Please join in saying the words and singing the hymns printed in bold type.

The church is served by a hearing loop. Users should turn their hearing aid to the setting marked T.

Photography, filming, and sound recording are not allowed in the Abbey during services. Please ensure that mobile telephones and other electronic devices are silent.

Setting: Mass in G minor, Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958)

During the offertory hymn, a collection will be taken; the money from today's services will be divided equally between Cathedral Music Trust and the work of the Abbey. Cathedral Music Trust supports the valuable work of musicians who enrich so many lives through the power of cathedral music.

Visiting Choirs

When the Abbey Choirs are on holiday, the Abbey welcomes visiting choirs, upholding the Abbey's pattern of choral services. This is an important aspect of worship at Westminster Abbey, and choirs are received both at the invitation of the Minor Canons and Music Departments and via online applications. More information and details on how to apply can be found here. Today, the Abbey is pleased to welcome Worcester Cathedral Chamber Choir who are singing the choral services today.

Worcester Cathedral Chamber Choir is an adult choir of about 30 singers, founded in 1998 by its musical director Stephen Shellard. The choir exists primarily to play a part in the Cathedral's round of services. Everyone who joins, does so principally to sing in the magnificent sacred space of Worcester Cathedral. The foundation of the choir was historic in that for the first time in its 900-year history, female voices became part of a Worcester Cathedral choir. The choir is an established part of an ancient heritage in which it has its own niche.

Order of Service

All stand as the choir and clergy enter. The choir sings the Lent Prose

Refrain Hear us, O Lord, have mercy upon us : for we have sinned against thee.

God, we implore thee, in thy glory seated : bow down and hearken to thy weeping children : pity and pardon all our grievous trespasses.

Sins oft committed now we lay before thee : with true contrition, now no more we veil them : grant us, Redeemer, loving absolution.

Innocent, captive, taken unresisting : falsely accused, and for us sinners sentenced : save us, we pray thee, Jesu our Redeemer.

Music: plainsong

All remain standing. The president introduces the Prayers of Penitence, after which all say

Almighty God, our heavenly Father,
we have sinned against you
and against our neighbour
in thought and word and deed,
through negligence, through weakness,
through our own deliberate fault.
We are truly sorry
and repent of all our sins.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
who died for us,
forgive us all that is past
and grant that we may serve you in newness of life
to the glory of your name.
Amen.

The president gives the Absolution

Almighty God, who forgives all who truly repent, have mercy upon you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness, and keep you in life eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The choir sings Kyrie eleison

Kyrie eleison.
Christe eleison.
Kyrie eleison.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

All remain standing for the Collect

Let us pray.

All sit for the Reading from the Old Testament, Isaiah 43: 16–21

Thus says the Lord,
   who makes a way in the sea,
   a path in the mighty waters,
who brings out chariot and horse,
   army and warrior;
they lie down, they cannot rise,
   they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:
Do not remember the former things,
   or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing;
   now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
   and rivers in the desert.
The wild animals will honour me,
   the jackals and the ostriches;
for I give water in the wilderness,
   rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
   the people whom I formed for myself
so that they might declare my praise.

This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

The choir sings Psalm 126

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
   then were we like those who dream.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter,
   and our tongue with songs of joy;
then said they among the nations,
   'The Lord has done great things for them.'
The Lord has indeed done great things for us,
   and therefore we rejoiced.

Restore again our fortunes, O Lord,
   as the river beds of the desert.
Those who sow in tears
   shall reap with songs of joy.
Those who go out weeping,
   bearing the seed,
will come back with shouts of joy,
   bearing their sheaves with them.

The Epistle, Philippians 3: 4b–14

If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

All stand for the Procession of the Gospel. The choir sings

Praise to you, O Christ, King of eternal glory.

and all repeat

Christ humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and given him the name that is above every name.

Praise to you, O Christ, King of eternal glory.

The reader announces the Gospel, John 12: 1–8

Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 'Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?' (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) Jesus said, 'Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.'

The Sermon by The Reverend Robert Latham Precentor

All stand to say the 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 from the Holy Spirit and 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.

All remain standing for the Prayers of Intercession. At the end of each petition there is said

The intercession ends

Merciful Father,
accept these prayers
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.

The president introduces the Peace

Once we were far off, but now in union with Christ Jesus we have been brought near through the shedding of Christ's blood, for he is our peace.

All may greet one another with the words Peace be with you.

