Ash Wednesday Litany of Confession

Lent is a season of preparation and repentance as we prepare our hearts for the good news of the cross and resurrection. Here is the prayer of confession we will be using together tonight at our Ash Wednesday service, taken from Galatians 5:16-24, if you'd like to use it in your personal or family devotional time.

Leader: Holy Father, we come to You as we confess our sins.
You tell us in Your Word that the works of the flesh are these: sexual immorality in action and thought; making idols of created things; seeking divine power for ourselves; hating our brothers and sisters; being angry with or quarreling with them; being envious or jealous; having dissension, rivalry, and divisions; worldly overindulgence of all kinds; and all like things.
People: Though you have saved us from these evils, still the flesh draws us back to them.
Leader: For these our sins,
People: Lord, have mercy.
Leader: You tell us that true spiritual fruit is this: love for You and for neighbor; joy in Your things; reconciled relationships with You through Christ and with fellow men and women; patience as we endure the evils of this age; acts of kindness; delight in moral purity; faithfully keeping Your ways; a lowly and gentle mind; and a disciplined restraining the flesh.
People: Though you work these goods in us, still we fall far short.
Leader: For these our sins,
People: Christ, have mercy.
Leader: We who have been bought by Christ Jesus have our flesh crucified in His cross. Let us no longer walk in worldly desires, but rather let us be led by the Spirit.
People: We so often do what we do not spiritually desire. Put to death in us all that is dying, and give us the fruit of life.
Leader: For these our sins,
People: Lord, have mercy.

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