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And here upon all the

to lay his hand

Bread.

ing, Take, eat, this is my Body which is given for you: Do this in remembrance of me. Likewise after ? Here he is supper He Stook the Cup; to take the Cup and, when He had given thanks, He gave it to

into his hand:

And here

them, saying, Drink ye all of this; for this is my Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many

to lay his hand

upou every ves

sel (be it Cha

Christ His own self bare our sins in His own Body on the tree.

In the hand of the Lord there is a cup : to Him full of wrath and trembling; but to me it is the cup of salvation.

|| The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquities of us all. Christ is raised on the Cross for our offences and blessed be His holy Name, He is raised from the grave for our justification.

According to the spirit of Article xxxiv, the priest will make a cross upon the elements when he lays his hands upon them, this being a tradition of the Church, "ordained and approved by common authority".

for the remission of sins: Do this as oft as ye shall drink it, in remembrance Amen.

of me.

lice or Flagon)

in which there

is any Wine to

be consecrated.

This mystical prayer is, in our Church, said aloud,1 which may put you in mind of Christ on the Cross crying to His Father "with a loud voice", when He commended His spirit into His hands. It is repeated by the priest alone, the representative of Him who said, "I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me" (Is. lxiii, 3).

At the conclusion of the Prayer of Consecration, prostrate yourself humbly before God, and say :

IT IS FINISHED.

Blessed be the mercies

1 "We command that all bishops and priests do celebrate the Holy Oblation, and the prayers used in Holy Baptism, not speaking low, but with a clear or loud voice, which may be heard of the people, that thereby the mind of the hearers may be stirred up with great devotion, in uttering the prayers of the Lord God.... Therefore for these causes it is convenient, that, among other prayers, those things also, which are spoken in the Holy Oblation, be uttered and spoken of the most religious bishops and priests, unto our Lord Jesus Christ our God, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, with a loud voice.' -A Constitution of Justinian, quoted in the Homily "Of Common Prayer and Sacraments.'

of God revealed to us in Jesus Christ. O blessed and eternal High Priest, let the sacrifice of the Cross, which Thou didst once offer for the sins of the whole world, and which Thou dost always represent in heaven to Thy Father by Thy never-ceasing intercession, and which hath been now exhibited on Thy holy Table sacramentally, obtain mercy and peace, faith and charity, safety and establishment, to Thy holy Church, which Thou hast founded upon a rock of a holy faith; and let not the gates of hell prevail against it, nor the enemy of mankind take any soul out of Thy hand, whom Thou hast purchased with Thy blood, and sanctified by the Spirit.

Before the distribution of the sacred elements, say :

Draw near, O Lord Jesus Christ, our God, from the habitation of Thy dwelling, and the throne of glory in Thy kingdom, and come and sanctify us; O Thou who sittest on high at the right hand of the Father, and at the same time art invisibly present with us here below.

O holy Lord, who dwellest in the seat of holiness, sanctify us by the word of Thy grace, and the descent of Thy Holy Spirit. And vouchsafe to impart to us Thine im

maculate Body, and most precious Blood, for the remission of sins, and life everlasting.

Then shall the Minister first receive the Communion in both kinds himself, and then proceed to deliver the same to the Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, in like manner (if any be present).

This is consonant to the practice of the primitive Church, in which it was always customary for the clergy to communicate within the rails of the altar, before the Sacrament was delivered to the people. The circumstance may put you in mind of our Saviour's eating His last supper in the upper room with His disciples.1

And after that to the people also in order,2 into their hands, all meekly kneeling.

"Q. What should we remember at the moment of the consecration of the Sacrament, and while the clergy are communicating within the altar?

"A. The mystical supper of Jesus Christ Himself with His Apostles, His suffering, death, and burial.”—Catechism of the Russian Church.

2" After this, let the bishop receive, then the presbyters, and deacons, and sub-deacons, and readers, and singers, and ascetics; and of the women, the deaconesses, virgins, and widows. Afterwards the children, and then all the people in order, with fear and reverence, without tumult or noise."-Rubric at the end of the Clementine Liturgy.

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And when he delivereth the Bread to any one, he shall say ;

The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was given for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life. Take and eat this in remembrance that Christ died for thee, and feed on Him in thy heart by faith with thanksgiving.

And the Minister that delivereth the Cup to any one shall say :

The Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was shed for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life. Drink this in remembrance that Christ's Blood was shed for thee, and be thankful.'

1 It is observable that our Church carries the symbolical representation of Christ's death and passion further than the Roman, in that she gives both kinds separately to all communicants alike, for "As often as ye eat this Bread, and drink this Cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till He come" (1 Cor. xi, 26). It is the idea that the act of communion is a continuative part of the commemora. tive sacrifice, which, no doubt, prompted the reviewers of our Liturgy to place it immediately after the prayer of Consecration; and it explains, moreover, why the obla

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