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.
Order of Service
Please stand as the Minister sings Let us pray.
Please remain standing whilst the Choir and Clergy enter the stalls
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.
Please sit as the Choir sings the PSALM(s) proper to the day
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 LESSON
Please stand as the Choir sings one of the following canticles
O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving: and shew ourselves glad in him with Psalms. For the Lord is a great God: and a great King above all gods. In his hand are all the corners of the earth: and the strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands prepared the dry land. O come, let us worship and fall down: and kneel before the Lord our Maker. For he is the Lord our God: and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. 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.
We have a strong city: salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates: that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for our rock of ages is the Lord. The way of the just is uprightness: thou that art upright dost direct the path of the just. Yea in the way of thy judgements O Lord have we waited for thee: the desire of our soul is to thy Name and to the remembrance of thee. 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.
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.
O praise the Lord of heaven: praise him in the height. Praise him all ye angels of his: praise him all his host. Praise him sun and moon: praise him all ye stars and light. Praise him all ye heavens: and ye waters that are above the heavens. Let them praise the Name of the Lord: for he spake the word and they were made; he commanded and they were created. He hath made them fast for ever and ever: he hath given them a law which shall not be broken. 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.
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 hand 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 hand of our enemies: might serve him without fear; In holiness and righteousness before him: all the days of our life. 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.
Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the feast; Not with the old leaven nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness: but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more: death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin: but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Christ is risen from the dead: and become the first fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death: by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die: even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 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 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 them that 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 COLLECTS; of the day, for peace, and for grace
O Lord, we beseech thee, let thy continual pity cleanse and defend thy Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without thy succour, preserve it evermore by thy help and goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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.
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.
Please sit as the Choir sings the ANTHEM
The Minister says Let us pray.
Please kneel or remain seated for the OCCASIONAL PRAYERS, at the end of which all say THE GRACE
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 as the Choir and Clergy depart. Please remain at your seat for the duration of the ORGAN VOLUNTARY.