Welcome

This is the day that the Lord has made: we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Lord, direct our thoughts, help us to pray,and lift up our hearts to worship you

in Spirit and in truth, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Spirit of God fills the whole world: come, let us worship.

Hymn 709 omit verse 3 Tune Austria

Praise the Lord: you heavens, adore Him;
Praise Him, angels in the height;
Sun and moon, rejoice before Him;
praise Him, all you stars of light.
Praise the Lord, for He has spoken;
worlds His mighty voice obeyed.
Laws which never shall be broken
for their guidance He has made.

Praise the Lord! for He is glorious;
never shall His promise fail.
God has made His saints victorious;
sin and death shall not prevail.
Praise the God of our salvation!
hosts on high, His power proclaim.
Heaven and earth and all creation,
laud and magnify His Name.

Penitence

Placing our trust in our heavenly Father, let us confess our failings to him.

O God, our loving Father in heaven, we confess that we have sinned against you; we have broken your commandments; we have often been selfish, and we have not loved you as we should. For these, and all our sins, forgive us, we pray; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

May the God of love forgive us, lift our burdens from us, heal and strengthen us by his spirit; that we may journey in love to live our lives freely and lightly. Amen.

Collect

Everlasting God,

you have ordained and constituted

the ministries of angels and mortals in a wonderful order:

Grant that as your holy angels always serve you in heaven,

so, at your command, they may help and defend us on earth;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Proclaiming and Receiving the Word

A reading from the book Genesis.

there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And the Lord stood beside him and said, ‘I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.’ Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!’ And he was afraid, and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.’

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.                                                   Genesis 28: 10-17

Psalm Benedic, anima mea (103)

19  The Lord has established his throne in heaven, •

   and his kingdom has dominion over all.

20  Bless the Lord, you angels of his, •

   you mighty ones who do his bidding

      and hearken to the voice of his word.

21  Bless the Lord, all you his hosts, •

   you ministers of his who do his will.

22  Bless the Lord, all you works of his,

      in all places of his dominion; •

   bless the Lord, O my soul.

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 reading from the Revelation to St John the Divine.

And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, proclaiming,

‘Now have come the salvation and the power

   and the kingdom of our God

   and the authority of his Messiah,

for the accuser of our comrades has been thrown down,

   who accuses them day and night before our God.

But they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb

   and by the word of their testimony,

for they did not cling to life even in the face of death.

Rejoice then, you heavens

   and those who dwell in them!

But woe to the earth and the sea,

   for the devil has come down to you

with great wrath,

   because he knows that his time is short!’

This is the Word of the Lord.                                 Revelation 12: 7-12

Thanks be to God.

Hymn 487 Tune From strength to strength

Soldiers of Christ, arise,
  And put your armour on,
Strong in the strength which God supplies,
  Through his eternal Son;
  Strong in the Lord of Hosts,
  And in his mighty power,
Who in the strength of Jesus trusts
  Is more than conqueror.

Stand then in his great might,
  With all his strength endued;
And take, to arm you for the fight,
  The panoply of God,
  To keep your armour bright
  Attend with constant care,
Still walking in your Captain’s sight
  And watching unto prayer.

From strength to strength go on;
  Wrestle, and fight, and pray;
Tread all the powers of darkness down,
  And win the well-fought day:
  That, having all things done,
  And all your conflicts past,
Ye may o’ercome through Christ alone,
  And stand complete at last.

Hear the Gospel of our Saviour Christ, according to St John.

Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him, he said of him, ‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’ Nathanael asked him, ‘Where did you come to know me?’ Jesus answered, ‘I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.’ Nathanael replied, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’

Jesus answered, ‘Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.’ And he said to him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’

This is the Gospel of the Lord.                                         John 1: 47-51

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

The Apostle’s (Baptismal) Creed

Do you believe and trust in God the Father?

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

Do you believe and trust in God the Son?

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried;

he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again;

he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father,

and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.

Do you believe and trust in God the Holy Spirit?

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 97 Tune Truro

Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
does his successive journeys run,
his kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
till moons shall wax and wane no more.

To him shall endless prayer be made,
and praises throng to crown his head.
His name like incense shall arise
with every morning sacrifice.

People and realms of every tongue
dwell on his love with sweetest song,
and infant voices shall proclaim
their early blessings on his name.

Blessings abound where’er he reigns:
the prisoners leap to lose their chains,
the weary find eternal rest,
and all who suffer want are blessed.

Let every creature rise and bring
peculiar honours to our King,
angels descend with songs again,
and earth repeat the long Amen. 

Prayers

Gracious and loving God, we thank you for giving us power, through your Spirit, to reveal your life to the world: strengthen, bless and guide us to make you known by word and example.

We are your Church, O God:

Guide us in your grace.

We thank you for your creation, and pray for the earth which you have given us to cherish and protect: nourish us in your love for all that you have made.

We are your stewards, O God:

Guide us in your grace.

