Saint Macartin’s Cathedral Enniskillen
MORNING PRAYER (1) – PAGE 84 
The Twelfth Sunday after Trinity 23/8/2026

Processional Hymn: 537 O God, our help in ages past
A GENERAL CONFESSION
Almighty and most merciful Father; We have erred and strayed from Thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against Thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done; and there is no health in us. But Thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Spare Thou them, O God, which confess their faults. Restore Thou them that are penitent; According to Thy promises declared unto mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for His sake; That we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, To the glory of Thy holy Name. Amen.
THE ABSOLUTION
Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who desireth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he may turn from his wickedness, and live; and hath given power, and commandment, to His Ministers, to declare and pronounce to His people, being penitent, the Absolution and Remission of their sins: He pardoneth and absolveth all them that truly repent, and unfeignedly believe His holy Gospel. Wherefore let us beseech Him to grant us true repentance, and His Holy Spirit, that those things may please Him which we do at this present; and that the rest of our life hereafter may be pure and holy; so that at the last we may come to His eternal joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O Lord, open Thou our lips and our mouth shall show forth Thy praise.
God, make speed to save us. O Lord, make haste to help us.
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.
Praise ye the Lord. The Lord's Name be praised.

VENITE

The First Reading: Exodus 1: 8-2:10
Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. He said to his people, ‘Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.’ Therefore they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labour. They built supply cities, Pithom and Rameses, for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. The Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on the Israelites, and made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labour. They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them.
The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, ‘When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she shall live.’ But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live. So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, ‘Why have you done this, and allowed the boys to live?’ The midwives said to Pharaoh, ‘Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.’ So God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and became very strong. And because the midwives feared God, He gave them families. Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, ‘Every boy that is born to the Hebrews you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every girl live.’
Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him for three months. When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him.
The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him. ‘This must be one of the Hebrews’ children,’ she said. Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, ‘Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?’ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Yes.’ So the girl went and called the child’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages.’ So the woman took the child and nursed it. When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses, ‘because’, she said, ‘I drew him out of the water.’
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Psalm 124 page 744 (465)
1  If the Lord Himself had not been on our side, ♦
   now may Israel say;
2  If the Lord had not been on our side, ♦
   when enemies rose up against us;
3  Then would they have swallowed us alive ♦
   when their anger burned against us;
4  Then would the waters have overwhelmed us
      and the torrent gone over our soul; ♦
   over our soul would have swept the raging waters.
5  But blessed be the Lord ♦
   Who has not given us over to be a prey for their teeth.
6  Our soul has escaped
      as a bird from the snare of the fowler; ♦
   the snare is broken and we are delivered.
7  Our help is in the Name of the Lord, ♦
   Who has made Heaven and Earth.

The Epistle: Romans 12: 1-8
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

Hymn: 517 Brother, sister, let me serve you
 
The Gospel: Matthew 16: 13-20
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in Heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on Earth will be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on Earth will be loosed in Heaven.’ Then He sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Messiah.

THE APOSTLES' CREED
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into Hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into Heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. 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.

Lord, have mercy upon us Christ, have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us.

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. Amen.

O Lord, show thy mercy upon us and grant us Thy salvation.

O Lord, save the King and mercifully hear us when we call upon Thee.

Endue Thy ministers with righteousness and make Thy chosen people joyful.

O Lord, save Thy people and bless Thine inheritance.

Give peace in our time, O Lord, because there is none other that fighteth for us, but only Thou, O God.

O God, make clean our hearts within us and take not Thy Holy Spirit from us.

THE COLLECTS
The Collect of the Day - page 290 (202)
Almighty and everlasting God, You are always more ready to hear than we to pray and to give more than either we desire, or deserve: Pour down upon us the abundance of Your mercy,
forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask save through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ Your Son our Lord.

THE SECOND COLLECT For Peace
O God, who art the author of peace and lover of concord, in knowledge of Whom standeth our eternal life, Whose service is perfect freedom; Defend us Thy humble servants in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in Thy defence, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

THE THIRD COLLECT For Grace
O Lord, our Heavenly Father, Almighty and Everlasting God, Who hast safely brought us to the beginning of this day: Defend us in the same with Thy mighty power; and grant that this day we fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger; but that all our doings may be ordered by Thy governance, to do always that is righteous in Thy sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

PRAYERS

Hymn: 360 Let all the world in every corner sing

 SERMON

Offertory Hymn: 196 O, worship the Lord

 THE BLESSING

Hymn: 372 Through all the changing scenes of life

ANNOUNCEMENTS for Sunday 23rd August 2026
Parenting Wellness Group
Parents and children are invited to come and slow down and enjoy time together at a ’Mummy and Me Reconnect Session’ in The Cathedral Hall on Saturday 12th September at 2.00pm. Designed for children aged 7–11, this nurturing session features partner yoga, bracelet making, a soothing hand massage and other relaxation techniques. It is the perfect opportunity to strengthen your emotional bond, laugh together and learn wellbeing tools you can easily use at home. For more information or to book your spaces, contact Linda Kingston on 07342045474. 
St Macartin’s Cathedral Big Breakfast Saturday 26th September
Breakfast 9.00am to 12.30pm in the Cathedral Hall. Please put this date in your diary and keep it free! Invite your family and friends. Adults £10, children under 12 £5. Proceeds are to the Aisling Centre and St Macartin’s Outreach Fund. All are most welcome to attend.
Autumn Big Splash
Clogher Diocesan Youth Council invite all secondary school age young people to the Share Centre , Lisnaskea for the Big Autumn Splash on Saturday 26th September from 2.00-4.30pm. There will be kayaking, jetty jumping and banana boats and all is free. To book your space please sign the sheet in the Cathedral porch by Sunday 13th September. 
Thursday 27th August 
11.00am - Holy Communion
Sunday 30th August - The Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity 
9.00am - Holy Communion 
11.00am - Morning Prayer