THE ORDER OF THE
ADMINISTRATION OF THE
LORD'S SUPPER

OR

HOLY COMMUNION

THE INTRODUCTION

¶ The People kneeling,

the Priest says the Lord's Prayer with the Collect for Purity.

OUR Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done; In earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; But deliver us from evil. Amen.

ALMIGHTY God, unto whom all hearts be open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy holy Name; through Christ our Lord.

People. Amen.
 

THE COMMANDMENTS

(The words in brackets [ ] may be omitted.)

Priest.

GOD spake these words, and said; I am the Lord thy God : Thou shalt have none other gods but me.
    People. Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law.
    Priest. Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven image, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down to them, nor worship them. [For I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, and visit the sins of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and shew mercy unto thousands in them that love me and keep my commandments.]
    People. Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law.
    Priest. Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain: [for the Lord will not hold him guiltless, that taketh his Name in vain].
    People. Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law.
    Priest. Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all that thou hast to do; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. [In it thou shalt do no manner of work, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, thy cattle, and the stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it.]
    People. Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law.
    Priest. Honour thy father and thy mother ; [that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee].
    People. Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law.
    Priest. Thou shalt do no murder.
    People. Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law.
    Priest. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
    People. Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law.
    Priest. I Thou shalt not steal.
    People. Lord, have mercy upon us. and incline our hearts to keep this law.
    Priest. Thou shalt not bear false witness [against thy neighbour].
    People. Lord, have mercy upon us. and incline our hearts to keep this law.
    Priest. Thou shalt not covet [thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his servant, nor his maid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his].
    People. Lord, have mercy upon us, and write all these thy laws in our hearts, we beseech thee.
 

Instead of the Ten Commandments, the Priest may say

Our Lord's Summary of the Law.

    Priest. Our Lord Jesus Christ said: Hear, a Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord; and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.
    People. Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law.

Or this.

Lord, have mercy.
    Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
The Lord be with you.
    And with thy spirit.

One of the Collects for the Queen (see page 91) may be said.

The Collect of the Day (see pages 51-90).

THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD

¶ All sit.

The Epistle of the Day.

Reader. Here endeth the Epistle

¶ All stand.

A Hymn is sometimes sung here.

    Priest. The Holy Gospel is written in the — chapter of the Gospel according to Saint —, beginning at the — verse.
    People. Glory be to thee, O Lord.

The Gospel of the Day.

The Gospel ended, there may be said or sung,
People. Praise be to thee, O Christ.*

The Creed.

Priest and People together.

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-begotten Son of God, Begotten of his Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, Very God of very God, Begotten, not made, Being of one substance with the Father, By whom all things were made: Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, And was made man, And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried, And the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, And ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of the Father. And he shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead: Whose kingdom shall have no end.
    And I believe in the Holy Ghost, The Lord and giver of life, Who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, Who spake by the Proophets. And I believe one Catholick and Apostolick Church. I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins. And I look for the Resurrection of the dead, And the life of the world to come. Amen.

The Sermon (if there be one).

THE OFFERTORY AND INTERCESSION

¶ All stand.

The Priest begins the Offertory by saying one or more of the Sentences, of which the following are most commonly used.

LET your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.   S. Matthew 5

    Lay not up for yourselves treasure upon the earth; where the rust and moth doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven; where neither rust nor moth doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal.   S. Matthew 6

    Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do unto them; for this is the Law and the Prophets.   S. Matthew 7

    Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.   S. Matthew 7

    While we have time, let us do good unto all men; and specially unto them that are of the household of faith.   Galatians 6

    To do good and to distribute forget not; for with such sacrifices God is pleased.   Hebrews 13

    Whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?   1 S. John 3

A Hymn is sometimes sung during the collection of the Alms.

The Alms of the People having been collected and offered, the Priest also offers bread and wine as part of the People's offering and places upon the Holy Table sufficient for the Communion.

¶ All kneel.

Here the Priest on occasion may request thanksgiving or intercession for a special purpose.
  

