St Macartin’s Cathedral, Enniskillen
THE CELEBRATION OF THE HOLY COMMUNION (2)
4th May 2025 	The Third Sunday of Easter

 Hymn: 125 Hail to the Lord’s anointed

 THE GREETING
Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.                                     

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.
PENITENCE
Hear what our Lord Jesus Christ says: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it. You shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets. 
Matthew 22: 37-39

Lord, have mercy on us,
and write these Your laws in our hearts.

God so loved the world that He gave his only Son Jesus Christ, to save us from our sins, to intercede for us in Heaven, and to bring us to eternal life. Let us then confess our sins in penitence and faith, firmly resolved to keep God's commandments and to live in love and peace:

Silence
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 ABSOLUTION

GLORIA IN EXCELSIS

The Collect of the Day - page 274 (186)
Collect 1
Almighty God,
who hast given thine only Son
to be unto us both a sacrifice for sin,
and also an ensample of godly life;
Give us grace that we may always
most thankfully receive that his inestimable benefit,
and also daily endeavour ourselves
to follow the blessed steps of his most holy life;
through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.

or Collect 2
Almighty Father,
who in your great mercy gladdened the disciples
with the sight of the risen Lord:
Give us such knowledge of his presence with us,
that we may be strengthened
and sustained by his risen life
and serve you continually in righteousness and truth;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Old Testament Lesson: Jeremiah 32: 36-41
Now therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ‘It is being given into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence’: See, I am going to gather them from all the lands to which I drove them in My anger and My wrath and in great indignation; I will bring them back to this place, and I will settle them in safety. They shall be My people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me for all time, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them, never to draw back from doing good to them; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts, so that they may not turn from Me. I will rejoice in doing good to them, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all My heart and all My soul. 

The Psalm: 30 - page 622 (336)
1  I will exalt You, O Lord,
      because You have raised me up ♦
   and have not let my foes triumph over me.
2  O Lord my God, I cried out to You ♦
   and You have healed me.
3  You brought me up, O Lord, from the dead; ♦
   You restored me to life from among those that go down to the Pit.
4  Sing to the Lord, you servants of His; ♦
   give thanks to His holy name.
5  For His wrath endures but the twinkling of an eye,
      His favour for a lifetime. ♦
   Heaviness may endure for a night,
      but joy comes in the morning.
6  In my prosperity I said,
      ‘I shall never be moved. ♦
   You, Lord, of Your goodness,
      have made my hill so strong.’
7  Then You hid Your face from me ♦
   and I was utterly dismayed.
8  To You, O Lord, I cried; ♦
   to the Lord I made my supplication:
9  ‘What profit is there in my blood,
      if I go down to the Pit? ♦
   Will the dust praise You or declare Your faithfulness?
10  ‘Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me; ♦
   O Lord, be my helper.’
11  You have turned my mourning into dancing; ♦
   You have put off my sackcloth and girded me with gladness;
12  Therefore my heart sings to You without ceasing; ♦
   O Lord my God, I will give You thanks for ever.

The Epistle: Revelation 5: 11-14
Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders; they numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, singing with full voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing!’ Then I heard every creature in Heaven and on Earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing, ‘To the One seated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honour and glory and might for ever and ever!’ And the four living creatures said, ‘Amen!’ And the elders fell down and    worshipped. 

Gradual Hymn: 80 Great is thy faithfulness

The Gospel: John 21: 1-19
After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and He showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples. Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going fishing.’ They said to him, ‘We will go with you.’ They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, ‘Children, you have no fish, have you?’ They answered Him, ‘No.’ He said to them, ‘Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.’ So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’ When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, He put on some clothes, for He was naked, and jumped into the lake. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off. When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, ‘Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.’ So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’ Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after He was raised from the dead. When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love Me more than these?’ He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love You.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time He said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love Me?’ He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love You.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’ He said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love Me?’ Peter felt hurt because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’ And He said to Him, ‘Lord, You know everything; You know that I love You.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep. Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.’ (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this He said to him, ‘Follow me.’

THE SERMON

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 PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
At the end of the Intercessions the following is said:
Merciful Father, accept these our prayers for the sake of Your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

Offertory Hymn: 583 Jesus my Lord, my God

THE PRAYER OF HUMBLE ACCESS
We do not presume to come to this Your table, merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness but in Your manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under Your table. But You are the same Lord, Whose nature is always to have mercy. Grant us, therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of Your dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink His blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by His Body, and our souls washed through His most precious Blood, and that we may evermore dwell in Him and He in us. Amen.

