The Great Antiphons: O Emmanuel

Today is the seventh and final Great O Antiphon, O Emmanuel.  As always, this is the antiphon sung just before the Magnificat at Vespers. It is the last, because tomorrow's Vespers, on Christmas Eve, is the First Vespers of Christmas.

O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster,

exspectatio Gentium, et Salvator earum:

veni ad salvandum nos, Domine, Deus noster.

O Emmanuel, our king and our lawgiver,

the hope of the nations and their Saviour:

Come and save us, O Lord our God.

Here is the final part of Pärt's Sieben Magnificat Antiphonen.

O Immanuel, unser König und Lehrer,  du Hoffnung und Heiland der Völker:  o komm, eile und schaffe uns Hilfe,  du unser Herr und unser Gott. O Emmanuel, our king and counselor,  Thou hope and saviour of the nations:  O come, make haste to help us,  Thou our Lord and our God, our God.

The Great Antiphons: O Rex Gentium

Today's Great Antiphon is O Rex Gentium.

O Rex Gentium, et desideratus earum,

lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum:

veni, et salva hominem,

quem de limo formasti.

O King of the nations, and their desire,

the cornerstone making both one:

Come and save the human race,

which you fashioned from clay.

And here is Arvo Pärt's setting:

O König aller Völker, ihre Erwartung und Sehnsucht, Schlußstein, der den Bau zusammenhält, o komm und errette den Menschen, den du aus Erde gebildet! O king of all nations, their expectation and desire, Keystone, which holds all things together: O come and save mankind, whom thou hast formed from clay!

The Great Antiphons: O Oriens

Today's Great Antiphon is O Oriens.

O Oriens,

splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae:

veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis.

O Morning Star,

splendour of light eternal and sun of righteousness:

Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

Here is Arvo Pärt's setting:

O Morgenstern, Glanz des unversehrten Lichtes: Der Gerechtigkeit strahlende Sonne: o komm und erleuchte, die da sitzen in Finsternis, und im Schatten des Todes. O morning star, incandescence of pure light,  radiant sun of righteousness;  O come and enlighten those who sit there in darkness  and in the shadow of death.

The Great Antiphons: O Clavis David

Today's Great Antiphon is O Clavis David - O Key of David.

As ever, this is sung at Vespers, just before the Magnificat.

O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel;

qui aperis, et nemo claudit;

claudis, et nemo aperit:

veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris,

sedentem in tenebris, et umbra mortis.

O Key of David and sceptre of the House of Israel;

you open and no one can shut;

you shut and no one can open:

Come and lead the prisoners from the prison house,

those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

And here, once again, is Arvo Pärt's setting.

O Schlüssel Davids, Zepter des Hauses Israel, du öffnest, und niemand kann schließen, du schließt, und keine Macht vermag zu öffnen: o komm und öffne den Kerker der Finsternis und die Fessel des Todes. O David's key, sceptre of the house of Israel, That which thou openest, none can secure, That which thou securest, no power may open; O come and unlock the prison of darkness and the fetters of death.

The Great Antiphons: O Radix Jesse

Today's in the series of Great Antiphons is O Radix Jesse.

As usual, here is the chant, as sung at Vespers before the Magnificat:

O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum,

super quem continebunt reges os suum,

quem Gentes deprecabuntur:

veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare.

O Root of Jesse, standing as a sign among the peoples;

before you kings will shut their mouths,

to you the nations will make their prayer:

Come and deliver us, and delay no longer.

And here is Arvo Pärt's setting:

O Sproß aus Isais Wurzel, gesetzt zum Zeichen für die Völker, vor dir verstummen die Herrscher der Erde, dich flehen an die Völker: o komm und errette uns, erhebe dich, säume nicht länger. O Scion of Isaiah's Line, predestined to be a sign for the nations, the rulers of the earth fall silent before thee, the nations cry unto thee: O come and save us, bestir thyself, delay no longer.

The Great Antiphons: O Adonai

Today's antiphon is O Adonai. Here is the traditional Gregorian Chant version, as sung at Vespers. (For an introduction to the Great Antiphons, see my previous post, here)

O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel,

qui Moysi in igne flammae rubi apparuisti,

et ei in Sina legem dedisti:

veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento.

O Adonai, and leader of the House of Israel,

who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush

and gave him the law on Sinai:

Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm.

