St Macartin’s Cathedral, Enniskillen
THE CELEBRATION OF THE HOLY COMMUNION (2) with Holy Baptism
17th August 2025 	The Ninth Sunday after Trinity

 Processional Hymn: 376 Ye holy angels bright 

 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 288 (200)
Almighty God, Who sent Your Holy Spirit to be the life and light of Your Church: Open our hearts to the riches of His grace, that we may bring forth the fruit of the Spirit in love and joy and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Lesson: Isaiah 5: 1-7 
Let me sing for my beloved my love-song concerning His vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watch-tower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; he expected it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between Me and My vineyard. What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it? When I expected it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? And now I will tell you what I will do to My vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the House of Israel, and the people of Judah are His pleasant planting; He expected justice, but saw bloodshed; righteousness, but heard a cry!

The Psalm 80.1-2, 9-20 - page 685 (402)
1  Hear, O Shepherd of Israel, ♦
   You that led Joseph like a flock;
2  Shine forth, You that are enthroned upon the cherubim, ♦
   before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
9  You brought a vine out of Egypt; ♦
   You drove out the nations and planted it.
10  You made room around it, ♦
   and when it had taken root, it filled the land.
11  The hills were covered with its shadow ♦
   and the cedars of God by its boughs.
12  It stretched out its branches to the Sea ♦
   and its tendrils to the River.
13  Why then have you broken down its wall, ♦
   so that all who pass by pluck off its grapes?
14  The wild boar out of the wood tears it off, ♦
   and all the insects of the field devour it.
15  Turn again, O God of Hosts, ♦
   look down from heaven and behold;
16  Cherish this vine which Your right hand has planted, ♦
   and the branch that You made so strong for Yourself.
17  Let those who burnt it with fire, who cut it down, ♦
   perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.
18  Let your hand be upon the Man at Your right hand, ♦
   the Son of Man You made so strong for Yourself.
19  And so will we not go back from You; ♦
   give us life, and we shall call upon Your name.
20  Turn us again, O Lord God of Hosts; ♦
   show the light of Your countenance, and we shall be saved.

The Epistle: Hebrews 11: 29 - 12: 2
By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had received the spies in peace. And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned to death, they were sawn in two, they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented— of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better so that they would not, without us, be made perfect. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, Who for the sake of the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

Gradual Hymn: 636 May the mind of Christ 

The Gospel: : Luke 12: 49-56
‘I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’ He also said to the crowds, ‘When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, “It is going to rain”; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, “There will be scorching heat”; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

Holy Baptism – page 371 (271) 

THE SERMON

Offertory Hymn: 639 O thou who camest 

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, 425, 421

The Post Communion Prayer - page 288(200)
Holy Father, who gathered us here around the table of Your Son to share this meal with the whole household of God: In that new world where You reveal the fulness of Your peace, gather people of every race and language to share in the eternal banquet of Jesus Christ our Lord.

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: 326 Christ is made 

ANNOUNCEMENTS for Sunday 10th August

St Andrew’s Sunflower Meadow Festival
You are invited to Scotshouse Village, Co Monaghan H23 W226 for the Sunflower Festival between 14th and 31st August, each Thursday and Friday from 5.00-9.00pm and Saturday and Sundays from 12.00 noon to 8.30pm. There will be music and surprises. Donations are to Crocus Cancer Support Group, Cavan Monaghan Palliative Care, Scotshouse Community Childcare and local Church of Ireland Churches. Free parking in the village. All welcome.

Annual Cuilcagh Dawn Trek 
The Aisling Centre annual Cuilcagh Dawn Trek to mark World Suicide Prevention Day takes place on Saturday 6th September.  Advance registration required. For further information please contact info@theaislingcentre.com or telephone 028 66 325811.

Parenting Wellness Group 
The Parenting Wellness Group are excited to have Kelly and Farrah from Rugby Tots NI joining them for a Rugby Session on Saturday 13th September in The Cathedral Hall at 2.00pm. This will be suitable for children aged 2 - 11, and their parents, who will also be encouraged to take part! For further information or to have your name added to the list, send a message to Linda Kingston on 07342045474. 

School Uniform
Do you have school uniforms, in good condition, that you no longer need? If so, we would be glad to take them, and recycle to others who could make good use of them. Please leave your items in the Cathedral Hall as soon as possible. Contact the clergy or the office confidentially, if you require items. We will do our best to assist if possible.

Thursday Celebrations of the Holy Communion
Our celebrations of the Holy Communion continue on Thursday mornings at 11.00am. These last for approximately 30 minutes, and all are warmly welcome. We are encouraging parishioners who may be in Enniskillen shopping on Thursday mornings to drop in for this short service. The services are followed by refreshments, which gives parishioners an opportunity to catch up.

Mid Week Services
Thursday 21st August
11.00am – Holy Communion 

Sunday 24th August - The Tenth Sunday after Trinity
9.00am – Holy Communion   
11.00am – Morning Prayer