Graciously hear, we beseech Thee,
O Lord, the prayers of Thy people,
that we, who are justly afflicted for our sins,
may for the glory of Thy Name, be mercifully delivered.
Septuagesima is the liturgical period commencing with Septuagesima Sunday (the ninth Sunday before Easter, the third before Ash Wednesday).
Septuagesima is intended to be observed as a preparation for Lent (in Latin Quadragesima), which is in itself a period of spiritual preparation for the great feast of Easter. In many traditionally Catholic places, Septuagesima Sunday marks the start of the carnival season, culminating on Shrove Tuesday, with what is known in Catholic Louisiana as Mardi Gras.
In the Traditional use of the Roman Rite, Alleluia ceases to be said during the celebration of the liturgy of Mass, and at first Vespers of Septuagesima Sunday, two alleluias are added to the closing verse of Benedicamus Domino and its response, Deo gratias, to signal the last utterance of as the Alleluia until the conclusion of Lent.
In addition to the silencing of the Alleluia, the Gloria will also not be used on Sundays until Holy Thursday, though it will continue to be said for feast days. The Church also assumes the penitential violet for all ferial celebrations.