And here is Arvo Pärt's version (in German):

O Adonai, der Herr und Führer des Hauses Israel,

im flammenden Dornbusch bist du dem Mose erschienen 

und hast ihm auf dem Berg das Gesetz gegeben:

O komm und befreie uns mit deinem starken Arm.

Adonai, the Lord and leader of the house of Israel, In the burning bush hast thou appeared unto Moses And given him the law upon the mountain: O come and deliver us with thy powerful arm.

The Great O Antiphons: O Sapientia

As part of our Advent ritual, we always sing and pray around our Advent wreath. As well as the increasing number of candles lit on the Advent wreath, we have the gradual arrival of all the family to add to the build up. The prayers include the collect from the Sunday Mass, as well as the invocation of all our patron saints etc, singing consists of the Alma redemptoris mater, and O Come, O Come Emmanuel.

This hymn is of course a metrical adaptation of (five of) the Great Antiphons; the antiphons for Vespers for the week preceding Christmas, sung just before the Magnificat.

The Great Antiphons start today.

I was going to blog about both the Great Antiphons and the hymn, but find that the Wikipedia entries on both cover all that I was going to say, and indeed more than I knew.

The entry on the Great O Antiphons is here; there is only one thing I would argue with, and that is the suggestion that the reverse acrostic, Ero Cras, is a coincidence. There is no place for coincidence in my theology...

The entry on O Come, O Come Emmanuel is here. I was fascinated to read Neale's original version; I had only known the Ancient and Modern version.

Here is the chant version of O Sapientia, the first of the Great Antiphons, sung at Vespers today.

O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti,

attingens a fine usque ad finem,

fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia:

veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.

O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High,

reaching from one end to the other,

mightily and sweetly ordering all things:

Come and teach us the way of prudence.

Here is Arvo Pärt's setting (in German)

O Weisheit O Weisheit, hervorgegangen aus dem Munde des Höchsten, die Welt umspannst du von einem Ende zu andern, in Kraft und Milde ordnest du alles: O komm und offenbare uns den Weg der Weisheit und der Einsicht, O Weisheit. O Wisdom O Wisdom, proceeding from the mouth of the Most High, Thou encirclest the world from one end to the other, Thou orderest all things with might and mercy: O come to us and reveal the way of wisdom and of understanding O Wisdom.

Here we go again...

Tomorrow I set off for London, there to join the English contingent of the Chartres pilgrimage on Friday morning.  We start, as ever, with Mass (EF) in the Cathedral crypt, before boarding our coach for France.

The main pilgrimage starts on Saturday with Mass in Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. Then we walk and pray and walk and sing and walk and talk and walk and pray some more. Twenty five miles or so on the first day, to the campsite at Choisel. (The image shows the precise miles we walked last year on 14 - 16 May...)

On Sunday, it is much the same, except that Mass is in the middle of the day, in the open air: a magnificent High Mass at an impromptu but beautifully constructed altar (which would put many permanent altars in English churches to shame).

And then on Monday, we march into Chartres for the final Mass in Notre Dame cathedral (all French cathedrals are dedicated to Our Lady, I think).

Except it's not the final Mass for us, as the English chapters stay overnight in Chartres and celebrate Mass the following day in the crypt. A pleasing circularity...

I have written about this in previous years (see here) and will doubtless give an account of this year's pilgrimage on my return. It is an amazing, challenging and uplifting experience every time (I think this is my ninth time...)

In the meantime, if anyone has any prayer intentions they would like me to take to Our Lady as we walk in her honour over Pentecost weekend, leave them in the comments box (before Thursday night) and I will remember them en route and in the various cathedrals...

Quinquagesima

Today, Quinguagesima, is the last Sunday in the count-down to Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday.

Here is the Introit of the Mass (EF)  sung by the Benedictine Nuns of Notre-Dame de l'Annonciation, Le Barroux:

Esto mihi in Deum pro­tectórem, et in locum re­fúgii, ut salvum me fácias: quóniam firmaméntum meum et refúgium meum es tu: et propter nomen tuum dux mihi eris, et enútries me. 

In te, Dómine, sperávi, non confúndar in ætérnum:  in justítia tua libera me et éripe me.

Glória Patri...

Be Thou unto me a God, a protector, and a place of re­fuge, to save me: for Thou art my strength and my refuge: and for Thy name’s sake Thou wilt lead me, and nourish me. 

In Thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me never be confounded: deli­ver me in Thy justice, and save me.

Glory be to the Father...      .

Curiously, while Quinquagesima is indeed 50 days before Easter as its name would suggest, Sexagesima and Septuagesima are not 60 and 70 days before Easter.

This period of pre-Lenten preparation has been replaced in the new Calendar by a few Sundays of Ordinary Time; these are then resumed after Pentecost, as a further set of Ordinary Time Sundays.  In former times (and still, if one celebrates according to the traditional calendar) these were the Sundays after Pentecost.

In my view, that change is an impoverishment.  The seasons of the Church year used to be a constant reminder of one or other of the great mysteries of our Faith.  It seems particularly ironic that in the wake of the Second Vatican Council, when we were all supposed to be so much more aware of the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church today, we should have removed the reference to the descent of the Holy Spirit in our counting of the Sundays after Pentecost, and replaced them with 'Ordinary.'

If I had my way, we'd call them Ghostly Sundays, in honour of the Holy Ghost, and because it would be such a great name!

SPES

Now that I have returned from Chartres, I will, as promised, start to outline my thinking about how best we prepare for the forthcoming Synod.

There is no doubt that we face a major crisis in the Church. Many German bishops have already declared that if they do not get the changes that they desire, they will disregard the Synod's conclusions and press on with their own agenda. They are also, apparently, already organising secretly to try to bring about the results they want.  The situation is equally grave in most of Europe and North America.  In the Vatican, Cardinal Burke has been sidelined and will not attend the Synod. Meanwhile a vicious and coordinated press attack has been launched on Cardinal Pell, in the hope of discrediting him before the Synod starts.

Here in the UK, we have few bishops who seem willing and able to offer the kind of leadership that we so desperately need; we also have people like ACTA - a small group who make a disproportionate amount of noise.

So it is my belief that the orthodox Catholic laity in the UK should be more vocal and more active in the run-up to the Synod.  The recent letter to the Catholic Herald was a good start, but I am sure that there is more we can - and indeed should - do.

So over the next few days I will be outlining some ideas, and will be keen to hear from people whether they are supportive of them, what else we should do, and what people around the country are prepared to commit to.  I think it will be important that we share our commitments, both to hearten each other and to stimulate each other into further action.

Above all, though, I think we need to start with SPES: Supplication and Penance for the Extraordinary Synod.

When we consider Our Lord's example, He frequently spent time in prayer and fasting prior to major undertakings. Given that He had no need to discipline His body via mortification, as it was not subject to concupiscence and was entirely untainted by sin, we have to understand that it was precisely to give us an example. So we would be rash not to follow it.

SPES is also, of course, the Latin for Hope, and is one of Our Lady's titles: Spes Nostra (cf for example, the Salve Regina).

So I invite all readers of this blog to pray and fast or offer other penance for the Synod, and for guidance on what we should do between now and then.  

Equally, I invite anyone with any connections to the real pray-ers of the Church - contemplative orders - to contact them, and ask them to pray for us, the laity and for  a successful outcome to the Synod.

As I mentioned, I will be posting suggestions over the next few days - and look forward to hearing what others propose to do, too. We must not allow anyone to think that ACTA for example, represent the typical views of British Catholics.

Sancta Maria, spes nostra: ora pro nobis.

Resurrexit, sicut dixit: Alleluia!

Happy Easter!

Today is the day of the new creation: all is made new in Christ.

And we sing with joy to His Blessed Mother, given to us as our Mother from the Cross: for the next forty days, instead of the Angelus, which honours the Incarnation, we will sing and pray the Regina Caeli, celebrating the Resurrection.

The Regina Caeli: first the Gregorian Chant, then the arrangement by Gregor Aichinger.

Regina caeli
V. Regina caeli, laetare, alleluia.
R. Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia.
V. Resurrexit, sicut dixit, alleluia.
R. Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.
V. Gaude et laetare, Virgo Maria, alleluia.
R. Quia surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia.

Oremus. Deus, qui per resurrectionem Filii tui, Domini nostri Iesu Christi, mundum laetificare dignatus es: praesta, quaesumus; ut per eius Genetricem Virginem Mariam, perpetuae capiamus gaudia vitae. Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

O Queen of Heaven rejoice, Alleluia: 
For He whom thou didst merit to bear, Alleluia,  
Has risen as He said, Alleluia. 
Pray for us to God, Alleluia. 
Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, Alleluia. 
For the Lord is risen indeed, Alleluia. 