Priest. Let us pray for the whole state of Christ's Church [militant here in earth].

THE PREPARATION

The Priest then turns to the People and 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, and take this holy Sacrament to your comfort; and make your humble confession to Almighty God, meekly kneeling upon your knees.

The Confession.

Priest and People together.

ALMIGHTY God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, n. Maker of all things, Judge of all men: We acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins 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.

The Absolution.

Priest
(or the Bishop if present).

ALMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father, who of his n 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.
    People. Amen.

The Priest then says

The Comfortable Words.

Hear what comfortable words our Saviour Christ saith unto all that truly turn to him.

COME unto me all that travail and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you.   S. Matthew 11. 28
    So God loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, to the end that all that believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.   S. John 3. 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 Timothy 1. 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 2. 1
 

THE CONSECRATION

Sursum corda.

Priest. Lift up your hearts;
People. We lift them up unto the Lord.
Priest. Let us give thanks unto our Lord God;
People. It is meet and right so to do.

Priest

(turning to the Lord's Table).

IT is very meet, right, and our bounden duty, that 1 we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto thee, O Lord, Holy Father, Almighty, Everlasting God.

(For the Proper Preface, which may follow here, see pages 46-50.)

THEREFORE with Angels and Archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify thy glorious Name; evermore praising thee. and saying:

The Sanctus.

Priest and People together.

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts, heaven and earth are full of thy glory: Glory be to thee. O Lord most High. Amen.

Here is sometimes sung

Blessed is he that cometh in the Name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.

The Priest, kneeling at the Lord's Table,
says in the name of all,

The Prayer of Humble Access.

WE do not presume to come to this thy Table, o merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table. But thou art the same Lord, whose property is always to have mercy: Grant us therefore,· gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body, and our souls washed through his most precious blood, and that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us.
    People. Amen.

The Priest, standing at the Lord's Table, says

The Prayer of Consecration.

ALMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father, who of thy n tender mercy didst give thine only Son Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the Cross for our redemption; who made there (by his one oblation of himself once offered) a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole world; and did institute, and in his holy Gospel command us to continue, a perpetual memory of that his precious death, until his coming again: Hear us, O merciful Father, we most humbly beseech thee; and grant that we receiving these thy creatures of bread and wine, according to thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ's holy institution, in remembrance of his death and passion, may be partakers of his most blessed Body and Blood: who, in the same night that he was betrayed, ^atook Bread; and, when he had given thanks; ^bhe brake it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take, eat; ^cthis is my Body which is given for you: Do this in remembrance of me. Likewise after supper ^dhe took the Cup; and, when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of this; for ^ethis is my Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins: Do this, as oft as ye shall drink it, in remembrance of me.

People. AMEN.
  

The Communion of Priest and People.

The Priest first receives the Communion in both kinds himself, and then proceeds to deliver the same to the Bishops, Priests, and Deacons (present in the sanctuary). After that, the People, in order, go up to the Communion rails and kneel down, and the Priest delivers the Communion into their hands, saying all or part of the words of ad. ministration to every Communicant.

At the administration of the Bread.

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.

At the administration of the Cup.

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.

The following or a Hymn is sometimes sung after the Prayer of Consecration.

    O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world: have mercy upon us.
    O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world: have mercy upon us.
    O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world: grant us thy peace.

When the Priest has returned to the Lord's Table, and the People to their places, the Lord's Prayer is said or sung by the Priest and People together.

OUR Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done; In earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; But deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen.
 

The Priest says

Priest and People together.

When the following is sung all stand.

GLORY be to God on high, and in earth peace, good will towards men. We praise thee, we bless thee, we worship thee, we glorify thee, we give thanks to thee for thy great glory, O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father Almighty.
    O Lord, the only-begotten Son, Jesu Christ; o Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Thou that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Thou that takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer. Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy upon us.
    For thou only art holy; thou only art the Lord; thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art most high in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

¶ All kneeling.

THE BLESSING

THE peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord: And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be amongst you and remain with you always.

