Welcome and introduction
In the tender mercy of our God,
the dayspring from on high shall break upon us,
to give light to those who dwell in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Luke 1: 78–79
Hymn 634 Tune Blaenwern
Penitence
Turn to us again, O God our Saviour, and let your anger cease from us.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Show us your mercy, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.
Christ, have mercy Christ, have mercy.
Your salvation is near for those that fear you, that glory may dwell in our land.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Absolution
Almighty God,
who forgives all who truly repent, have mercy on you,
pardon and deliver you from all your sins,
confirm and strengthen you in all goodness,
and keep you in eternal life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Collect
Father in heaven, who sent your Son to redeem the world and will send him again to be our judge: Give us grace so to imitate him in the humility and purity of his first coming that when he comes again, we may be ready to greet him with joyful love and firm faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Proclaiming and Receiving the Word
A reading from the book of the Prophet Malachi. The Coming Messenger
See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?
For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.
This is the Word of the Lord. Malachi 3: 1-4
Thanks be to God.
Benedictus, the Song of Zechariah, Luke 1:68-79, Traditional. Chant, Hopkins in F (280)
1 Blessèd be the Lord | God of | Israel,
for he hath visited | and re|deemed his | people,
2 And hath raised up a mighty sal|vation | 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 be|gan;
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 re|member · his | holy | covenant;
6 To perform the oath which he sware to our | fore·father | Abraham:
that | he would | give | us,
7 That we being delivered out of the | hand of · our | enemies
might serve | him with|out | fear,
8 In holiness and | righteous·ness be|fore 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 pre|pare his | ways;
10 To give knowledge of salvation | unto · his | people,
for the re|mission | of their | sins,
11 Through the tender mercy | of our | God
whereby the day-spring from on | high hath | visit·ed | 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.
A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Philippians. His prayer for them
I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that on the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God. Philippians 1: 3-11
The Gradual Hymn 143 Tune Nativity
Hear the Gospel of our Saviour Christ, according to St Luke.
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ. The Proclamation of John the Baptist
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, ‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth;
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” ’
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Luke 3: 1-6
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 140 St Stephen
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.
Thanksgiving Hymn 136 Winchester New
Concluding Prayer
God our deliverer,
waken our hearts to prepare the way
for the advent of your Son,
that, with minds purified by the grace of his coming,
we may serve you faithfully all our days;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Blessing & Dismissal
Christ the sun of righteousness shine upon you,
gladden your hearts and scatter the darkness from before you:
and the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
be with you and remain with you always. Amen.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord!
In the name of Christ. Amen.
The Parish of Saint Catherine & Saint James with Saint Audoen
Canon Mark Gardner Tel: 01 454 2274 Mobile 087 266 0228
Email: markgardner300@gmail.com
Diocesan Lay Reader: James Kilbey
Parish Reader: Cletus Ogbata
Organist: Olesia Borsuk
Review Distribution: Margery Bell Tel: 01 4542067
Website: stcatherineandstjameswithstaudoen.ie
St Audoen’s Cornmarket, 10.00 Eucharist (every Sunday). During works(until Christmas) no music, access through the Visitor Centre. Cars may be parked between Francis Street and Christ Church.
St Catherine & St James, Donore Avenue, 11.30 Service of the Word (Eucharist on the first Sunday of the month). Organist, Olesia Borsuk. Cars may be parked in the Churchyard.
Diary Dates
Monday 2 December 12.50 School Assembly in Church, led by Second Class, theme, Advent. Friday 20 December 10.15 School Carol Service in Christ Church Cathedral. Sunday 22 December 11.30 Parish Carols in the Church of St Catherine & St James. Services on Christmas Day will be at the usual Sunday times.
Pastoral visit
We were delighted when the Archbishop visited the parish at the beginning of November, celebrating and preaching in both Churches. One of the men from the Rectory, who doesn’t normally attend church, was very impressed with his sermon. The Archbishop wrote ‘Thank you very much for affording me the privilege of worshipping with you and your people in both churches today. They were quite different experiences yet both equally delightful. Thank you and everyone for a most inspiring morning.’
St Audoen’s Cornmarket
With the end of our season, guides Benedetta, Dee, Paula & Jessica (not forgetting Ralph & Pat) bid ‘au revoir’ from St. Audoen’s Church Visitor Centre. This is always a sad time for the guides as the exhibition is packed away and the visitor centre is left empty; not just empty of artefacts, books, lights and music, but empty of people visiting this inspiring National Monument. In 2024 the visitor centre celebrated its 25th anniversary and, coincidentally or not, we were lucky enough to have former colleagues from all of those intervening years drop in and share their memories with us. We also had more visitors this year than ever before, with a total of 42,491 people coming through our doors in just under 8 months (that’s an average of over 180 visitors per day, if anyone’s counting). We’re very grateful to each visitor for helping us to break all previous annual records. Our thanks are also owed to Canon Mark Gardner, churchwarden Tom, organist Olesia, the bellringers and the congregation of St. Audoen’s Parish Church for allowing us access to their half of the building (not to mention the continued use of their electricity to power our exhibition over recent years while we await repairs). Their kindness and generosity greatly enhances the experience of all of our visitors. The parish church is itself undergoing some major repairs at the moment, and we look forward to the unveiling of its spruced-up interior in due course. Nevertheless, a Service of Eucharist will continue to be held in the church at 10am each and every Sunday, and all are welcome to attend. We don’t know when St. Audoen’s Church Visitor Centre will reopen, so please keep an eye on our Heritage Ireland webpage ( https://heritageireland.ie/…/st-audoens-church-visitor…/ ) for updates. Please note also that our telephone, email and social media accounts are not monitored while the visitor centre is closed. Until next time, as the original builders of St. Audoen’s Church might have said, “Now tyme is that I wende.”
Heritage Ireland OPW – Office of Public Works
Iveagh Markets
Work to save Dublin’s Iveagh Markets from collapse will finally get under way in the new year, following the installation of infrastructure to make the building safe for workers. The Edwardian structure on Francis Street, which is at the centre of a legal dispute over ownership, has been vacant for 30 years and has over the last decade declined into a ruinous condition. Dublin City Council is seeking tenders for “essential repairs” at an estimated cost of €11 million to stabilise the building to “prevent further deterioration of the protected structure” and “safeguard the structure for future use”.
