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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What is Choral Matins?
Choral Matins at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral is the first service in our daily pattern of worship. As Christians, we know that God is with us at all times and in all places. Morning and evening are times set aside to pray. This morning prayer service brings us closer to God in three ways: through the singing of songs of praise, reading the Bible, and praying for ourselves and others.
Everyone present participates by being with God in worship, using silence and adoration, words and music. The ways in which we participate in this service may feel strange at first – as it invites us to use much more of ourselves than our voices. Each person has his or her individual part to offer. Some words are said by the ministers, some are sung by the choir; everyone is asked to pray them with heart and mind and strength.
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. There is a green hill far away,
Without a city wall,
Where the dear Lord was crucified,
Who died to save us all.
2. We may not know, we cannot tell,
What pains he had to bear,
But we believe it was for us
He hung and suffered there.
3. He died that we might be forgiven,
He died to make us good;
That we might go at last to heaven,
Saved by his precious blood.
4. There was no other good enough
To pay the price of sin,
He only could unlock the gate
Of heaven, and let us in.
5. O dearly, dearly has he loved,
And we must love him too,
And trust in his redeeming blood,
And try his works to do.
Mrs Cecil Frances Alexander (1818–95); William Horsley (1774–1858)
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 Priest pronounces the
Absolution
The People respond
Amen.
Please remain standing whilst the Minister and Choir sing the
Preces & 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.
Philip Radcliffe (1905–86)
Please sit as the Choir sings the
Psalm
PSALM 22
Deus, Deus meus.
My God, my God, look upon me; why hast thou forsaken me: and art so far from my health, and from the words of my complaint? O my God, I cry in the day-time, but thou hearest not: and in the night-season also I take no rest. And thou continuest holy: O thou worship of Israel. Our fathers hoped in thee: they trusted in thee, and thou didst deliver them. They called upon thee, and were holpen: they put their trust in thee, and were not confounded. But as for me, I am a worm, and no man: a very scorn of men, and the outcast of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out their lips, and shake their heads, saying, He trusted in God, that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, if he will have him. But thou art he that took me out of my mother’s womb: thou wast my hope, when I hanged yet upon my mother’s breasts. I have been left unto thee ever since I was born: thou art my God even from my mother’s womb. O go not from me, for trouble is hard at hand: and there is none to help me. Many oxen are come about me: fat bulls of Basan close me in on every side. They gape upon me with their mouths: as it were a ramping and a roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart also in the midst of my body is even like melting wax. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaveth to my gums: and thou shalt bring me into the dust of death. For many dogs are come about me: and the council of the wicked layeth siege against me. They pierced my hands and my feet; I may tell all my bones: they stand staring and looking upon me. They part my garments among them: and cast lots upon my vesture. But be not thou far from me, O Lord: thou art my succour, haste thee to help me. Deliver my soul from the sword: my darling from the power of the dog. Save me from the lion’s mouth: thou hast heard me also from among the horns of the unicorns. I will declare thy Name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee. O praise the Lord, ye that fear him: magnify him, all ye of the seed of Jacob, and fear him, all ye seed of Israel; For he hath not despised, nor abhorred, the low estate of the poor: he hath not hid his face from him, but when he called unto him he heard him. My praise is of thee in the great congregation: my vows will I perform in the sight of them that fear him. The poor shall eat, and be satisfied: they that seek after the Lord shall praise him; your heart shall live for ever. All the ends of the world shall remember themselves, and be turned unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before him. For the kingdom is the Lord’s: and he is the Governor among the nations. All such as be fat upon earth: have eaten, and worshipped. All they that go down into the dust shall kneel before him: and no man hath quickened his own soul. My seed shall serve him: they shall be counted unto the Lord for a generation. They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness: unto a people that shall be born, for the Lord hath done it.
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
Please stand as the Choir sings
The Lamentations of Jeremiah
Remember, O Lord, what is come upon us, behold and see our reproach. The joy of our heart is ceased, our dance is turned into mourning. The crown is fallen from our head; woe unto us, for we have sinned. For this our heart is faint, for these things our eyes are dim. Let us search and try our ways, and turn again unto the Lord. Turn thou us unto thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not: they are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul, therefore will I hope in him. O Lord thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul, thou hast redeemed my life. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return unto the Lord thy God.
Edward Bairstow (1874–1946)
Please sit for the
Please stand as the Choir sings
Benedictus
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel: for he hath visited, and redeemed his people;
and hath raised up a mighty salvation for us: in the house of his servant David;
as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets: which have been since the world began;
that we should be saved from our enemies: and from the hands of all that hate us;
to perform the mercy promised to our forefathers: and to remember his holy covenant;
to perform the oath which he sware to our forefather Abraham: that he would give us;
that we being delivered out of the hands of our enemies: might serve him without fear;
in holiness and righteousness before him: all the days of our life.
And thou, child, shalt be called the Prophet of the highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
to give knowledge of salvation unto his people: for the remission of their sins,
through the tender mercy of our God: whereby the day-spring from on high hath visited us;
to give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death: and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
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.
Service in D; George Dyson (1883–1964)
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 & 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, we beseech thee graciously to behold this thy family, for which our Lord Jesus Christ was contented to be betrayed, and given up into the hands of wicked men, and to suffer death upon the cross, who now liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. 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.
Philip Radcliffe (1905–86)
Please sit as the Choir sings the
Anthem
It is a thing most wonderful, almost too wonderful to be, that God’s own Son should come from heaven, and die to save a child like me. And yet I know that it is true; he chose a poor and humble lot, and wept and toiled and mourned and died, for love of those who loved him not. I sometimes think about the Cross, and shut my eyes, and try to see the cruel nails and crown of thorns, and Jesus crucified for me. It is most wonderful to know his love for me so free and sure; but ’tis more wonderful to see my love for him so faint and poor. And yet I want to love thee, Lord; O light the flame within my heart, and I will love thee more and more, until I see thee as thou art.
Philip Moore (b.1943)
Please stand whilst the Preacher moves to the Pulpit for the
Sermon
The Reverend C. W. Mullen, B.Th.,
Dean’s Vicar and Resident Preacher
Please be seated for the Sermon. At the end, the Preacher will conclude with a prayer, during which the congregation will stand.
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 the
Hymn
During the hymn, a collection of money is made. You can donate online by tapping the Support Us button in the bottom right.
1. When I survey the wondrous Cross,
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
2. Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God;
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his Blood.
3. See from his head, his hands, his feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down;
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
4. His dying crimson, like a robe,
Spreads o’er his body on the Tree;
Then am I dead to all the globe,
And all the globe is dead to me.
5. Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
Isaac Watts (1674–1748);
Edward Miller (1731–1807)
Please remain standing for the
Blessing
Please remain standing as the Choir and Clergy depart in silence.
Acknowledgements
Developed by Clark Brydon.
Material in this service is reproduced from The Book of Common Prayer, © RCB 2004.
Translations are provided automatically by Google Translate. Saint Patrick’s Cathedral is not responsible for automatically generated content or for content on external websites.
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