Welcome
God has been worshipped in this place through the prayers and praises of countless generations. Worship lies at the heart of our life as Christians and we express our theology and belief through our liturgy. It is through these liturgical patterns of words and actions that we are formed and transformed.
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You are invited to say the text in bold in English.
Please stand as the Minister, at the West End of the Cathedral, sings
Let us pray.
Please remain standing to sing the
Hymn
1. Once in royal David’s city
Stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her baby
In a manger for his bed;
Mary was that Mother mild,
Jesus Christ her little child.
2. He came down to earth from heaven
Who is God and Lord of all,
And his shelter was a stable,
And his cradle was a stall:
With the poor and mean and lowly
Lived on earth our Saviour holy.
3. And through all his wondrous childhood
Day by day, like us, he grew;
He was little, weak and helpless,
Tears and smiles like us he knew;
And he feeleth for our sadness,
And he shareth in our gladness.
4. Not in that poor lowly stable,
With the oxen standing by,
We shall see him; but in heaven,
Set at God’s right hand on high;
When like stars his children crowned
All in white shall wait around.
Mrs C. F. Alexander (1818–95)
Henry Gauntlett (1805–76)
The Celebrant says
The Greeting
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Please remain standing for
The Collect for Purity
Almighty God to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy name: through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Please remain standing to say
The Confession
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, we have sinned in thought and word and deed, and in what we have left undone. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us, that we may walk in newness of life to the glory of your name. Amen.
The Celebrant pronounces
The Absolution
Please remain standing to say
Gloria in excelsis deo
Glory to God in the highest, and peace to God’s people on earth. Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory. Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us; you are seated at the right hand of the Father, receive our prayer. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
Please remain standing whilst the Celebrant prays
The Collect of the Day
Almighty God, who wonderfully created us in your own image and yet more wonderfully restored us through your Son Jesus Christ: grant that, as he came to share in our humanity, so we may share in the life of his divinity; who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Please sit for the
Reading
Colossians 3: 12–17
At the end of the reading
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Please sit for
The Gradual
Please stand
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Hear the Gospel of our Saviour Christ according to Saint N., in the X. chapter, beginning at the Y. verse.
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Gospel
Luke 2: 41–52
Please sit to listen to
The Sermon
The Very Reverend W. W. Morton, B.Th., M.A., Ph.D., M.Mus., D. Litt., Dean and Ordinary
Please stand to say
The Nicene Creed
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
The Prayers of the People
Let us pray.
Please kneel or sit, according to your custom
Each petition ends
Lord, in your mercy:
Hear our prayer.
At the end
Merciful Father, accept these our prayers for the sake of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
Please stand for
The Peace
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you.
Please remain standing to sing
The Offertory Hymn
During this hymn, a collection of money is made. Should you wish to donate online, please tap the button below to give securely by card.
1. While shepherds watched their flocks by night
All seated on the ground,
The angel of the Lord came down,
And glory shone around.
2. ‘Fear not,’ said he (for mighty dread
Had seized their troubled mind);
‘Glad tidings of great joy I bring
To you and all mankind.
3 ‘To you, in David’s town this day,
Is born of David’s line
A Saviour, who is Christ the Lord;
And this shall be the sign:
4. ‘The heavenly Babe you there shall find
To human view displayed,
All meanly wrapped in swathing bands,
And in a manger laid.’
5. Thus spake the seraph; and forthwith
Appeared a shining throng
Of angels, praising God, who thus
Addressed their joyful song:
6. ‘All glory be to God on high,
And on the earth be peace;
Good-will, henceforth, from heaven to men
Begin, and never cease.’
Nahum Tate (1652–1715)
Thomas Este’s Psalmes, London, 1592
Please remain standing
Sursum Corda
The Lord is here.
His Spirit is with us.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
The Celebrant prays the Preface, concluding
Therefore with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven we proclaim your great and glorious name, for ever praising you and singing:
Sanctus & Benedictus
Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest!
Please remain standing as the Eucharistic Prayer continues, concluding
. . . through Jesus Christ our Lord, with whom and in whom, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we worship you, Father almighty, in songs of never-ending praise:
Blessing and honour and glory and power are yours for ever and ever. Amen.
Please kneel or be seated for
The Lord’s Prayer
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. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Celebrant breaks the bread and says
The bread which we break is a sharing in the body of Christ.
We, being many, are one body, for we all share in the one bread.
The Celebrant invites the people to receive communion.
Receiving Communion
Saint Patrick’s Cathedral is the National Cathedral of the Church of Ireland, a member Church of the Anglican (Episcopalian) Communion. We welcome members of all Christian Church denominations to receive Holy Communion here. Please follow the stewards’ directions.
When all have received, the Celebrant says
Let us pray.
A seasonal post-communion prayer is said, followed by
Almighty God, we thank you for feeding us with the spiritual food of the body and blood of your Son Jesus Christ. Through him we offer you our souls and bodies to be a living sacrifice. Send us out in the power of your Spirit to live and work to your praise and glory. Amen.
Please stand to sing the
Hymn
1. The first Nowell the angel did say
Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay;
In fields where they lay keeping their sheep
On a cold winter’s night that was so deep:
Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, Nowell,
Born is the King of Israel.
2. They lookèd up and saw a star
Shining in the east beyond them far,
And to the earth it gave great light,
And so it continued both day and night:
3. And by the light of that same star
Three wise men came from country far;
To seek for a king was their intent,
And to follow the star wherever it went:
4. This star drew nigh to the north-west
O’er Bethlehem it took its rest,
And there it did both stop and stay
Right over the place where Jesus lay:
5. Then entered in those wise men three
Most reverently upon their knee,
And offered there, in his presence,
Their gold and myrrh and frank incense:
6. Then let us all with one accord
Sing praises to our heavenly Lord,
That hath made heaven and earth of nought,
And with his blood mankind hath bought:
William Sandys (1833)
English Trad., harm. John Stainer (1840–1901)
The Celebrant says
The Blessing
Please stand as the Clergy depart.
Please remain at your seat for the duration of the
