08.05.2020
Resources for Sunday May 10, the Fifth Sunday of Easter
Welcome to this week’s Sunday Resources. Where there are two or more praying together, it is suggested that before commencing you decide on who will lead which parts of the service. Please note that words in bold indicate the responses and refrains at various parts of the service and words otherwise said together as a group. In today’s service, the parts to be allocated are: 1. A person to lead the Opening Section and the Apostles’ Creed. 2. A person to read or sing the Psalm and Hymns. 3. A person to read the Scriptures. 4. A person to lead the Prayers. Where there are less than four people present, roles may be combined. You can find below the full text of the service.
MORNING PRAYER 1 – 10 MAY 2020
The FIFTH Sunday OF EASTER
Opening Hymn: CH92“How sweet the name of Jesus sounds”(vs. 1–4 and 6)
Listen to and sing along with this hymn at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmlMau0WtSE
How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
in a believer’s ear!
It soothes our sorrows, heals our wounds,
and drives away our fear.
It makes the wounded spirit whole
and calms the troubled breast;
‘tis manna to the hungry soul,
and to the weary, rest.
Dear Name! the rock on which I build,
my shield and hiding place,
my never–ending treasury, filled
with boundless stores of grace.
Jesus, shepherd, guardian, friend,
my prophet, priest, and King,
my lord, my life, my way, my end,
accept the praise I bring.
Till then I would your love proclaim
with every fleeting breath;
and may the music of your name
refresh my soul in death.
John Newton (1725–1807)
SENTENCE OF SCRIPTURE
Christ is risen from the dead, and become the first–fruits of them that slept. 1 Corinthians 15: 20
Let us humbly confess our sins unto almighty God.
A GENERAL CONFESSION
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 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.
O Lord, open thou our lips
and our mouth shall show forth thy praise.
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 Spirit;
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.
FIRST CANTICLE
The Canticle may be said, or an audio version listened to and sung along with at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hok3yG9pvNo
1 O come, let us sing unto the Lord:
let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.
2Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving
and shew ourselves glad in him with psalms.
3For the Lord is a great God
and a great King above all gods.
4In his hand are all the corners of the earth
and the strength of the hills is his also.
5The sea is his, and he made it,
and his hands prepared the dry land.
6O come, let us worship and fall down
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
7For he is the Lord our God;
and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
8To–day if ye will hear his voice:
harden not your hearts, as in the provocation
and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness;
9When your fathers tempted me,
provèd me, and saw my works.
10 Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said,
It is a people that do err in their hearts,
for they have not known my ways;
11 Unto whom I sware in my wrath,
that they should not enter into my rest.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
As it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
A LESSON
from the Old Testament
The reading below may be read, or an audio version listened to at:
https://www.biblica.com/bible/niv/acts/7/
But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’
At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.
While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he fell on his knees and cried out, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ When he had said this, he fell asleep.
After the reading silence may be kept.
THE PSALM
Based on Psalm 31: 1, 5, 11–12, 14–16, 24: “Father into your hands I commend my spirit”
Listen to and sing along with this psalm at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePSkTKCSY-c
Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
In you, O Lord, I take refuge
let me never be put to shame;
in your justice rescue me.
Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, O Lord, O faithful God!
For all my foes I am an object of reproach,
a laughing–stock to my neighbours and a dread to my friends;
they who see me abroad flee from me.
I am forgotten like the unremembered dead.
I am like a dish that is broken.
But my trust is in you, O Lord.
I say “You are my God,
in your hands is my destiny.
Rescue me from the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors”.
Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your kindness.
Take courage and be stout–hearted
All you who hope in the Lord.
Tom Kendzia
A LESSON
from the New Testament
The reading below may be read, or an audio version listened to at:
https://www.biblica.com/bible/niv/1-peter/2/
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
As you come to him, the living Stone – rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him – you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says
‘See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.’
Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,’
and,
‘A stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.’
They stumble because they disobey the message – which is also what they were destined for.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
After the reading silence may be kept.
Hymn before the Gospel:T&P 101“My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art mine” (vs 1, 2 and 4)
Listen to and sing along with this hymn at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYfBZnMve_E
My Jesus, I love Thee, I know thou art mine;
for thee all the follies of sin I resign;
my gracious Redeemer, my Saviour art thou,
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, ‘tis now.
