Eucharist – Page 92 – Order of Service

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 to sing

Hymn

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.

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.

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.

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 Gathering of God’s People

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

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.

The Celebrant introduces the

CONFESSION

After a short pause for self examination, all say

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

All say the Gloria in English

GLORIA IN EXCELSIS

English

Latin

English

Latin

The Celebrant prays the

COLLECT OF THE DAY

Almighty God, whose blessed Son was circumcised in obedience to the law for our sake and given the Name that declares your saving love: Give us grace faithfully to bear his Name, to worship him in the freedom of the Spirit, and to proclaim him as the Saviour of the world; who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

PROCLAIMING AND RECEIVING THE WORD

Please be seated for the

Reading

Galatians 4: 4–7

⁴But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. ⁶And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba!Father!’ ⁷So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

GRADUAL

Please stand for the

Gospel

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Hear the Gospel of our Saviour Christ according to Saint Luke, in the second chapter, beginning at the first verse.

Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Gospel Reading

Luke 2: 15–21

¹⁵When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’ ¹⁶So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. ¹⁷When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Jesus Is Named

²¹After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Please be seated for the

Sermon

Preacher: The Reverend B. M. McKay, O.Carm., B.A., B.D., M.Phil., D.D. Prebendary of Clondalkin

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

The Leader says

Let us pray.

Please kneel or sit according to your custom

Each petition ends

Lord, in your mercy

hear our prayer.

The prayers may conclude

Merciful Father, accept these our prayers for the sake of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Please stand for

The Peace

The Celebrant introduces the Peace and says

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 for charity. If you would like to donate online, click here.

While shepherds watched their flocks by night
All seated on the ground,
The angel of the Lord came down,
And glory shone around.

‘Fear not,’ said he (for mighty dread
Had seized their troubled mind);
‘Glad tidings of great joy I bring
To you and all mankind.

‘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:

‘The heavenly Babe you there shall find
To human view displayed,
All meanly wrapped in swathing bands,
And in a manger laid.’

Thus spake the seraph; and forthwith
Appeared a shining throng
Of angels, praising God, who thus
Addressed their joyful song:

‘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

CELEBRATING AT THE LORD’S TABLE

Please remain standing

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 saying:

All say in English

Sanctus & Benedictus

English

Latin

English

Latin

Please remain standing as the

EUCHARISTIC PRAYER

continues, concluding

… through the same 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:

All say

Blessing and honour and glory and power are yours for ever and ever. Amen.

The Celebrant invites the People to pray

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.

Saint Patrick’s Cathedral is the National Cathedral of the Church of Ireland, a member church of the Anglican (Episcopalian) Communion. Members of all Christian Church denominations are welcome to receive Holy Communion here.

Holy Communion will be distributed at the crossing and in the nave.

You will be directed to your appropriate location: please follow the stewards’ directions.

GOING OUT AS GOD’S PEOPLE

When all have received Communion, the Celebrant says

Let us pray.

Please kneel

The seasonal POST-COMMUNION PRAYER is said, and this prayer

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

HYMN

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,