St Macartin’s Cathedral, Enniskillen
THE CELEBRATION OF THE HOLY COMMUNION (2)
Sunday 7th December 2025		The Second Sunday of Advent                        

Processional Hymn: 136 On Jordan’s bank

ADVENT WREATH - Second Candle 
May this Advent wreath remind us of God’s people waiting for Christ to come. May it remind us that Jesus was born to be God’s light in the world, God-with-us. May it remind us to prepare our own hearts for Jesus to come afresh into them. 
Advent 2
We light the second candle to remind us of the Holy Scriptures which proclaim the light of Christ and bring hope to those who live in darkness. 
Light the second candle  'Your word is a lantern to my feet and a light to my path.'
Prayer: Merciful Father and eternal Judge, whose Son will come to bring to light things hidden in darkness and to reveal the secrets of all hearts: by your grace make us trustworthy and true servants, so that we may be found worthy of your praise on the day of Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen.

 THE GREETING and SENTENCE OF SCRIPTURE

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

The Collect of the Day - page 242 - (155)
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.

The Advent Collect - page 241 - (154) This collect is said after the Collect of the day until Christmas Eve.
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and to put on the armour of light now in the time of this mortal life in which Your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility; that on the last day when He shall come again in His glorious majesty to judge the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through Him who is alive and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
.

The Old Testament Lesson: Isaiah 11: 1-10
A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of His roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest on Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what His eyes see, or decide by what His ears hear; but with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt around His waist, and faithfulness the belt around His loins. The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. They will not hurt or destroy on all My holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. On that day the Root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of Him, and His dwelling shall be glorious.

The Psalm: Psalm: 72. 1-7 - page 672 (388)
1  Give the king your judgements, O God, ♦
   and your righteousness to the son of a king.
2  Then shall He judge Your people righteously ♦
   and Your poor with justice.
3  May the mountains bring forth peace, ♦
   and the little hills righteousness for the people.
4  May He defend the poor among the people, ♦
   deliver the children of the needy and crush the oppressor.
5  May He live as long as the sun and moon endure, ♦
   from one generation to another.
6  May He come down like rain upon the mown grass, ♦
   like the showers that water the earth.
7  In His time shall righteousness flourish, ♦
   and abundance of peace
      till the moon shall be no more.

The Epistle: Romans 15: 4-13
For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I tell you that Christ has become a Servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that He might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy. As it is written, ‘Therefore I will confess You among the Gentiles, and sing praises to Your name’; and again He says, ‘Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people’; and again, ‘Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise Him’; and again Isaiah says, ‘The Root of Jesse shall come, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; in Him the Gentiles shall hope.’ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Gradual Hymn: 161 I know a rose tree 

The Gospel: Matthew 3: 1-12
In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ‘Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near.’ This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, ‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” ’ Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ‘I baptize you with water for repentance, but One who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry His sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing-floor and will gather His wheat into the granary; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.’

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: T&P 23 Christ is surely coming 

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: Ave Verum Corpus; T&P 6 - All I Once Held Dear; T&P 80 - King of Kings

The Post Communion Prayer - 242 (155)

Lord, here You have nourished us with the food of life. Through our sharing in this holy sacrament teach us to judge wisely earthly things and to yearn for things heavenly. We ask this through 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: 336 Jesus where’er thy people meet 
ANNOUNCEMENTS for Sunday 7th December 2025
60+ Christmas Dinner
Senior parishioners are invited to the Cathedral Hall for a Christmas dinner on Tuesday 9th December at 6.00pm, with entertainment by the choir afterwards, also in the Hall. For catering purposes please contact the Cathedral Office, tomorrow morning, if you haven’t already done so, and would like to attend.
Fermanagh Choral Society
You are invited to the Choral Society Annual Christmas Concert on Saturday 13th December at 8.00pm in St Macartin’s Cathedral. Admission is £10 including refreshments. All are welcome.
Save the Date
St Macartin’s Mothers’ Union is hosting a Beetle Drive with supper, for the parish family at no cost, on Friday 23rd January 2026 at 7.00pm. Please put a note in your diary and keep it free! More details nearer the time.
The 2025 Advent Calendar
The 2025 Advent Calendar on the Cathedral website is up and running. There are 25 boxes and in each one you will find a seasonal picture, a section of the Christmas Story and a music video.
The Dean’s Sit Out for Charity Thursday 18th December
The Dean would love to see you at his Sit Out before Christmas, raising funds for the Bishops’ Appeal, Air Ambulance and St Macartin’s Outreach Fund. If however you are unable to attend, envelopes are available in the Cathedral porch to make a donation, which can be Gift Aided if you wish.
Mid Week Service
Thursday 11th December
11.00am –     Holy Communion
Sunday 14th December - The Third Sunday of Advent
9.00am –       Holy Communion
11.00am –     Morning Prayer - Nativity Service