Liturgy & Worship
Welcome to our Liturgy and Worship here at the Cathedral.
Liturgy can be described as the official, public worship of the Church.
A well-known word that is close in meaning to ‘liturgy’ is the word ‘worship’. But while worship can be done privately, ‘liturgy’ is always a public, group activity.
Like many other ‘churchy’ words, liturgy comes from the language used by the early church in its worship and writings. The word liturgy is derived from the Greek word leitourgia which was used to refer to any public work or function exercised by the people as a whole. The people who do the work of liturgy are the people of God, all the baptised.
A well-known word that is close in meaning to liturgy is the word worship. But while worship can be done privately, liturgy is always a public, group activity.
A working definition of liturgy that is helpful is ‘The official, public worship of the Church’.
In the Catholic Church, we worship using forms and patterns of worship that have developed during the Church’s 2000-year history. Every day of the year falls into a particular place into the Church’s liturgical calendar, and certain scripture readings and prayers are assigned for use at Mass each day. The celebration of the rites of Baptism, Marriage, Funerals and other sacraments are set out in the Church’s ritual books
Liturgy is always an action, something we do. It is a public action, a ritual action, and a symbolic action. It is in the proclamation of the word and in the breaking of the bread that we recognise Christ. We participate in the action of the liturgy by responding, singing, listening and joining the gestures.
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Mass Times
Plymouth Cathedral
Mass times in the Cathedral if you would like to come and attend:
For address & directions please click here
St Joseph’s
Mass times in the St Joseph’s Church if you would like to come and attend:
For address & directions please click here
Christ the King
Mass times in the Christ the King Church if you would like to come and attend:
For address & directions please click here
Watch Mass Live from the Cathedral
Mass will be streamed daily from the Cathedral at 10:00 AM each morning and available on YouTube.
Click here to subscribe to the Plymouth Diocese channel to receive alerts.
Mass times in the Cathedral if you would like to come and attend:
From the archive:
Cathedral Music News
Andrew Lyons has been appointed as the Cathedral’s resident Organist and Director of Music from September 2024.
Andrew began learning to play the organ on a harmonium at his local parish at the tender age of 12 and studied with the Royal School of Music. he brings with him many years’ of experience both as an organist and choirmaster.
If you would like to enquire about joining our choir,wish to engage his services or any other musical queries he would be pleased to hear from you.
email: aplmusician@gmail.com or contact the Cathedral Office
The Cathedral Choir
The Cathedral Choir is an amateur SATB choir of approx. twenty voices. Its members are very dedicated and sing at the 10am Solemn Mass on Sundays preceded by a rehearsal at 9am. Other choral commitments include all Episcopal liturgies, Sung Masses, the services of Holy Week, Easter and Christmas, plus weddings and funerals as requested. New members are always made to feel very welcome. New singers in all parts are welcome, but currently we are especially welcoming new gentlemen, both tenors and basses. In February 2022, the Cathedral installed a Wyvern Concerto 354, 3 Manual Drawstop digital organ which sounds wonderful in the generous acoustic of the building. The clergy and the whole Cathedral community are very supportive of the musical life of the Cathedral.
Tenors and Basses Needed !
The Cathedral Choir is blessed with a good number of excellent sopranos and altos but is always happy to welcome more singers to those voice parts. Tenors and Basses however seem to be in quite short supply and the choir could really do with more of both of those voice parts, to achieve an ideal balance and blend of overall sound. Music at the Cathedral is a very important element in the liturgy, particularly on Sundays at the 10am Cathedral Solemn Mass and on Holy Days. The commitment is not arduous by any means and the choir are a very friendly group. They sing a varied repertoire which should include something to delight all tastes. They meet at 9am on a Sunday morning in the Cathedral for a rehearsal which is immediately followed by the 10am Cathedral Sung Mass. If you are interested, please contact Andrew (contact details above) or the Cathedral Office on 01752-663527 and ask to speak to Lyn. Alternatively just turn up on any Sunday morning at 9am and introduce yourself.
Children’s Liturgy
Our aim for the children who join us is that they learn about the Word of God and the life of Jesus in a way that is accessible and understandable to them, and that they have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss the themes that are presented in the Gospel in a way that will help them to understand their faith.
Each week the Gospel story is explained in age appropriate language. A prayer and a variety of activities that will engage the children are included to help each child get to know the person of Jesus.
All our team members are required to have a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check completed every three years so you can rest assured that your children’s safety is of the upmost importance to us.
Diocese of Plymouth
The office of #catechesis are producing weekly videos, designed to make the #gospel accessible for children and vulnerable adults, sometimes even with cameos from local animals!
You can check out the films here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8rHAQBYrjEat
Catholic Children’s Society Plymouth Plymouth CAST Pact – Prison Advice & Care Trust Our Lady & St Patricks RC Nursery & Primary School St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church, Newton Abbot, Devon
Meet & Make
Every second Saturday from 4pm to 5pm we invite all children, along with their parents, to come and enjoy some creative crafts and conversation. It’s a free event run by the Children’s Liturgy staff and alongside the crafting there are refreshments available.
Come along and join us for crafts and conversation.
Future dates:
11th March
1st April
13th May
3rd June
Guild of St Stephen
The Guild of St. Stephen is an international organisation of altar servers founded in England in 1904 by Father Hamilton McDonald when he formed a society of Altars Servers at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in London. In 1905, St. Pius X, Pope gave his approbation to the canonical establishment of the guild at Westminster Cathedral and in 1906, the Sacred Congregation of Rites made the guild an Archconfraternity prima primaria, enabling all the parish branches to be linked with it. The guild spread and, in 1934, Pope Pius XI enabled all guilds of altar servers throughout the British Commonwealth to be affiliated with the Archconfraternity at Westminster.
The objects of the Guild of Saint Stephen are:
-To encourage, positively and practically, the highest standards of serving at the Church’s liturgy and so contribute to the whole community’s participation in a more fruitful worship of God.
-To provide altar servers with a greater understanding of what they are doing so that they may serve with increasing reverence and prayerfulness and thereby be led to a deepening response to their vocation in life.
-To unite servers of different parishes and dioceses for their mutual support and encouragement.
Membership of the Guild is open to any server, without limit of age, who can serve Mass, and who has shown a wish to live up to the objects and standards of the Guild.
Servers will have been given adequate training and reaches the necessary standard before being admitted to the sanctuary and then should serve satisfactorily for a minimum of six months before being enrolled as a member of the Guild. The parish priest, or the local director of the Guild, decides whether a candidate is eligible and worthy of admission to the Guild and he is empowered to perform the ceremony of enrolment and invest the server with the Guild medal, using the prescribed form of enrolment.