Guide and bless us in our work and in our play, and shape the patterns of our country’s political and economic life, that all may share in the fulfilment of your creative work.

We are your servants, O God:

Guide us in your grace.

Have mercy on this troubled earth, where warfare, disease and natural disasters are prevalent, and on those whose lives are overshadowed by them, wherever in the world they may be.

We are your servants, O God:

Guide us in your grace.

We thank you for the gift of life with its blessings and its sorrows. Bless those who will be born today and those who have died, joining in the company of all angels and saints, that together we may rejoice in one unending song of praise.

In you alone we have eternal life, O God:

Guide us in your grace.

We offer these our prayers and thanksgivings to you, O God, source of all that is true and holy, now and for ever. 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.

Hymn 708 (and collection) Tune laudate Dominum

O praise ye the Lord!
Praise him in the height;
rejoice in his word,
ye angels of light;
ye heavens, adore him
by whom ye were made,
and worship before him,
in brightness arrayed.

O praise ye the Lord!
Praise him upon earth,
in tuneful accord,
ye sons of new birth;
praise him who hath brought you
his grace from above,
praise him who hath taught you
to sing of his love.

O praise ye the Lord!
All things that give sound;
each jubilant chord
reecho around;
loud organs, his glory
forth tell in deep tone,
and sweet harp, the story
of what he hath done.

O praise ye the Lord!
Thanksgiving and song
to him be outpoured
all ages along!
For love in creation,
for heaven restored,
for grace of salvation,
O praise ye the Lord!

Lord of heaven,

you have brought us near

to an innumerable company of angels

and to the spirits of the saints made perfect.

As in our earthly pilgrimage

we have shared their fellowship,

so may we come to share their joy in heaven;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Go forth into the world in peace; be of good courage;

hold fast that which is good; render to no one evil for evil;

strengthen the fainthearted; support the weak; help the afflicted;

honour everyone; love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit;

and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

be among you and remain with you always. Amen.

Cf. I Thessalonians 5:13-22

Saint Audoen’s Church

St. Audoen (or Ouen), Bishop of Rouen, flourished in the 7th century, and a Church was dedicated to him in Dublin by the Anglo-Normans after they had seized control of the city; erected, in 1190, on the site of an older Church dedicated to St. Columcille. Once one of the most prosperous Parishes within the city, the Church was attended by the Lord Mayor and Corporation. It is said that the last Catholic and the first Protestant Lord Mayors of Dublin are buried under the old stone floor. The last surviving city gate stands close by.

At the Reformation the Parish Church became officially reformed, while most of the people remained Catholic. The Parish declined towards the end of the 18th century, when many of the wealthy residents moved out, a process hastened by the Act of Union of 1800. GN Wright reported in 1825 that much of the Church was in a ruinous state, and “very few Protestants” remained in the Parish.

Towards the end of the 20th century St. Anne’s Chapel was re-roofed as a visitors’ centre in the care of the Office of Public Works (as it is now called), like the unroofed parts of the Church, given into the care of the Board of Works (as it was then called) at the disestablishment of the Church in 1870. The Chapel dates from Henry VI, who in 1430 granted the erection of a Chantry, dedicated to St. Anne. Its founders and their successors formed the Guild of St. Anne which survived the Reformation by many years.

In the Church porch is preserved an early Celtic gravestone which has been kept here or nearby since before 1309. It was first mentioned when Jon LeDecer, Mayor of Dublin, erected a marble cistern for water in Cornmarket and placed this stone against it. In 1826 it disappeared, until found many years later in front of the newly-erected Catholic Church of St Audoen, its noble portico graced with statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary, her mother St Ann and St Audoen, with his Bishop’s crozier.

In the porch below the tower lies the 15th century monument of Sir Roland Fitz-Eustace, Earl Portlester, who died in 1496, and his wife, Margaret, buried at Cotlandstown, County Kildare.

Among those buried in the church were Sir Thomas Molyneux and his son Capel, and Edward Parry, Bishop of Killaloe (who died of the plague in 1650) and his descendants, and Lady Frances Brudenell. The Parry monument can be seen in the clergy vestry, defaced by the followers of the dictator Oliver Cromwell, with its more recent counterpart.

The tower houses six bells, three of which are among the oldest in Ireland, dating from 1423. They were unringable between 1898 and 1983, but after being re-tuned and re-hung are now rung every week. The Bürk electric clock in the Churchwarden’s vestry and some memorial brasses in the Church came from St. Peter’s Church Aungier Street, closed in 1975 and lamentably demolished. On its site stands the YMCA building, in which the east window from St Luke’s Church, the Coombe, now hangs. The First World War Memorial from St Matthias’ Church Adelaide Road, also closed (despite public protest) and then demolished, for many years preserved in Christ Church Leeson Park, by kind permission of its surviving Church of Ireland congregation, has since been erected in St Audoen’s.