Let us pray: O God, who gave joy to the whole world by the Resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: grant we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may obtain the joys of eternal life.  Through the same Christ our Lord.   Amen.  

For those who pray #twitterangelus, the Regina Caeli in tweetable format is here.

Christ makes all things new, and the joy of the reality of Easter far outweighs any problems in the Church or beyond.

Veni, veni Emmanuel

As part of our Advent ritual, we always sing O Come, O Come Emmanuel around our Advent wreath.

The hymn is of course a metrical adaptation of (five of) the Great O Antiphons; the Magnificat antiphons for Vespers for the week preceding Christmas.

The Great O Antiphons start tomorrow, which is why I thought today a good day to post on them.

I was going to blog about both the O Antiphons and the hymn, but find that the Wikipedia entries on both cover all that I was going to say, and indeed more than I knew.

The entry on the Great O Antiphons is here; there is only one thing I would argue with, and that is the suggestion that the reverse acrostic, Ero Cras, is a coincidence. There is no place for coincidence in my theology...

The entry on O Come, O Come Emmanuel is here. I was fascinated to read Neale's original version; I had only known the Ancient and Modern version.

The O Antiphons (in German) have been set wonderfully by Arvo Pärt:

Prayers Please

I have just received this message from Fr de Malleray, FSSP (Chaplain for the Non French Pilgrims to the Notre-Dame de Chrétienté Pilgrimage)

Dear Friends,

Please include in your prayers Fr Denis Coiffet, the current General Chaplain of the Chartres Pilgrimage.

Fr Coiffet has undergone treatment for cancer over the past months and was admitted into hospital in Paris several weeks ago. He is conscious and peaceful, offering up his sufferings for souls.

Born in 1952, Fr Coiffet is a co-founder of the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter (in 1988) and has been an indefatigable apostle, particularly involved in the French scout movement.

He has received the Last Rites and my confreres from Versailles visit him daily and communicate to him the prayers of the faithful and clergy.

No doubt that, despite his imperfect English, Fr Coiffet would be glad to know that English pilgrims to Chartres remember him in their prayers.

Cordially in Our Lady,

Fr de Malleray, FSSP (Chaplain for the Non French Pilgrims to the Notre-Dame de Chrétienté Pilgrimage)

  

Trouble at Blackfen?

I had started to write a post about Blackfen, having heard from a couple of people... However, even as I was drafting it, more people have got in touch, and I now have both more information (and corroboration) and also more to ponder.

If anyone wants to tell me more, or offer reasons pro or contra blogging about it, please get in touch. Benny (dot) trovato (at) gmail (dot) com reaches me - or via Twitter DM etc.

These are deep waters, I think.

So that post will have to wait a few days (I am out of circulation for much of this week).

In the meantime, can I ask all my readers to pray for all involved.

Sub tuum praesidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genetrix.
Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus nostris,
sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper,
Virgo gloriosa et benedicta.

More pained thoughts on the Chartres Pilgrimage...

One of the many odd things about the pilgrimage is how the discomfort moves around.  On the first day, my left hip was sore, and got gradually worse during the day, and over night.

The next morning, I was slightly worried that if it continued to get worse, I might struggle to walk the whole pilgrimage.

And at the first break, I suddenly noticed that it was no longer hurting.

By then, of course, something else was: I forget what, it may have been my right knee or my shins, or... 

But that was very much the pattern.  And the way to cope with these passing discomforts was largely to ignore them. (I am not saying that I didn't put blister plasters on my feet as the occasion arose: when something needs attention, it needs attention - but worrying about it really doesn't help).  So singing the rosary, really attending to the meditations, engaging in cheery chat with other weary pilgrims, singing the secular songs and rounds that keep us marching... any of these was vastly preferable to thinking about how sore a hip, knee or shin was.

The poorest strategy was to slow a little, drop behind the chapter, and then struggle along with no company but one's own misery - and still having to march the same distance at the same pace, but getting to the rest break a little later, and therefore having a shorter rest, and thinking all the while about how much one's hip, knee, or shin is hurting.

Yet that is very tempting, nonetheless.

There's a metaphor there, somewhere, too...

