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. Son of God, eternal Saviour,
Source of life and truth and grace,
Son of Man, whose birth incarnate
Hallows all our human race:
Thou, our Head, who, throned in glory,
For thine own dost ever plead,
Fill us with thy love and pity;
Heal our wrongs, and help our need.
2. As thou, Lord, hast lived for others,
So may we for others live;
Freely have thy gifts been granted,
Freely may thy servants give.
Thine the gold and thine the silver,
Thine the wealth of land and sea,
We but stewards of thy bounty,
Held in solemn trust for thee.
3. Come, O Christ, and reign among us,
King of love, and Prince of peace,
Hush the storm of strife and passion,
Bid its cruel discords cease;
By thy patient years of toiling,
By thy silent hours of pain,
Quench our fevered thirst of pleasure
Shame our selfish greed of gain.
4. Son of God, eternal Saviour,
Source of life and truth and grace,
Son of Man, whose birth incarnate
Hallows all our human race:
Thou, our Head, who, throned in glory,
For thine own dost ever plead,
Fill us with thy love and pity;
Heal our wrongs, and help our need.
Somerset Lowry (1855–1932);
Henry Smart (1813–79)
Please remain standing
The Last Post
The Exhoration
They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old,
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning
We will remember them. We will remember them.
The Silence; Reveille
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 Moore (b.1943)
Please sit as the Choir sings the
Psalm
PSALM 39 vv 1–7
Dixi, Custodiam.
I said, I will take heed to my ways: that I offend not in my tongue. I will keep my mouth as it were with a bridle: while the ungodly is in my sight. I held my tongue, and spake nothing: I kept silence, yea, even from good works; but it was pain and grief to me. My heart was hot within me, and while I was thus musing the fire kindled: and at the last I spake with my tongue. Lord, let me know mine end, and the number of my days: that I may be certified how long I have to live. Behold, thou hast made my days as it were a span long; and mine age is even as nothing in respect of thee: and verily every man living is altogether vanity. For man walketh in a vain shadow, and disquieteth himself in vain: he heapeth up riches, and cannot tell who shall gather them.
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 2: 1–5
The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
In days to come
the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be raised above the hills;
all the nations shall stream to it.
Many peoples shall come and say,
‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.’
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
and their spears into pruning-hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.
O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord!
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.
Redcliffe; Herbert Howells (1892–1983)
Please sit for the
Second Lesson
Revelation 1: 1–7
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place; he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.
Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it; for the time is near.
John to the seven churches that are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Look! He is coming with the clouds;
every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail.
So it is to be. Amen.
Please stand as the Choir sings
Jubilate Deo
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.
Collegium Regale; Herbert Howells (1892–1983)
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, we beseech thee, absolve thy people from their offences; that through thy bountiful goodness we may be delivered from the bonds of those sins, which by our frailty we have committed: Grant this, O heavenly Father, for Jesus Christ’s sake, our blessèd Lord and Saviour. 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
Turn back O man, forswear thy foolish ways. Old now is earth, and none may count her days, yet thou, her child, whose head is crowned with flame, still wilt not hear thine inner God proclaim: ‘Turn back, O man forswear thy foolish ways’. Earth might be fair and all men glad and wise, age after age their tragic empires rise, build while they dream, and in that dreaming earth might be fair and all men glad and wise. Age after age their tragic empires rise, build while they dream, and in their dreaming weep, would man but wake from out his haunted sleep, earth might be fair and all men glad and wise. Earth shall be fair and all her people one, not till that hour shall God’s whole will be done. Now, even now, once more from earth to sky, peals forth in joy man’s old undaunted cry, ‘earth shall be fair and all her folk be one’.
Gustav Holst (1874–1934)
Please stand whilst the Preacher moves to the Pulpit for the
Sermon
Preacher: 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. Jesus lives! thy terrors now
Can O Death, no more, appal us;
Jesus lives! by this we know
Thou, O grave, canst not enthral us.
Alleluia!
2. Jesus lives! henceforth is death
But the gate of life immortal;
This shall calm our trembling breath,
When we pass its gloomy portal.
Alleluia!
3. Jesus lives! for us he died;
Then, alone to Jesus living,
Pure in heart may we abide,
Glory to our Saviour giving.
Alleluia!
4. Jesus lives! our hearts know well
Nought from us his love shall sever;
Life, nor death, nor powers of hell
Tear us from his keeping ever.
Alleluia!
5. Jesus lives! to him the throne
Over all the world is given;
May we go where he is gone,
Rest and reign with him in heaven.
Alleluia!
Christian Gelbert (1715–69); Tr. Frances Cox (1812–97);
Henry Gauntlett (1805–76)
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.
Material in this service is reproduced from The Book of Common Prayer, © RCB 2004.
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