People. Amen.

¶ PROPER PREFACES

Upon Christmas Day and until the Epiphany.

BECAUSE thou didst give Jesus Christ thine only Son to be born as at this time for us: Who, by the operation of the Holy Ghost, was made very man of the substance of the Virgin Mary his mother: And that without spot of sin, to make us clean from all sin. Therefore with Angels, &c.

Upon the Epiphany and seven days after.

THROUGH Jesus Christ our Lord: Who in substance of our mortal flesh manifested forth his glory: That he might bring all men out of darkness into his own marvellous light. Therefore with Angels, &c.

Upon the Thursday before Easter.

THROUGH Jesus Christ our Lord: Who having loved his own that were in the world loved them unto the end: And on the night before he suffered, sitting at meat with his disciples, did institute these holy mysteries: That we, redeemed by his death and quickened by his resurrection, might be partakers of his divine nature. Therefore with Angels, &c.

Upon Easter Day and until Ascension Day.

BUT chiefly are we bound to praise thee for the glorious Resurrection of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord: For he is the very Paschal Lamb, which was offered for us, and hath taken away the sin of the world; Who by his death hath destroyed death, and by his rising to life again hath restored to us everrlasting life. Therefore with Angels, &c.

Upon Ascension Day and until Whitsunday.

THROUGH thy most dearly beloved Son Jesus - Christ our Lord: Who after his most glorious Resurrection manifestly appeared to all his Apostles: And in their sight ascended up into heaven to prepare a place for us; That where he is, thither we might also ascend, and reign with him in glory. Therefore with Angels, &c.
 

Upon Whitsunday and six days after.

Upon the Feast of Trinity only.

Upon the Feasts of the Purification and the Annunciation.

BECAUSE thou didst give Jesus Christ thine only Son to be born for our salvation: Who by the operation of the Holy Ghost, was made very man of the substance of the Virgin Mary his mother: And that without spot of sin to make us clean from all sin. Therefore with Angels, &c.

Upon the Feast of the Transfiguration.

BECAUSE the divine glory of the Incarnate Word shone forth upon the Holy Mount before the chosen witnesses of his majesty: And thine own voice from heaven proclaimed thy beloved Son. Therefore with Angels, &c.

Upon All Saints' Day and the Feasts of Apostles, Evangelists, and S. John Baptist's Nativity, except when the Proper Preface of any Principal Feast is appointed.

WHO in the righteousness of thy Saints hast given us an ensample of godly living, and in their blessedness a glorious pledge of the hope of our calling: That, being compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, we may run with patience the race that is set before us: And with them receive the crown of glory that fadeth not away. Therefore with Angels, &c.

Upon the Feast of the Dedication of a Church.

WHO, though the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee and thy glory is in all the world: Dost deign to hallow places for thy worship, and in them dost pour forth gifts of grace upon thy faithful people. Therefore with Angels, &c.

Upon any Sunday for which no other Proper Preface is appointed.

THROUGH Jesus Christ our Lord; for he is the true High Priest, who hath washed us from our sins, and hath made us to be a kingdom and priests unto thee our God and Father. Therefore with Angels, &c.
 

EXHORTATIONS

to those who come to receive the Holy Sacrament (based on those in the Book of Common Prayer).

Because it is requisite that no man should come to the Holy Communion but with a full trust in God's mercy and with a quiet conscience, let him first examine his life by the rule of God's commandments and where he has offended, either by will, word, or deed, confess himself to God, with full purpose to amend.
    If he sees that he has offended not only against God but also against his neighbours, then ought he to reconcile himself to them to the utmost of hi~ powers, being ready also to forgive others that have offended him as he would have forgiveness at God's hand.
    If any man cannot by this means quiet his own conscience but requires further assurance and counsel, let him go to his Parish Priest or some other discreet and understanding minister of God's Word, and open his heart and mind, that by the ministry of God's holy Word he may receive the benefit of absolution. together with spiritual counsel and advice.