we gulf can be passed over,' and the Puritan error which denies the existence of any intermediate state at all. Those who have fallen asleep in JESUS are not lost: they have simply gone on before to the Land which is very far off; and when we draw near to Christ in the closest intercourse of all which can be enjoyed with Him on earth, viz. in Holy Communion, we do really draw closer to those Holy Ones who are with Christ (see a beautiful passage in G., pp. 139, 140). And now already by the very fact of our being 'very members incorporate in Christ's mystical Body,' we have come unto Mount Zion and unto the city of the Living God, the Heavenly Jerusalem, and to... the spirits of just men made perfect (Heb. xii. 22, 23). Hence it would be unkind and wrong to omit all mention of the faithful dead, especially when celebrating those Holy Mysteries which bind together all members of the Church, and cement them into One Body. And thus commemorating and praying for the Holy Dead, the English Church is in agreement with herself in the creed, I believe in the Communion of Saints ;' in the 55th Canon (q.v.); in the Litany, Remember not, Lord. the offences of our forefathers; in the Prayer of Oblation, that . and all Thy whole Church [living and departed] may obtain remission of our sins; in Burial Office, that it may please Thee. to hasten Thy Kingdom, that we with all those that are departed in the true Faith of Thy Holy Name, may, etc. She is in agreement with Holy Scripture: Thy Kingdom come (S. Matt. vi. 10); the Lord grant unto him [Onesiphorus] that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day. She is in agreement with Apostolic practice, for in the Liturgies we find, Let us pray for those who rest in faith (Clementine, H., p. 20); Remember, Lord, the God of the spirits and of all flesh, the Orthodox whom we have remembered, and whom we have not remembered, from righteous Abel unto this day: Give them rest there in the Land of the Living, in Thy Kingdom, in the delight of Paradise, in the Bosoms of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, our holy Fathers, etc. (S. James, H., p. 45); again also we commemorate all the faithful departed, who have departed in the true Faith, from this holy altar, and from this country, and from whatsoever region, who falling asleep long ago in the true Faith, have been at rest, and have come to Thee the Lord God of spirits and of all flesh (S. James, Syriac, H., p. 75): also we offer to Thee this reasonable service on behalf of those who have attained to rest in Faith, forefathers, fathers, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, preachers, evangelists, martyrs, confessors, virgins, and every just spirit that is perfected in faith (S. Chrysostom, H., p. 113); and remember all those who have fallen asleep in hope of the Resurrection of eternal life, and grant them rest where the light of Thy Face watches over them (S. Chrysostom, H., p. 115); Remember, O Lord, bless, and have mercy and pity on the souls of the departed; give them rest and illumine them; rank them among Thy Saints in the Kingdom of Heaven, and make them worthy of Thy mercy (Armenian, H., p. 158); Give rest, O Sovereign Lord our God, to the souls of all these in the tabernacles of Thy saints, in Thy Kingdom, and wickedness, Which we, from time to time, Most grievously have committed, By thought, word, and deed, Against Thy Divine Majesty, Provoking most justly Thy wrath and indignation against us. We do earnestly repent, And are heartily sorry for these our misdoings; The remembrance of them is grievous unto us; The burden of them is intolerable. Have mercy upon us, Have mercy upon us, most merciful Father; For Thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ's sake, Forgive us all that is past; And grant that we may ever hereafter Serve and please Thee, In newness of life, To the honour and glory of Thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 14b. The Absolution. 20. Then shall the Priest (or the Bishop, being present) stand up, and turning himself to the people, pronounce this Absolution. A LMIGHTY God, our Heavenly Father, Who of His great mercy hath promised forgiveness of sins to all them that with hearty repentance and true faith turn unto Him; Have mercy upon you; pardon and deliver you from all your sins; confirm and strengthen you in all goodness; and bring you to everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 15. The Comfortable Words. 21. Then shall the Priest say, Hear what comfortable words our Saviour Christ saith unto all that truly turn to Him. C OME unto Me all that travail and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you (S. Matt. xi. 28). So God loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, to the end that all that believe in bestowing upon them the good things of Thy promises, etc. (S. Mark, H., p. 183): To our fathers and brothers who have fallen asleep, and whose souls Thou hast received, grant rest (Coptic S. Cyril, H., p. 208f); make the souls of the dead, O Lord, to rest in the bosom of our holy Fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the paradise of pleasure (Coptic S. Basil, H., p. 227): Have mercy, O Lord, upon the souls of Thy servants and Thy handmaids who have eaten Thy Body and have drunk Thy Blood, and have attained their rest in Thy Faith (Ethiopic, H., p. 255); Lord God Almighty, receive this Oblation for all Thy Holy Catholic Church and for all the departed, who separated from us have taken their journey (SS. Adaeus and Maris, H., p. 275). So far then all is safe, Catholic, Scriptural-we may remember them and give thanks for them, but we must not pray for any change of state, since that cannot be, and S. John himself tells us that there are some for whom we may not pray even in this life (1 S. John v. 16). Let us fortify ourselves by the example of the Holy Dead, and imitate their Faith and Pa:ience (Heb. xii. 1. See G., P. 148). III. The Preparation consists of 13. Four Exhortations, viz. two for alternative use when giving notice of Holy Communion, and two others for use at the Celebration itself. 