I love Thee, because thou hast first loved me,
and purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree;
I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;
if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, ‘tis now.
In mansions of glory and endless delight,
I’ll ever adore thee in heaven so bright;
I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow,
if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, ‘tis now.
William R. Featherstone (1846–73)
A LESSON
from the Gospels
The reading below may be read, or an audio version listened to at:
https://www.biblica.com/bible/niv/john/14/
‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.’
Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’
Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.’
Philip said, ‘Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.’
Jesus answered: ‘Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
After the reading silence may be kept.
BENEDICTUS
The Canticle may be said, or an audio version listened to and sung along with at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rYw41Tkk_c
The Song of Zechariah Luke 1: 68–79
1 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he hath visited and redeemed his people,
2 And hath raised up a mighty salvation for us in the house of his servant David;
3 As he spake by the mouth of his holy Prophets which have been since the world began;
4 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hands of all that hate us,
5 To perform the mercy promised to our forefathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
6 To perform the oath which he sware to our forefather Abraham: that he would give us,
7 That we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,
8 In holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.
9 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;
10 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people, for the remission of their sins,
11 Through the tender mercy of our God whereby the day–spring from on high hath visited us,
12 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 Spirit;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
THE APOSTLES’ CREED
is said
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 Spirit, 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 Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Hymn of Faith: CH625 “Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire”(vs. 1–4)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IEeLxrqJfk&t=
Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire,
unuttered or expressed;
the motion of a hidden fire
that trembles in the breast.
Prayer is the burden of a sigh,
the falling of a tear,
the upward glancing of an eye
when none but God is near.
Prayer is the simplest form of speech
that infant lips can try;
prayer the sublimest strains that reach
the Majesty on high.
Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath,
the Christian’s native air,
his watchword at the gates of death:
he enters heaven with prayer.
James Montgomery (1771–1854) altd.
Kneel
Let us pray.
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, show 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 COLLECTS
THE COLLECT OF THE DAY
who alone canst order the unruly wills and affections of sinful men;
Grant unto thy people,
that they may love the thing which thou commandest,
and desire that which thou dost promise;
that so, among the sundry and manifold changes of the world,
our hearts may surely there be fixed,
where true joys are to be found;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
THE SECOND 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.
THE THIRD 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.
CORONAVIRUS INTERCESSIONS
Let us pray to God,
who alone makes us dwell in safety:
For all who are affected by coronavirus,
through illness or isolation or anxiety,
that they may find relief and recovery:
Lord, hear us,
Lord, graciously hear us.
For those who are guiding our nation at this time,
and shaping national policies,
that they may make wise decisions:
Lord, hear us,
Lord, graciously hear us.
For doctors, nurses and medical researchers,
that through their skill and insights
many will be restored to health:
Lord, hear us,
Lord, graciously hear us.
For the vulnerable and the fearful,
for the gravely ill and the dying,
that they may know your comfort and peace:
Lord, hear us,
Lord, graciously hear us.
We commend ourselves, and all for whom we pray,
to the mercy and protection of God.
Merciful Father,
accept these prayers
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Other prayers and thanksgivings may be said.
Revd Eoghan Heaslip has prepared a sermon podcast which you may listen to at:
Closing Hymn:CH660“Thine for ever! God of love” (vs 1, 2 and 4)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx_JK9FrTIM
Thine for ever! God of love,
hear us from thy throne above;
thine for ever may we be
here and in eternity.
Thine for ever! Lord of life,
shield us through our earthly strife;
thou the Life, the Truth, the Way,
guide us to the realms of day.
Thine for ever! O how blest
they who find in thee their rest!
Saviour, guardian, heavenly friend,
O defend us to the end.
Thine for ever! Thou our guide,
all our wants by thee supplied,
all our sins by thee forgiven,
lead us, Lord, from earth to heaven.
