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.
Should you wish to translate this order of service into another language, please choose your language in the bottom right. There is a guest wireless network available within the Cathedral for those without a mobile data connection.
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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. Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise
to thee;
Holy, Holy Holy! Merciful and mighty!
God in Three Persons, blessèd Trinity!
2. Holy, Holy, Holy! all the saints adore thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around
the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down
before thee,
Which wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.
3. Holy, Holy, Holy! though the darkness
hide thee,
Though the eye of sinful man thy glory
may not see, (thee
Only thou art holy: there is none beside
Perfect in power, in love, and purity.
4. Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty!
All thy works shall praise thy Name in
earth and sky and sea;
Holy, Holy, Holy! Merciful and mighty!
God in Thee Persons, blessèd Trinity!
Reginald Heber (1783–1826)
John Dykes (1823–76)
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.
Herbert Sumsion (1899–1995)
Please sit as the Choir sings the
Psalm
PSALM 121
Levavi oculos.
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills: from whence cometh my help? My help cometh even from the Lord: who hath made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: and he that keepeth thee will not sleep. Behold, he that keepeth Israel: shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord himself is thy keeper: the Lord is thy defence upon thy right hand; So that the sun shall not burn thee by day: neither the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: yea, it is even he that shall keep thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out, and thy coming in: from this time forth for evermore.
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 6: 1–8
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said:
‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.’
The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said: ‘Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!’
Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: ‘Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.’ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!’
Please stand as the Choir sings
Te Deum
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
John 3: 1–17
Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, “You must be born from above.” The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can these things be?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?
‘Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
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 hand 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 and everlasting God, who hast given unto us thy servants grace by the confession of a true faith to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of the Divine Majesty to worship the Unity; We beseech thee, that thou wouldest keep us steadfast in this faith, and evermore defend us from all adversities; who livest and reignest, 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.
Herbert Sumsion (1899–1995)
Please sit as the Choir sings the
Anthem
What sweeter music can we bring than a carol, for to sing the birth of this our heavenly King?Awake the voice! Awake the string: We see him come, and know him ours, who with his sunshine and his showers turns all the patient ground to flowers. Dark and dull night fly hence away, and give the honour to this day that sees December turned to May. The Darling of the world is come, and fit it is we find a room to welcome him. The nobler part of all the house here is the heart: Which we will give him, and bequeath this holly and this ivy wreath, to do him honour who’s our King, and Lord of all this revelling:
John Rutter (b.1945)
Please stand whilst the Preacher moves to the Pulpit for the
Sermon
Preacher: The Very Reverend W. W. Morton, B.Th., M.A., Ph.D., M.Mus., D.Litt., Dean and Ordinary
Please be seated for the Sermon. At the end, the Preacher will conclude with a prayer, during which the congregation will stand.
Anthem
Pie Iesu Domine, dona eis requiem sempiternam.
(Holy Lord Jesus, grant them rest eternal.)
Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924)
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.
All
1. I bind unto myself today
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One, and One in Three.
Men
2. I bind this day to me for ever,
By power of faith, Christ’s Incarnation;
His baptism in Jordan river;
His death on Cross for my salvation;
All His bursting from the spicèd tomb;
His riding up the heavenly way;
His coming at the day of doom;
I bind unto myself today.
Women
3. I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of Cherubim;
The sweet ‘Well done’ in judgment hour,
The service of the Seraphim,
Men Confessors’ faith, Apostles’ word,
The Patriarchs’ prayers, the Prophets’ scrolls,
All All good deeds done unto the Lord,
And purity of virgin souls.
Choir only
4. I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the star-lit heaven,
The glorious sun’s life-giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
All The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea
Around the old eternal rocks.
Women
5. I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, his might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need;
Choir only
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, his shield to ward;
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.
All
6. I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity;
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One, and One in Three.
Of whom all nature hath creation;
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord. Amen.
Attrib. Saint Patrick (d.461) Trad.
Irish arr. C. V. Stanford (1852–1924)
Please remain standing for the
Blessing
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 standing as the Choir and Clergy depart.
Please remain at your seat for the duration of the
Organ Voluntary
Acknowledgements
Developed by the Saint Patrick’s Cathedral Education Department: Clark Brydon (Education & Safeguarding Officer).
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.
To report a problem or to send feedback and suggestions, please email: education@stpatrickscathedral.ie