14. The Confession and Absolution. 15. The Comfortable Words. And one very striking feature of our English Office 'is the anxious carefulness shown by the Church to ensure that communicants shall approach the Lord's Table after due preparation and right dispositions. The admixture of grave warning and tender encouragement in this Service is indeed truly wonderful' (JHB). These Exhortations are peculiar to our English Liturgy, and were drawn up in the sixteenth century. The Exhortations ought properly to be read after the Sermon, and not, as is frequently done, with the other notices, after the Creed. The first Exhortation (a) speaks of these four things-1. The Real Presence of Christ our Lord in the Holy Eucharist; 2. Necessity of preparation and self-examination; 3. The helpfulness of Confession; 4. The benefit of Absolution. .-I. The Church takes God at His word, and both believes and teaches that after the Prayer of Consecration our Blessed Lord is 'verily and indeed' present in the Holy Eucharist, after some Divine and Heavenly manner, passing man's understanding,—but the English Church makes no attempt to explain how this can be, or to define the manner of Christ's Presence, content to assert the fact, and then to leave it. Hence it is, that believing in our dear Lord's Real Presence, she uses very strong language in this Exhortation, the most comfortable, strengthening, refreshing, and comforting Sacrament: so Divine (but how can It be this if Christ be not there?): so comforting, i.e. strengthening, because He Who saith 'My Flesh is Meat indeed, and My Blood is drink indeed,' gives Himself to be our spiritual Food Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (S. John iii. 16). Hear also what Saint Paul saith. This is a true saying, and worthy of all men to be received, That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Tim. i. 15). Hear also what Saint John saith. If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He is the propitiation for our sins (1 S. John ii. 1). IV. The Sacrifice. 16. The Sursum Corda. After which the Priest shall proceed, saying, Lift up your hearts; [in Latin, Sursum corda.] Priest. Let us give thanks unto our Lord God. Answer. It is meet and right so to do. 17. The Preface. IT 22. Then shall the Priest turn to the Lord's Table, and say, *These words T is very meet, right, and our bounden duty, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O Lord, Holy Father, Almighty, Everlasting God. [Holy Father] must be omit ted on Trinity Sunday. 23. Hire shall follow the Proper Preface, according to the time, if there be any specially appointed; or else immediately shall follow, THE 'HEREFORE with Angels and Archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify Thy glorious Name; evermore praising Thee, and saying, and sustenance: so dangerous, because It is no common food, It is not mere Bread and Wine, but the Lord's Body (1 Cor. xi. 27), and they who eat and drink It unworthily eat and drink damage: the dignity of that Holy Mystery-this Service is of great dignity because Christ our Lord is here present. It is a Holy Mystery because we cannot explain the manner of It, or say how these things can be. It is a Heavenly Feast because therein is set before us to be eaten the most Precious Body and Blood of Christ our Lord. O foretaste this of Heaven- --A. H. 177, ver. 5. 2. Examine your lives and conversationslet a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that Bread and drink of that Cup' (1 Cor. xi. 28). And so the Catechism declares that what is required of them who come to God's Board is, 'to examine themselves whether they repent them truly of their former sins, stedfastly purposing to lead a new life; have a lively (living) Faith in God's mercy through Christ, with a thankful remembrance of His Death; and be in charity with all men' so too the Longer Exhortation puts it thus: Repent you truly for your sins past; have a lively and stedfast Faith in Christ our Saviour; amend your lives, and be in perfect charity with all men; so shall ye be meet partakers of those Holy Mysteries.' The Shorter Exhortation (d) says, 'Ye that do truly and earnestly repent you of your sins, and are in love and charity with your neighbours, and intend to lead a new life, following the Commandments of God and walking from henceforth in His holy ways; Draw near with Faith.' 6 When drawing nigh unto the Altar of God we must judge ourselves that we be not judged of the Lord' (1 Cor. xi. 31), we must examine our lives and consciences, repent of our misdoings, restore what we have wrongfully taken (S. Luke xix. 8), and forgive as we ourselves would be forgiven (S. Matt. xviii. 35): we must wash our hands in innocency (Ps. xxvi. 6), must cleanse our hands and purify our hearts (S. Jas. iv. 8), must draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water' (Heb. x. 22), must hate the garment spotted by the flesh (S. Jude 23), and put on the wedding robe (S. Matt. xxii. 12), even the fine linen clean and white which is the righteousness of Saints (Rev. xix. 8). Not to put on this garment is to sin like Judas, give Satan an entrance into our hearts, and enable him to work his will with us. See a story of Voltaire's time in N. and L. on Ps. xxvii. 2. After Consecration our Blessed Lord is really and truly, though invisibly, Present, though we dare not define our Blessed Lord's Presence in the Holy Eucharist, or the method of that sacramental union which He deigns to employ to knit together the faithful members of His Body the Church to Himself, their Head and Corner-stone, and the source of |