Mary F. Maude (1819–1913)
Prayers
A Prayer for the President and all in authority
Almighty God, who rulest over the kingdoms of the world; We commend to thy merciful care the people of this land, that being guarded by thy providence, they may dwell secure in thy peace. Grant to the President of this State and to all in authority, wisdom and strength to know and to do thy will. Fill them with the love of truth and righteousness, that they may serve thy people faithfully to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A Prayer for the Houses of the Oireachtas
Almighty God, source of all authority and wisdom: guide by your Spirit those who represent us in Dáil and Seanad. As representatives of the people keep them humble, as legislators make them compassionate, and as politicians defend their integrity. So may the proceedings of the Oireachtas serve the truth and promote the common good. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, the servant Lord. Amen.
A Prayer for the Clergy and People
Almighty and everlasting God, who alone workest great marvels: Send down upon our Bishops and Clergy, and all People committed to their charge, the healthful Spirit of thy grace; and that they may truly please thee, pour upon them the continual dew of thy blessing. Grant this, O Lord, for the honour of our Advocate and Mediator, Jesus Christ. Amen.
O God, the Creator and Preserver of all mankind, we humbly beseech thee for all sorts and conditions of men; that thou wouldest be pleased to make thy ways known unto them, thy saving health unto all nations. More especially, we pray for the good estate of the Catholic Church; that it may be so guided and governed by thy good Spirit, that all who profess and call themselves Christians may be led into the way of truth, and hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life. Finally, we commend to thy fatherly goodness all those who are any ways afflicted or distressed, in mind, body, or estate; [* especially those for whom our prayers are desired]; that it may please thee to comfort and relieve them according to their several necessities, giving them patience under their sufferings, and a happy issue out of all their afflictions. And this we beg for Jesus Christ his sake. Amen.
A General Thanksgiving
Almighty God, Father of all mercies, We thine unworthy servants Do give thee most humble and hearty thanks For all thy goodness and loving–kindness to us, and to all men. We bless thee for our creation, preservation and all the blessings of this life: But above all, for thine inestimable love In the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; For the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.
And, we beseech thee, give us that due sense of all thy mercies, That our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful, And that we show forth thy praise, Not only with our lips but in our lives; By giving up ourselves to thy service, And by walking before thee in holiness and righteousness all our days; Through Jesus Christ our Lord, To whom with thee and the Holy Spirit Be all honour and glory, World without end. Amen.
A Prayer of Saint Chrysostom
Almighty God, who hast given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications unto thee; and dost promise that when two or three are gathered together in thy Name thou wilt grant their requests: Fulfil now, O Lord, the desires and petitions of thy servants as may be most expedient for them; granting us in this world knowledge of thy truth, and in the world to come life everlasting. Amen.
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. 2 Corinthians 13: 13
Other Resources are:
1. The text of today’s service may be downloaded here.
2. Due to the current public health situation, Christ Church Cathedral remains closed to the public until further notice. It continues to hold Ireland, our healthcare workers, our leaders, those suffering from coronavirus, and the world in its prayers. Its worship takes place via webcam.
The Sunday Eucharist is at 11.00.
The Dean conducts daily prayer Monday–Friday:
Morning Prayer 10.00
Evening Prayer 17.00
Would you like to send in a prayer? Prayers may be emailed to abigail@christchurch.ie and as many as can be will be included in the daily prayers.
The webcam may be accessed at:
https://christchurchcathedral.ie/worship/video-stream-1/
4. Canon Patrick Comerford has produced a blog commenting on the readings which may be found at:
https://cmelimerick.blogspot.com/2020/05/readings-hymns-and-sermon-ideas-for.html
5. Fr Kieran O’Mahony, a former ecumenical Canon of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin also produces a weekly written commentary and an audio of his notes. This may be found at:
https://www.tarsus.ie/resources/000-PDFs/Easter-5A20.pdf and
https://soundcloud.com/user-679942596/easter5a20
6. Rosamond Bennett (Chief Executive) and the Revd Dr Liz Hughes (Chairperson and a retired Presbyterian minister) lead a service for Christian Aid Week on RTE, with music by the Ignite Community in Dublin and Victoria Johnston. This may be seen at 11am on RTE 1 and at 2.00pm and heard on RTÉ Radio 1 Extra and RTÉ Radio Longwave 252 at 11am.