Order of Service
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 whilst the Choir and Clergy enter the stalls
Please remain standing to sing the
Hymn
1. ’Tis good, Lord, to be here!
Thy glory fills the night;
Thy face and garments, like the sun,
Shine with unborrowed light.
2. ’Tis good, Lord, to be here,
Thy beauty to behold;
Where Moses and Elijah stand,
Thy messengers of old.
3. Fulfiller of the past,
Promise of things to be,
We hail thy body glorified,
And our redemption see.
4. Before we taste of death,
We see thy kingdom come;
We fain would hold the vision bright,
And make this hill our home.
5. ’Tis good, Lord, to be here!
Yet we may not remain;
But, since thou bidst us leave the mount
Come with us to the plain.
J. Armitage Robinson (1858–1933)
Charles Lockhart (1745–1815)
The Minister welcomes the people and introduces the
General Confession
Let us kneel, humbly to confess our sins unto almighty God:
Please kneel or remain seated to say
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 Minister pronounces the
Absolution
After which, all say
Amen.
Please stand as 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.
Please sit as the Choir sings the
Psalm
PSALM 57 vv 1–6
Miserere mei, Deus.
Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me, for my soul trusteth in thee: and under the shadow of thy wings shall be my refuge, until this tyranny be over-past. I will call unto the most high God: even unto the God that shall perform the cause which I have in hand. He shall send from heaven: and save me from the reproof of him that would eat me up. God shall send forth his mercy and truth: my soul is among lions. And I lie even among the children of men, that are set on fire: whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword. Set up thyself, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth.
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
2 Kings 2: 1–12
Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.’ But Elisha said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So they went down to Bethel. The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, ‘Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?’ And he said, ‘Yes, I know; keep silent.’
Elijah said to him, ‘Elisha, stay here; for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.’ But he said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So they came to Jericho. The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, ‘Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?’ And he answered, ‘Yes, I know; be silent.’
Then Elijah said to him, ‘Stay here; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.’ But he said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So the two of them went on. Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.
When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.’ Elisha said, ‘Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.’ He responded, ‘You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.’ As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha kept watching and crying out, ‘Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!’ But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.
Please stand as the Choir sings
Te Deum Laudamus
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 Bb; Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924)
Please sit for the
Second Lesson
Mark 9: 2–9
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!’ Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.
As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
Please stand as the Choir sings
Jubilate
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.
Service in Bb; Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924)
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
O Lord, who hast taught us that all our doings without charity are nothing worth; Send thy Holy Spirit, and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of charity, the very bond of peace and of all virtues, without which whosoever liveth is counted dead before thee: Grant this for thine only Son Jesus Christ’s sake. 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.
Please sit as the Choir sings the
Anthem
For lo I raise up that bitter and hasty nation, Which march through the breadth of the earth, To possess the dwelling places that are not theirs. They are terrible and dreadful, Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves. Their horses also are swifter than leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves. And their horsemen spread themselves, Yea, their horsemen come from far. They fly as an eagle that hasteth to devour, They come all of them for violence; Their faces are set as the east-wind, And they gather captives as the sand. Yea, he scoffeth at kings, And princes are a derision unto him. For he heapeth up dust and taketh it. Then shall he sweep by as a wind that shall pass over, And be guilty, Even he, whose might is his God. Art not Thou from everlasting, O Lord, my God, mine Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, thou hast ordained him for judgment, And thou, O Rock hast established him for correction. I will stand upon my watch and set me upon the tower, And look forth to see what he will say to me, And what I shall answer concerning my complaint. And the Lord answered me and said: The vision is yet for the appointed time, And it hasteth toward the end, and shall not lie, Though it tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come. For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, As the waters cover the sea. But the Lord is in his holy temple: Let all the earth keep silence before him.
Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924)
Please stand whilst the Preacher moves to the pulpit. Then please kneel for the
Sermon
Preacher: The Venerable P. Thompson, B.A., Prebendary of Donaghmore
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 for to sing the
Hymn
1. Love divine, all loves excelling,
Joy of heaven, to earth come down,
Fix in us thy humble dwelling,
All thy faithful mercies crown;
Jesu, thou art all compassion,
Pure unbounded love thou art;
Visit us with thy salvation,
Enter every waiting heart.
2. Come, almighty to deliver,
Let us all thy grace receive;
Suddenly return, and never,
Never more thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
Serve thee as thy hosts above,
Pray, and praise thee without ceasing,
Glory in thy perfect love.
3. Finish then thy new creation,
Pure and spotless let us be;
Let us see thy great salvation,
Perfectly restored in thee;
Changed from glory into glory,
Till in heaven we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise.
Charles Wesley (1707–88)
William Rowlands (1860–1937)
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 Clark Brydon (Education & Safeguarding Officer).
n.b.: 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