All remain standing to sing the Hymn during the Preparation of the Altar. A collection will be taken. Alternatively, cash and contactless donations may be given as you leave via the Great West Door

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
   'Come unto me and rest;
lay down, thou weary one, lay down
   thy head upon my breast:'
I came to Jesus as I was,
   weary, and worn, and sad;
I found in him a resting-place,
   and he has made me glad.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
   'Behold, I freely give
the living water, thirsty one;
   stoop down, and drink, and live:'
I came to Jesus, and I drank
   of that life-giving stream;
my thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
   and now I live in him.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
   'I am this dark world's Light;
look unto me, thy morn shall rise,
   and all thy day be bright:'
I looked to Jesus, and I found
   in him my Star, my Sun;
and in that light of life I'll walk
   till travelling days are done.

Words: Horatius Bonar (1808–89)
Tune: 'Kingsfold' 376 NEH, traditional melody

All remain standing for the Eucharistic Prayer. The president says

It is indeed right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, holy Father, almighty and eternal God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. For as the time of his passion and resurrection draws near the whole world is called to acknowledge his hidden majesty. The power of the life-giving cross reveals the judgement that has come upon the world and the triumph of Christ crucified. He is the victim who dies no more, the Lamb once slain, who lives for ever, our advocate in heaven to plead our cause, exalting us there to join with angels and archangels, for ever praising you and saying:

The choir sings Sanctus

Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth, pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis. Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Hosanna in excelsis.

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.

The president continues the Eucharistic Prayer

Lord, you are holy indeed, the source of all holiness; grant that by the power of your Holy Spirit, and according to your holy will, these gifts of bread and wine may be to us the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ;

who, in the same night that he was betrayed, took bread and gave you thanks; 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 gave you thanks; he gave it to them, saying: Drink this, all of you; 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.

Jesus Christ is Lord:
Lord, by your cross and resurrection you have set us free.
You are the Saviour of the world.

And so, Father, calling to mind his death on the cross, his perfect sacrifice made once for the sins of the whole world; rejoicing in his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension, and looking for his coming in glory, we celebrate this memorial of our redemption. As we offer you this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, we bring before you this bread and this cup and we thank you for counting us worthy to stand in your presence and serve you.

Send the Holy Spirit on your people and gather into one in your kingdom all who share this one bread and one cup, so that we, in the company of [N and] all the saints, may praise and glorify you for ever, through Jesus Christ our Lord; by whom, and with whom, and in whom, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all honour and glory be yours, almighty Father, for ever and ever. Amen.

All remain standing. The president introduces 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.

All remain standing for the Breaking of the Bread

The congregation is invited to sit as the president and other ministers begin the distribution of Holy Communion. Those wishing to receive come forward as directed by the Stewards. If you receive communion in your own church you are welcome to do so here. Gluten-free wafers are available. Please refrain from dipping the wafer in the chalice. Those who do not wish to receive communion are invited to come for a blessing; please bow your head as you approach. The minister says to each communicant

The body of Christ. Amen.

The blood of Christ. Amen.

During the giving of communion, the choir sings Agnus Dei and the Motet

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem.

O taste and see how gracious the Lord is;
   blest is the man that trusteth in him.

Words: Psalm 34: 8
Music: Ralph Vaughan Williams

All stand to sing the Hymn

All ye who seek a comfort sure
   in trouble and distress,
whatever sorrow vex the mind,
   or guilt the soul oppress,

Jesus, who gave himself for you
   upon the cross to die,
opens to you his sacred heart:
   O to that heart draw nigh.

Ye hear how kindly he invites;
   ye hear his words so blest—
'All ye that labour come to me,
   and I will give you rest.'

O Jesus, joy of saints on high,
   thou hope of sinners here,
attracted by those loving words
   to thee I lift my prayer.

Wash thou my wounds in that dear blood
   which forth from thee doth flow;
new grace, new hope inspire, a new
   and better heart bestow.

Words: 'Quicumque certum quaeritis' 18th century, translated by Edward Caswall (1814–78)
Tune: 'St Bernard' 63 NEH, adapted from a melody in Heinrich Lindenborn's 'Tochter Sion' Köln, 1741

Let us pray.

All remain standing. The president says the Prayer after Communion

The president pronounces the Blessing

Music after the service

Sei gegrüßet, Jesu gütig, Paul Greally (b 2001)

Sunday Lunch

Come and enjoy Sunday lunch at the Cellarium

The Cellarium Café and Terrace serves a traditional roast lunch, with a selection of starters and desserts. From £20.00 per person. Open from noon.

If you attend worship at the Abbey regularly, you may like to add this page to your home screen for easy access to our orders of service.

Hymns covered by Christian Copyright Licensing (International) Ltd are reproduced under CCL no 1040271 and MRL no 1040288. Common Worship (Church House Publishing, 2000), material from which is included in this service, is copyright © The Archbishops' Council. Scripture Readings are from the New Revised Standard Version.