says, with hands joined, bowing his head towards the cross, at the sacred name,

EAR what our Lord Jesus Christ saith. Thou shalt

HEAR

love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.

Then he turns by his left and goes to the midst, bows to the cross, and standing turned to the altar, with head erect, says alternately with the people the Kyrie, each versicle being said thrice.

8

¶ Here, if the Decalogue hath been omitted, shall be said:

Then the Priest bows to the cross, and returns to the book at the Epistle side.

4. Standing before the book and turning himself somewhat towards the cross, without moving the feet, he says: Let us pray, at the same time disjoining and immediately joining his hands (but not raising them), and bowing his head slightly to the cross. Then facing the book, he extends his hands before the breast in the manner directed above, at the Lord's Prayer, and says the Collect. Before the Collect for

The Priest and people say the Kyrie thus: Priest, Lord have mercy upon us. People, Lord have mercy upon us. Priest, Lord have mercy upon us. People, Christ have mercy upon us. Priest, Christ have mercy upon us. People, Christ have mercy upon us. Priest, Lord have mercy upon us. People, Lord have mercy upon us. Priest, Lord have mercy upon us.

the Day he may say the Collect, O Almighty Lord, and Everlasting God, etc." ¶ Then shall be said the Collect of the Day.

When in the Collect or Epistle he names the name of "Jesus," turning somewhat towards the cross, in the manner directed above, he bows profoundly, but does not join his hands. And when in the Collect, Epistle, or Gospel, he mentions the name of "Mary," or the name of the Saint whose feast is being kept, or of whom commemoration is made, he bows his head towards the book. No notice, however, is taken of the names of Saints occurring in the title of the Epistle or Gospel, not even when their feasts are being celebrated.10 When at the conclusion of the Collect, the Priest says, "through Jesus Christ," he joins his hands, and bows his head profoundly towards the cross. If the Collect is otherwise concluded: "who with thee," etc., or "who liveth," etc., when he says, "in the unity," etc., he joins his hands before the breast, but does not turn towards the cross, nor bow his head, as the sacred name is not mentioned.10

5. ¶ And immediately after the Collect, the Minister shall read the Epistle, saying:

THE Epistle [or, The portion of Scripture appointed for

the Epistle] is written in the Chapter of beginning at the Verse. And the Epistle ended, he shall say: Here endeth the Epistle.

The Priest reads the Epistle, with his face turned

It will be observed that the saying of this prayer, like the Summary after the Commandments, is left to the option of the Priest. There is no liturgical reason why it ever should be said. The English Book has in this place the two prayers for the King.

10 Merati, Nov. Ob. etc., t. i. p. ii. tit. v. xi.

towards the altar,11 his hands being placed upon the book, or upon the altar, or he holds the book in his hands. When he mentions the sacred name he bows profoundly towards the cross, as directed above. On Palm Sunday he genuflects towards the book, as he says, "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow," and remains kneeling until after the words, "things under the earth." Having read the Epistle, he joins his hands before the breast, saying: "Here endeth the Epistle." The server says: "Thanks be to God."

The server then rises and goes to the Epistle side, making due reverence in the midst; he goes up and takes the book with the book rest, or cushion, turns by his left and goes by the step below the foot-pace12 to the Gospel side, making due reverence as he passes by the midst. He places the book on the altar so that the back of the book will look towards the northeast corner of the altar, and not towards the east wall. Then standing with hands joined, at the Gospel corner, on the step below the foot-pace, he awaits the Priest.

6. The Priest having said, "Here endeth," etc., as above, goes to the midst of the altar; he raises his eyes to the cross, and straightway casts them down;

11 As to the method of announcing the Epistle and Gospel, see Notes on the Mass, iii. p. 5. also note at the end of this volume. Before 1549, the Epistle was read by the Priest, at a Low Mass, facing the altar, and the Gospel was read facing north, or rather northeast, as we have directed above. The Prayer Book contains no direction to the Priest to observe any other position, which is sufficient for us to infer that the ancient custom was to be continued. Moreover, although the revisers of 1549 adopted many of the suggestions of Abp. Herman's Consultation, they did not adopt the direction found in that book, that the Epistle was to be read, "the reader turnynge hys face to the people" (Daye's trans., 1548, fol. ccii., dorso), nor did the Convocation of 1661 adopt a like direction suggested by Cosin (See Parker's Introduction, etc., p. cxci.).

12 See Merati, Nov. Ob. etc., t. i. p. ii. tit. vi. ii. If there is no server, the Priest having read the Epistle, carries the book with its rest to the Gospel corner, bowing as he passes by the midst; he then returns to the midst to say the private prayers, as directed on the next page.

then bowing his body profoundly, and keeping his hands joined before the breast, he says13 privately:

CL

Munda cor meum.

LEANSE my heart and my lips, O thou almighty God, who didst purge the lips of the prophet Isaiah with a live coal; and do thou vouchsafe, of thy gracious mercy, so to purify me, that I may worthily declare thy holy Gospel; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Still bowing down, he says:

14

ET thy blessing, O Lord, be upon me.14

LET

Dominus sit.

HE Lord be in my heart, and on my lips, that I may worthily and rightly proclaim his Gospel.

Amen.

In Requiem Masses, "Let thy blessing," etc., and "The Lord be in my heart," etc., are not said;15 but the prayer, "Cleanse my heart," is said.

Then the Priest stands erect, and, without making any further reverence to the cross, goes immediately to the Gospel corner. Standing turned obliquely, with hands joined, he says, in a low voice, to the server: V. "The Lord be with you." The server answers: R. "And with thy spirit."

13 The custom of saying special prayers in preparation for the reading of the Gospel would seem to be most ancient, for such prayers are found in the liturgies of Saint Mark and Saint Chrysostom. They were also in all the old English missals, as in almost all the other Western Uses. They are an evidence of that reverential regard which the Church has ever had for the written word of God. The Munda cor meum is in the Ambrosian and Roman missals.

14 So I have translated, Jube, Domine, benedicere. This formula. with the prayer following in slightly varying versions, is found in almost all the ancient missals.

15 Romsée, Sensus Litt., cap. ii. art. xi.

Then, the people all standing up, shall he read the

Gospel, saying,

THE

Holy Gospel is written in the

beginning at the Verse.

Chapter of

As the Priest announces the Gospel, he places his left hand upon the book, and with the under part of the thumb of his right hand he makes the sign of the cross on the book, over the beginning of the Gospel, which he is about to read, saying: "The Holy Gospel is," etc.; then placing the left hand a little below the breast, he signs himself with his right thumb on the forehead, mouth, and breast (the server signing himself likewise),16 as he says, "beginning at," etc.; and then joins his hands before the breast. Here shall be said or sung:

The Priest does not turn towards the cross, or bow his head at these words.18 The server having made the response, "Glory be," etc., bows to the Priest, turns by his right and goes down to below the lowest step, and then goes over to the Epistle side, making due reverence as he passes by the midst. During the reading of the Gospel, he stands obliquely with his face turned. towards the book, observing to bow or genuflect

18 See Romsée Sensus Litteralis, etc., cap. ii. art. xi. vi.

17 "In all the Latin liturgies, the acclamation 'Glory be to Thee, O Lord,' is appointed as the response of the congregation at the announcement of the Evangelical lesson." (Duchesne, Origines du culte Chrétien, p. 188. It has been omitted from the English Book since 1552, but this has not affected the practice of the people who have continued to say it.

18 By the decree of the Seventh General Council the same outward reverence must be paid to the text of the Gospel as to the cross and sacred images.