Categories
Eucharist

Sunday 4th October 2026 – 11:15

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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Setting

Communion Service in A minor; Harold Darke (1888–1976)

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. O for a thousand tongues to sing
    My dear Redeemer’s praise,
    The glories of my God and King,
    The triumphs of his grace!

2. Jesus–the name that charms our fears,
    That bids our sorrows cease;
    ’Tis music in the sinner’s ears,
    ’Tis life, and health, and peace!

3. He breaks the power of cancelled sin,
    He sets the prisoner free;
    His blood can make the foulest clean;
    His blood availed for me.

 

4. He speaks; and, listening to his voice,
    New life the dead receive; 
    The mournful broken hearts rejoice;
    The humble poor believe.

 

5. Hear him ye deaf; his praise, ye dumb,
    Your loosened tongues employ;
    Ye blind, behold your Saviour come,
    And leap, ye lame, for joy!


6. My gracious Master and my God,
    Assist me to proclaim,
    To spread through all the world abroad,
    The honours of thy Name.

 

Charles Wesley (1707–88);

Thomas Haweis (1714–1820)

The Celebrant says the

Greeting

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Please remain standing for the

Collect for Purity

Almighty God  to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy name: through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

The Choir sings

Kyrie Eleison

Kyrie eleison; Christe eleison; Kyrie eleison.

Lord, have mercy upon us; Christ, have mercy upon us; Lord, have mercy upon us.

The Celebrant introduces the

Confession

After a short period for reflection, all say

Almighty God,  our heavenly Father, we have sinned in thought and word and deed, and in what we have left undone. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us, that we may walk in newness of life to the glory of your name.  Amen.

The Celebrant pronounces the

Absolution

To which all reply

Amen.

Please remain standing whilst the Choir sings

Gloria in excelsis

Please remain standing whilst the Celebrant intones the

Collect of the Day

Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us your gift of faith, that, forsaking what lies behind we may run the way of your commandments and win the crown of everlasting joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Please be seated for the

Philippians 3: 4b-14

even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh.

 

If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

 

Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

 

Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

At the end of the Reading

This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

The Choir sings the 

Gradual

O Living Bread! who once didst die, and lay thee down in rocky tomb: within my heart for ever lie, and shed thy brightness o’er its gloom. O precious Blood! So freely shed, sweet pledge of pardon from above: Speak to my heart so cold and dead, and wake it into Life and Love. O sacred Food! O cleansing Tide! Fill all my soul with Love divine: O thou who didst my life redeem: Come to my heart and make me thine. Amen.

Percy Whitlock (1903–46)

Please stand for the

Gospel

The Deacon and the Choir sing

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Hear the Gospel of our Saviour Christ according to Saint Matthew, in the eighteenth chapter, beginning at the fifteenth verse.

Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 21: 33-46

‘Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watch-tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, “They will respect my son.” But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.” So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ They said to him, ‘He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.’

 

Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures:

“The stone that the builders rejected

   has become the cornerstone;

this was the Lord’s doing,

   and it is amazing in our eyes”?

Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.’

 

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.

At the end, the Minister and the Choir sing

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Please remain standing whilst the Preacher moves to the Pulpit for the

Sermon

Preacher: The Venerable K. M. Poulton, B.A.
Prebendary of Swords

Please be seated for the Sermon. At the end, the Preacher will conclude with a prayer, during which the congregation will stand for the

Nicene Creed

We believe in one God,  the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

The Minister says 

Let us pray.

Please kneel or be seated for the 

Prayers

Each petition ends

Lord, in your mercy

hear our prayer.

At the end

Merciful Father,

accept these our prayers for the sake of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Please stand as the Celebrant introduces the

Peace

The peace of the Lord be always with you.

And also with you.

Please remain standing to sing the

Hymn

During the hymn, a collection of money is made. You can donate online by tapping the Support Us button at the bottom of the page.

1. Most glorious Lord of life, that on this day
Didst make thy triumph over death and sin,
And having harrowed hell, didst bring away
Captivity thence captive, us to win.

 

2. This joyous day, dear Lord, with joy begin,
And grant that we for whom thou diddest die,
Being with thy dear blood clean washed from sin,
May live for ever in felicity.

 

3. And that thy love we weighing worthily,
May likewise love thee for the same again;
And for thy sake, that all like dear didst buy,
With love may one another entertain;

 

As lines 3 & 4 of verses above

4. So let us love, dear Love, like as we ought;
Love is the lesson which the Lord us taught.

Edmund Spenser (1552–99);
Henry Lawes (1596–1662)

Please remain standing as the Celebrant and the Choir sing

Sursum Corda

The Lord is here.

His Spirit is with us.

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give our thanks and praise.

The Celebrant intones the Preface, concluding

Therefore with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven we proclaim your great and glorious name, for ever praising you and singing:

Please remain standing as the Eucharistic Prayer continues, concluding

…through Jesus Christ our Lord, with whom and in whom, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we worship you, Father almighty, in songs of never-ending praise:

Blessing and honour and glory and power are yours for ever and ever. Amen.

Please kneel or sit, according to your custom, to pray the

Lord’s Prayer

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. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Celebrant breaks the bread, and says

The bread which we break is a sharing in the body of Christ.

We, being many, are one body, for we all share in the one bread.

The Celebrant invites the People to receive Communion.

Saint Patrick’s Cathedral is the National Cathedral of the Church of Ireland, a member Church of the Anglican (Episcopalian) Communion.

We welcome members of all Christian Church denominations to receive Holy Communion here. Please follow the stewards’ directions.

Whilst the people receive Communion, the Choir sing

Agnus Dei

Motet

Here, O my Lord, I see thee face to face; here faith can touch and handle things unseen; here would I grasp with firmer hand thy grace, and all my weariness upon thee lean. Here would I feed upon the bread of God; here drink with thee the royal wine of heaven; here would I lay aside each earthly load; here taste afresh the calm of sin forgiven.

Percy Whitlock (1903–46)

When all have received Communion, the Celebrant says

Let us pray.

A seasonal Post-Communion Prayer may be said, and then this prayer

Almighty God,  we thank you for feeding us with the spiritual food of the body and blood of your Son Jesus Christ. Through him we offer you our souls and bodies to be a living sacrifice. Send us out in the power of your Spirit to live and work to your praise and glory. Amen.

Please stand to sing the

Hymn

1. At the Name of Jesus
Every knee shall bow,
Every tongue confess him
King of glory now;
’Tis the Father’s pleasure
We should call him Lord,
Who from the beginning
Was the mighty Word. 

 

2. At his voice creation
Sprang at once to sight,
All the angel faces,
All the hosts of light,
Thrones and dominations,
Stars upon their way,
All the heavenly orders,
In their great array.

 

3. In your hearts enthrone him,
There let him subdue
All that is not holy,
All that is not true:
He is God the Saviour,
He is Christ the Lord,
Ever to be worshipped,
Trusted, and adored.

 

4. Brothers, this Lord Jesus
Shall return again,
With his Father’s glory,
With his angel train;
For all wreaths of empire
Meet upon his brow,
And our hearts confess him
King of glory now.

 

Caroline Noel (1817–77);

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958)

The Celebrant says the

Blessing

After which, all say

Amen.

The Deacon and the Choir sing the

Dismissal

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

In the name of Christ. Amen.

Please remain standing as the Clergy and the Choir depart.

Please remain at your seat for the duration of the

Organ Voluntary

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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.

To report a problem or to send feedback and suggestions, please email: engagement@stpatrickscathedral.ie