¶ At the end of the Gospel is answered: Praise be to thee, O Christ.

¶ Then the Priest says in a low voice:

May our sins be blotted out by the words of the gospel. Amen.

¶ Immediately after the Gospel follows the Sermon, or pubiic Instruction of the People, which is usually on the Gospel of the day.

THE NICENE CREED, which is repeated on Sundays and great Feasts of the Year.

I BELIEVE in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, and born of the Father before all ages: God of God, light of light, true God of true God: begotten, not made: consubstantial to the Father, by whom all things were made. Who for us men, and for our salvation, descended from heaven, * AND WAS INCARNATE BY THE HOLY GHOST of the Virgin Mary, AND WAS MADE MAN: was crucified also for us; suffered under Pontius Pilate, and was buried; and the third day rose again, according to the scriptures. And ascended into heaven, sits at the right-hand of the Father: and will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead: of whose kingdom will be no end. And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and life-giver, who proceeds from the Father and the Son: who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified; who spake by the prophets; and one Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins.

• At these words the priest and people kneel down in adoration of the ineffable mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God.

And I expect the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

The Priest then says, turning towards the People:
The Lord be with you.

R. And with thy spirit.

At the Offertory, which differs every Day, may be said:

O my God, I sincerely offer myself, and all I have, to thee, to do and suffer whatever thou commandest or permittest. Receive my offering, and bear with my weakness, I most humbly beseeck thee.

Then the Priest uncovers the Paten or Plate, and the Chalice or Cup, and holding up the Bread, repeats the Offertory Prayer, saying:

Accept, O holy Father, almighty and eternal God, this unspotted host, which I, thy unworthy servant, offer unto thee, my living and true God, for my innumerable sins, offences, and negligences, and for all here present; as also for all faithful Christians, both living and dead; that it may avail both me and them unto life everlasting. Amen.

Then the Priest puts the Wine and Water into the
Chalice, saying :*

O God, who in creating human nature, hast wonderfully dignified it, and still more wonderfully reformed it; grant that by the Mystery of this Water and Wine, we may be made partakers of his divine nature, who vouchsafed to become partaker of our human nature, namely, Jesus Christ

* Formerly it was the custom in the Protestant Church also to mingle water in the cup; and the omission was strongly reprebended by many of its most learned divines, on the ground of the practice being derived from apostolical tradition. See Reasons for restoring Some Prayers, &c. and defence of Ditto, London, 1718..

our Lord thy Son, who with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth one God, &c, Amen,

¶ Then offering up the Chalice, he says:

We offer unto thee, O Lord, the Chalice of Salvation, beseeching thy clemency, that it may ascend before thy divine Majesty, as a sweet odour for our salvation, and for that of the whole world. Amen.

¶ Then the Priest says before the Altar:

Accept us, O Lord, in the spirit of humility, and contrition of heart, and grant, that the sacrifice which we offer this day in thy sight, may be pleasing to thee, O Lord God.

Then he blesses the Bread and Wine, saying: Come, O almighty and eternal God, the sanc tifier, and bless this sacrifice, prepared for the glory of thy holy name.*

Washing his Hands, he says, Ps. xxv. 6.

I will wash my hands among the innocent: and will encompass thy altar, O Lord.

* ¶ Here again at solemn Mass the Priest blesses the incense,, saying: May the Lord, by the intercession of blessed Michael the archangel, standing at the right hand of the altar of incense, and of all his elect, vouchsafe to bless this incense, and receive it as an odour. of sweetness. Thro'. Amen. When incensing the Bread and Wine, he says: May this incense which thou hast blessed; O Lord, ascend to thee, and may thy mercy descend upon us. I When incensing the Altar, he says, Ps. cxi. May my prayer, O Lord, ascend like incense in thy sight, and the lifting up of my hands be as an even ing sacrifice. Place, O Lord, a guard on my mouth, and a gate of prudence before my lips, that my heart may not wander after words of malice, to seek excuses in sin.. ¶ Giving the Censer to the Deacon, he says: 66 May the Lord enkindle within us the fire of his love, and the flame of everlasting charity." Amen.

That I may hear the voice of praise: and publish all thy marvellous works.

Lord, I have loved the beauty of thy house, and the place of the habitation of thy glory.

Destroy not my soul with the impious; and my life with men of bloody minds.

In whose hands are iniquities: their righthand is filled with bribes.

But I have walked in my innocence: redeem me, and have mercy on me.

My feet have stood in the right path: in the assembly I will bless thee, O Lord.

Glory be to the Father, &c.

¶ Bending before the middle of the Altar, he says:

Receive, O holy Trinity, this oblation which we make to thee, in memory of the Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in honour of the blessed Mary* ever a

* The commemoration of the saints in the Mass, is a practice which, through ancient liturgies, may be traced back to the very days of the apostles. Hardly the fragment of a Greek, Syriac, or Arabic li turgy can be produced without evidence for it. "I receive," writes the great St. Basil, "the holy apostles, prophets, martyrs, and I invoke them, that they may pray for me, and that by their means God may be merciful to me, and forgive me my sins. On this account. I honour them and respect their representations, especially because all these things have been ordained for us by the tradition of the apostles; and so far from being forbidden they appear in all our churches." (Ep. 205. T. 3. Ed. Par. p. 224.) Even the English Protestant Church was once in unison with the Catholic on this head. The prayer for the whole Church in the communion office formerly con tained the following passage: And here we do give unto thee most high praise and hearty thanks for the wonderful grace and virtue declared in all thy saints from the beginning of the world; and chiefly in the glorious and most blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord and God, and in the holy patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs, whose examples (O Lord), and steadfastness in thy faith, and keeping thy holy commandments grant us to follow. We commend unto thy mercy (0) Lord) 63 other thy servants, &c.

virgin, the blessed John Baptist, the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and of all the Saints; that it may be available to their honour and our salvation: and may they vouchsafe to intercede for us in heaven, whose memory we celebrate on earth. Thro' the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Then turning towards the People, he says: Brethren, pray that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the Father Almighty.

R. May the Lord receive the sacrifice from thy hands, to the praise and glory of his name, and to our benefit, and to that of his holy Church.

¶ As the next Prayer differs every Day, the following may be said:

Mercifully hear our prayers, O Lord, and gra ciously accept this oblation, which we thy ser, vants are making to thee; that as we offer it to the honour of thy name, so it may be to us here a means of obtaining thy grace, and hereafter everlasting happiness. Thro' our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who with thee, &c.

P. World without end.

R. Amen.

¶Then the Priest proceeds, saying:

P. The Lord be with you. R. And with thy spirit. P. Lift up your hearts. R. We have lifted them up to the Lord. P. Let us give thanks to our Lord God. R. It is meet and just.

The common Preface on all Festivals and other days that have none proper, and in Masses for the Dead. N. B. This mark refers to the subsequent part of the proper Prefaces.

It is truly meet and just, right and available to salvation, that we should always, and in all places, give thanks to thee, O holy Lord, Father Al