THE PEACE
The peace of the Lord be always with you. 
THE TAKING OF THE BREAD AND WINE

Christ our passover has been sacrificed for us therefore let us celebrate the feast. 
THE GREAT THANKSGIVING
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.
Father, Almighty and Everliving God, at all times and in all places it is right to give You thanks and praise: 
And so with all Your people, with angels and archangels, and with all the company of Heaven, we proclaim Your great and glorious name, for ever praising You and singing:

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, Heaven and Earth are full of Your glory. 
Hosanna in the highest!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest! 

Blessed are You, Father, The Creator and Sustainer of all things; You made us in Your own image, male and female You created us; even when we turned away from You, You never ceased to care for us, but in Your love and mercy You freed us from the slavery of sin, giving Your only begotten Son to become man and suffer death on the cross to redeem us; He made there the one complete and all-sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world: He instituted, and in His holy Gospel commanded us to continue, a perpetual memory of His precious death until He comes again: On the night that He was betrayed He took bread; and when He had given thanks to You, He broke it, and gave it to His disciples, saying, Take, eat, this is My Body which is given for You. Do this in remembrance of Me. In the same way, after supper He took the cup; and when He had given thanks to You, He gave it to them, saying, Drink this, all of You, for this is my Blood of the new covenant which is shed for You and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me. Therefore, Father, with this bread and this cup we do as Christ Your Son commanded:

We remember His passion and death, we celebrate His resurrection and ascension, and we look for the coming of His kingdom.

Accept through Him, our great High Priest, this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving; and as we eat and drink these holy gifts, grant by the power of the life-giving Spirit that we may be made one in Your holy Church and partakers of the body and blood of Your Son, that He may dwell in us and we in Him: Through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, by Whom, and with Whom, and in Whom, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all honour and glory are yours, Almighty Father, for ever and ever. Amen. 

THE LORD'S PRAYER
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 gifts of God for the people of God.
Jesus Christ is holy
Jesus Christ is Lord
To the Glory of God the Father.

Or

Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God, Who has taken away the sins of the world. Happy are those who are called to His Supper.
Lord, I am not worthy to receive You, but only say the word and I shall be healed.

THE COMMUNION

Communion Hymns: 606 (As the deer), T&P 9 (As we gather), T&P 80 (King of Kings)

The Post Communion Prayer - page 274 (186)
Living God, Your Son made Himself known to His disciples in the breaking of bread. Open the eyes of our faith, that we may see Him in all His redeeming work; Who is alive and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

THE PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

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.

THE BLESSING 

Hymn: 104 O for a thousand tongues

ANNOUNCEMENTS for Sunday 4th May
Churchwardens
We wish to thank our outgoing Churchwardens, Dwayne Nixon and Ann Little for their support and dedication over the past year and welcome our new Churchwardens Graham Irvine and Audrey Hopkins, who take up their roles today.
Vestry
There will be a meeting of the Select Vestry on Monday 5th May at 8.00pm in the Hilliard Room.
Word and World
The last meeting of this session is on Tuesday 6th May at 7.30pm in the Hilliard Room, Cathedral Hall.
Cathedral Car Park
Please note that the Cathedral Hall Car Park will be closed on Saturday 10th May, when the Band, Bugles, Pipes & Drums of the Royal Irish Regiment will perform a ‘Beating Retreat.’  It will include a special performance by The Erne Highland Dancers. The Car Park will reopen after this event which begins at 3.00pm.
Cancer Focus
Enniskillen Cancer Focus support group invite you to a Coffee Morning in the Cathedral Hall on Saturday 10th May from 10.00am to 12.00 noon. The health check bus will be in attendance for anyone wishing to avail of it’s service.
Adult Confirmation
A service to confirm adults will take place in the Cathedral on Ascension Thursday (29th May) at 7.30pm.  Adults throughout the Diocese are welcome to be confirmed at this service – please contact the clergy or the Parish Office and a member of the Clergy will contact you.
Mid Week Services
Thursday 8th May
11.00am – Holy Communion
7.30pm – VE Day 80th Anniversary Commemorative Community Service followed by the VE Day 80 National Beacon Lighting Ceremony and Pipers Tribute.
Sunday 11th May - The Fourth Sunday of Easter
9.00am – Holy Communion  
11.00am – Morning Prayer