Resurrexit sicut dixit: Alleluia!

Happy Easter!

Today is the day of the new creation: all is made new in Christ.

And we sing with joy to His Blessed Mother, given to us as our Mother from the Cross: for the next forty days, instead of the Angelus, which honours the Incarnation, we will sing and pray the Regina Caeli, celebrating the Resurrection.

The Regina Caeli: first the Gregorian Chant, then the arrangement by Gregor Aichinger.

Regina caeli
V. Regina caeli, laetare, alleluia.
R. Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia.
V. Resurrexit, sicut dixit, alleluia.
R. Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.
V. Gaude et laetare, Virgo Maria, alleluia.
R. Quia surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia.

Oremus. Deus, qui per resurrectionem Filii tui, Domini nostri Iesu Christi, mundum laetificare dignatus es: praesta, quaesumus; ut per eius Genetricem Virginem Mariam, perpetuae capiamus gaudia vitae. Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

O Queen of Heaven rejoice, Alleluia: 
For He whom thou didst merit to bear, Alleluia,  
Has risen as He said, Alleluia. 
Pray for us to God, Alleluia. 
Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, Alleluia. 
For the Lord is risen indeed, Alleluia. 

Let us pray: O God, who gave joy to the whole world by the Resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: grant we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may obtain the joys of eternal life.  Through the same Christ our Lord.   Amen.  

For those who pray #twitterangelus, the Regina Caeli in tweetable format is here.

Christ makes all things new, and the joy of the reality of Easter far outweighs any problems in the Church or beyond.

Ant and her fiancé made this Easter Garden:

You can't see from this angle, but the stones contain a tomb, with the rock rolled away, revealing the empty interior.

Please pray for the conversion of Ant's fiancé and for all blessings on their marriage this summer.

And my fritillaries are out, to make my joy complete! Not quite up to the display in Addison's walk, but fond memories, and beautiful flowers. (Just found this: especially last three photos...)

May all my readers have a very happy and blessed Eastertide.

Prayers while vesting for Mass

I have just been re-reading the prayers that used to be said by the priest while vesting for Mass.  

They speak beautifully of the significance of the liturgical vestments.

I do wonder how many priests retain any of these prayers - or indeed any sense that the vestments have any real meaning.

I found these here, which is another site with the complete texts of the Mass: it opens to today's Mass every time you visit, which is helpful; and it has Masses for all weekdays and feasts (I understand: I haven't checked).


CUM SACERDOS INDUITUR 

Cum lavat manus: 
Da, Dómine, virtútem mánibus meis ad abstergéndam omnem máculam; ut sine pollutióne mentis et córporis váleam tibi servíre.

Ad Amictum:
Impóne, Dómine, cápiti meo gáleam salútis, ad expugnándos diabólicos incúrsus.

Ad Albam: 
Deálba me, Dómine, et munda cor meum; ut, in Sánguine Agni dealbátus, gáudiis pérfruar sempitérnis.

Ad Cingulum: 
Præcínge me, Dómine, cíngulo puritátis, et exstíngue in lumbis meis humórem libídinis; ut máneat in me virtus continéntiæ et castitátis.

Ad Manipulum: 
Mérear, Dómine, portáre manípulum fletus et dolóris; ut cum exsultatióne recípiam mercédem labóris.

Ad Stolam:
Redde mihi, Dómine, stolam immortalitátis, quam pérdidi in prævaricatióne primi paréntis: et, quamvis indígnus accédo ad tuum sacrum mystérium, mérear tamen gáudium sempitérnum.

Ad Casulam: 
Dómine, qui dixísti: Jugum meum suáve est et onus meum leve: fac, ut istud portáre sic váleam, quod cónsequar tuam grátiam. Amen.

PRAYERS WHILE VESTMENTS ARE TAKEN

While he washes his hands:
Give strength to my hands, Lord, to wipe away all stain, so that I may be able to serve Thee in purity of mind and body.

For the amice:
Lord, set the helmet of salvation on my head to fend off all the assaults of the devil.

For the alb:
Purify me, Lord, and cleanse my heart so that, washed in the Blood of the Lamb, I may enjoy eternal bliss.

For the cincture:
Lord, gird me with the cincture of purity and extinguish my fleshly desires, that the virtue of continence and chastity may abide within me.

