Matins is an early morning worship service, and is the first of the canonical hours. The name comes from the Latin matutinus “pertaining to the morning.” It is one of the canonical hours, which developed as dedicated times, or hours, for prayer and devotion. Matins, sometimes spelled “mattins,” was the longest of the services of the breviary. It consisted chiefly of three sets of psalms and lessons. It was a vigil service, begun several hours before dawn. In the Rule of St. Benedict of Nursia, matins was typically at 2 a.m. Thomas Cranmer combined portions of matins, lauds, and prime to form his English Mattins in the 1549 BCP. This service became Morning Prayer.
On this site associated with Saint Patrick, God has been worshipped through the prayers and praises of countless generations. We welcome you here today to share in this worship. Much of today’s service is sung by the Choir, allowing you space to reflect and freedom to participate in a silent, but equally direct, way.
You are invited to say the text in bold in English.
Order of Service
Please stand as the Minister sings
Let us pray.
Please remain standing whilst the Choir and Clergy enter the stalls
Please remain standing to sing
Hymn
1. The strife is o’er, the battle done;
Now is the Victor’s triumph won;
O let the song of praise be sung:
Alleluia!
2. Death’s mightiest powers have done their worst,
And Jesus hath his foes dispersed;
Let shouts of praise and joy outburst:
Alleluia!
3. On the third morn he rose again,
Glorious in majesty to reign;
O let us swell the joyful strain:
Alleluia!
4. He brake the age-bound chains of hell,
The bars from heaven’s high portals
fell;
Let hymns of praise his triumph tell:
Alleluia!
5. Lord, by the stripes which wounded thee
From death’s dread sting thy servants free,
That we may live, and sing to thee.
Alleluia!
Latin, tr. Francis Pott (1832–1909) Melchior Vulpius arr. Henry G. Ley (1887–1962)
The Minister welcomes the People and introduces the GENERAL CONFESSION:
Let us kneel, humbly to confess our sins unto almighty God:
Please kneel or sit, according to your custom
Almighty and most merciful Father; We have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; And we have done those things which we ought not to have done; And there is no health in us. But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Spare thou them, O God, which confess their faults. Restore thou them that are penitent; According to thy promises declared unto mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake; That we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, To the glory of thy holy Name. Amen.
The ABSOLUTION is pronounced by the Priest, to which the People respond Amen.
The Minister and Choir sing the
Preces and Responses
O Lord, open thou our lips.
And our mouth shall show forth thy praise.
O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Praise ye the Lord.
The Lord’s Name be praised.
Herbert Sumsion (1899–1995)
Please sit as the Choir sings the
Psalm
PSALM 113
Laudate, pueri.
Praise the Lord, ye servants: O praise the Name of the Lord. Blessed be the Name of the Lord: from this time forth for evermore. The Lord’s Name is praised: from the rising up of the sun unto the going down of the same. The Lord is high above all nations: and his glory above the heavens. Who is like unto the Lord our God, that hath his dwelling so high: and yet humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven and earth? He taketh up the simple out of the dust: and lifteth the poor out of the mire; That he may set him with the princes: even with the princes of his people. He maketh the barren woman to keep house: and to be a joyful mother of children
Please stand for
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Please sit for the
First Lesson
Isaiah 43: 1–12
Please stand as the Choir sings
TE DEUM LAUDAMUS
We praise thee, O God, we acknowledge thee to be the Lord. All the earth doth worship thee, the Father everlasting. To thee all Angels cry aloud the Heavens, and all the Powers therein, To thee Cherubim, and Seraphim continually do cry, Holy, Holy, Holy. Lord God of Sabaoth: Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty of thy glory. The glorious company of the apostles praise thee; the goodly fellowship of the Prophets praise thee. The noble army of Martyrs praise thee. The holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge thee; the Father of an infinite majesty, Thine honourable, true and only Son also the Holy Ghost the Comforter. Thou art the King of glory O Christ. Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father. When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man, thou didst not abhor the Virgin’s womb. When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death: thou didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers. Thou sittest at the right hand of God: in the glory of the Father. We believe that thou shalt come to be our judge. We therefore pray thee, help thy servants, whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood. Make them to be numbered with thy saints in glory everlasting. O Lord, save thy people and bless thine heritage: govern them and lift them up for ever. Day by day we magnify thee and we worship thy Name ever world without end. Vouchsafe, O Lord to keep us this day without sin. O Lord, have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us. O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us, as our trust is in thee. O Lord, in thee have I trusted: let me never be confounded.
Service in G; Herbert Sumsion (1899–1995)
Please sit for the
Second Lesson
Luke 24: 13–35
Please stand as the Choir sings
Jubilate
O be joyful in the Lord all ye lands: serve the Lord with gladness and come before his presence with a song. Be ye sure that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. O go your way into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and speak good of his Name. For the Lord is gracious, his mercy is everlasting: and his truth endureth from generation to generation. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
William Walton (1902–83)
Please remain standing to say the
APOSTLES’ CREED
I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth: and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord: who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary: suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried: He descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead: He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty: from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost: the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints: the forgiveness of sins: the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Minister and Choir sing the
SUFFRAGES AND RESPONSES
The Lord be with you.
And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
Please kneel or sit, according to your custom
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
O Lord, shew thy mercy upon us.
And grant us thy salvation.
O Lord, guide and defend our rulers.
And mercifully hear us when we call upon thee.
Endue thy Ministers with righteousness.
And make thy chosen people joyful.
O Lord, save thy people.
And bless thine inheritance.
Give peace in our time, O Lord.
Because there is none other that fighteth for us, but only thou, O God.
O God, make clean our hearts within us.
And take not thy Holy Spirit from us.
The Minister intones the
Collect of the Day
Almighty God, who hast given thine only Son to be unto us both a sacrifice for sin, and also an ensample of godly life; Give us grace that we may always most thankfully receive that his inestimable benefit, and also daily endeavour ourselves to follow the blessed steps of his most holy life; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Collect for Peace
O God, who art the author of peace and lover of concord, in knowledge of whom standeth our eternal life, whose service is perfect freedom; Defend us thy humble servants in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in thy defence, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Collect for Grace
O Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, who hast safely brought us to the beginning of this day: Defend us in the same with thy mighty power; and grant that this day we fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger; but that all our doings may be ordered by thy governance, to do always that is righteous in thy sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Herbert Sumsion (1899–1995)
Please sit as the Choir sings the
ANTHEM
My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, the voice of the turtle is heard in our land. The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
Patrick Hadley (1899–1973)
Please sit for the
Sermon
Preacher: The Reverend C. W. Mullen, B.Th., Prebendary of Rathmichael
The Minister says
Let us pray.
Please kneel or remain seated for the
PRAYERS
At the end, all say
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all, evermore. Amen.
Please stand to sing
Hymn
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1. Now is eternal life,
If risen with Christ we stand,
In him to life reborn,
And holden in his hand;
No more we fear death’s ancient dread,
In Christ arisen from the dead.
2. For God, the living God,
Stooped down to man’s estate;
By death destroying death,
Christ opened wide life’s gate:
He lives, who died; he reigns on high;
Who lives in him shall never die.
3. Unfathomed love divine,
Reign thou within my heart;
From thee nor depth nor height,
Nor life nor death can part;
Our life is hid with God in thee,
Now and through all eternity.
G. W. Briggs (1875–1959)
Charles Steggall (1826–1905)
Please remain standing for
The Blessing
Please remain standing as the Choir and Clergy depart.
The Minister and Choir sing
The Dismissal
The Lord be with you. And with thy spirit.
Let us bless the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Please remain at your seat for the duration of the