende Domine, a litany, or a Lenten introit, or
  
• having members of the chancel party simply take their places as they are individually ready.
  

Weddings, Baptisms, and Confirmation

Historically, weddings were not held during Lent. That said, few couples consider this in their planning, and most people simply won't want to maintain this discipline—though more than a few will make sure not to schedule a wedding for the same day as a WVU football game. At the very least, weddings should not be done during Holy Week. Even if there is little concern for the somber and solemn nature of that week, it should be remembered that the clergy, altar guild, musicians, and custodians are more than a little occupied with the religious observances of that week.

With respect to baptism, the first division is between infants and non-infants.

• In the case of non-infants, baptism should be administered at the Easter Vigil (or soon into the Easter season). If, however, the baptismal candidate is in periculo mortis (danger of death), baptism should not be withheld but immediately as an emergency baptism. If you can schedule the baptism for a Sunday morning, it is not an emergency; wait until the vigil, and use the season of Lent as a time of catechesis.
• In the case of infants, baptism should not be postponed, assuming the infant is being brought to the font soon after birth. If the infant is already several months old, e.g., there seems to be little reason not to wait until the end of Lent.

Extras

Responsory for Vespers

Looking for a little something extra to enrich your vespers service? Consider inserting the Lenten responsory after the lesson(s).

What's a Responsory?

A responsory is a short sung (or spoken) recitation of Scriptures. If you've prayed compline, you've already used a responsory. That's right: Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit (In manus tuas, Domine) is a responsory.

While the text of compline's In manus tuas, Domine, is invariable, the responsories for vespers change with the seasons and for feast days and festivals. There is a responsory for Lent (I Said, Lord, be merciful to me) and a responsory for Holy Week (We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you).

Using the Responsory with Our Current Rubics

Introits for Lent and the Names of the Sundays

Just like Advent, each Sunday in Lent has a Latin name drawn from the introit that was historically employed at the beginning of the litugy (cf. Introits for Advent). Until the introduction of the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), these Latin names remained in use (from Luther's day through the tenure of the Service Book and Hymnal (1958).

All the introits for the church year (as found in the Lutheran Common Service tradition) are printed in the Service Book and Hymnal (1958), beginning on p.75. The publishing house at the time of the SBH also sold introit books with music for choir. These introits continue to have music composed for them. You can search the web and find everything from unison singing for the congregation to SATB arrangements for choir. You will also find the texts in modern English. You can also find several historic arrangements that are in the public domain on the web with a little effort. It is also possible to set them to the psalm tones.

The introit was the first liturgical element of the historic western mass form. Literally, the Latin introitus means entrance. During the introit, the worship leaders would process into the sanctuary. Luther retained the introit in the 1523 Formula Missae (his reworking of the Latin mass) but replaced it with a hymn (based on the introit psalm if possible) in the 1526 Deutsche Messe (his German Mass). Muhlenberg's 1748 liturgy followed the pattern of the Deutsche Messe, and this remained standard among General Synod and General Council Lutherans until the Washington Service was introduced in 1869. The Common Service, introduced in 1888, made the use of the introit explicit but, at the same time, retained the singing of an opening hymn. This strange doubling of the introit/entrance hymn was eliminated in the LBW (1978) when the psalm, which was embedded in the introit, was given its own place between the first and second reading. The entrance hymn remained, the introit was functionally moved to a place among the lessons, and, at the same time, the first reading from the Old Testament was added (as the earlier form only had an epistle and a Gospel).

If one wants to reintroduce the introits for Lent, one might consider the following:

• Use the introit in place of the entrance hymn. Even if one does this to a simple psalm tone, it can add to the solemnity of the service, especially if used in procession.
• Have the choir, a small group of singers, or a soloist sing the introit as the last prelude piece before the service.

The traditional form breaks the introit down into two main parts, the antiphon and the psalm (with Gloria Patri). Let's look at the antiphon for Invocabit:

The Common Service rubrics indicate that the choir shall sing the introit (or the minister may say it), the introit concluding with the congregation joining in at the Gloria Patri. The western mass form, however, would include a repetition of the antiphon following the Gloria Patri.