For the maniple:
Lord, may I worthily bear the maniple of tears and sorrow so as to receive the reward of my labour with rejoicing.

For the stole:
Lord, restore the stole of immortality, which I lost through the collusion of our first parents, and, unworthy as I am to approach Thy sacred mysteries, may I yet gain eternal joy.

For the chasuble:
O Lord, Who hast said, "My yoke is sweet and My burden light," grant that I may so carry it as to merit Thy grace. Amen.

Ash Wednesday then and now...

Every year I am struck by the contrast between the prayers over the Ashes in the Traditional and the New Roman Rite.

In the Traditional Rite, the Blessing and Imposition of Ashes takes place before the Mass begins, with the following solemn prayers of intercession and blessing:

Let us pray.   O almighty and everlasting God, spare those who are penitent, be merciful to those who implore Thee; and vouchsafe to send Thy holy Angel from heaven, to bless † and hal†low these ashes, that they may be a wholesome remedy to all who humbly implore Thy holy Name, and who accuse themselves, conscious of their sins, deploring their crimes before Thy divine mercy, or humbly and earnestly beseeching Thy sovereign goodness: and grant through the invocation of Thy most holy Name that whosoever shall be sprinkled with them for the remission of their sins may receive both health of body and safety of soul. Through Christ our Lord.
 R.: Amen.

Let us pray. O God, who desirest not the death, but the repentance of sinners, look down most graciously upon the frailty of human nature; and in Thy goodness vouchsafe to bless † these ashes which we purpose to put opon our heads in token of our lowliness and to obtain forgiveness: so that we who know that we are but ashes, and for the demerits of our wickedness are to return to dust, may deserve to obtain of Thy mercy, the pardon of all our sins, and the rewards promised to the penitent. Through Christ our Lord.  

R.: Amen.

Let us pray. O God, who art moved by humiliation, and appeased by penance: incline the ear of Thy goodness to our prayers and mercifully pour forth upon the heads of Thy servants sprinkled with these ashes the grace of Thy blessing: that Thou mayest both fill them with the spirit of compunction, and effectually grant what they have justly prayed for: and ordain that what Thou hast granted may be permanently established and remain unchanged. Through Christ our Lord.

R.: Amen.

Let us pray. O almighty and everlasting God, who didst vouchsafe Thy healing pardon to the Ninivites doing penance in sackcloth and ashes, mercifully grant that we may so imitate them in our outward attitude as to follow them in obtaining forgiveness. Through Christ our Lord.

R.: Amen.

 When all have received the ashes, the priest says:

V.: The Lord be with you.
R.: And with thy spirit.

Let us pray.  Grant us, O Lord, to begin with holy fasts the campaign of our Christian warfare: that, as we do battle with the spirits of evil, we may be protected by the help of self-denial. Through Christ our Lord.

R.: Amen.

--

In the New Rite, the blessing and imposition of ashes takes place after the Homily.  There is an invitation to prayer, followed by only one prayer over the ashes (though, as so often, a choice is offered):

Dear brethren (brothers and sisters), let us humbly ask God our Father
that he be pleased to bless with the abundance of his grace
these ashes, which we will put on our heads in penitence.

After a brief prayer in silence, and, with hands extended, he continues:

O God, who are moved by acts of humility
and respond with forgiveness to works of penance,
lend your merciful ear to our prayers
and in your kindness pour out the grace of your blessing
on your servants who are marked with these ashes,
that, as they follow the Lenten observances,
they may be worthy to come with minds made pure
to celebrate the Paschal Mystery of your Son.
Through Christ our Lord
R. Amen.

Or:
O God, who desire not the death of sinners,
but their conversion,
mercifully hear our prayers
and in your kindness be pleased to bless + these ashes,
which we intend to receive upon our heads,
that we, who acknowledge we are but ashes
and shall return to dust,
may, through a steadfast observance of Lent,
gain pardon for sins and newness of life
after the likeness of your Risen Son.
Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

R. Amen.

--

Is it me, or is that an impoverishment?

Update:

Lazarus has pointed out that I missed another telling difference. In the traditional Mass, the ashes are imposed with the words:

Memento homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris.

Remember man, that thou art dust, and unto dust thou shalt return.

In the New Rite, there are (of course!) options:

Repent, and believe in the Gospel.
Or:
Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

Many parishes, it seems, use the first option: another break with tradition. Our PP, for some reason, alternated.