And to those who are around the altar he says:- Bless, O Lord. Bless, O Lord.
And he puts on the incense with which he fumes himself, and says:- Sweeten, O Lord our God, the unpleasing savour of our souls through the sweetness of Thy love, and through it cleanse me from the stains of my sin, and forgive me my offences and sins, whether known or unknown to me.
A second time he takes the incense with both hands, and censes the mysteries; presently he says:- The clemency of Thy grace, O our Lord and God, gives us access to these renowned, holy, life-giving, and divine mysteries, unworthy though we be.
The Priest repeats these words once and again, and at each interval unites his hands over his breast in the form of a cross. He kisses the altar in the middle, and receives with both hands the upper oblation; and looking up, says:- Praise be to Thy holy name, O Lord Jesus Christ, and adoration to Thy majesty, always and for ever. Amen.
For He is the living and life-giving bread which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life to the whole world, of which they who eat die not; and they who receive it are saved by it, and do not see corruption, and live through it for ever; and Thou art the antidote of our mortality, and the resurrection of our entire frame.
XV.
XVI. Praise to Thy holy name, O Lord. ( As above. )
The Priest kisses the host in the form of a cross; in such a way, however, that his lips do not touch it, but appear to kiss it; and he says:- Glory to Thee, O Lord; glory to Thee, O Lord, on account of Thine unspeakable gift to us, for ever.
Then he draws nigh to the fraction of the host, which he accomplishes with both his hands, saying:- We draw nigh, O Lord, with true faith, and break with thanksgiving and sign through Thy mercy the body and blood of our Life-giver, Jesus Christ, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
And, naming the Trinity, he breaks the host, which he holds in his hands, into two parts: and the one which is in his left hand he lays down on the disk; with the other, which he holds in his right hand, he signs the chalice, saying:- The precious blood is signed with the holy body of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost for ever.
And they respond:- Amen.
Then he dips it even to the middle in the chalice, and signs with it the body which is in the paten, sating:- The holy body is signed with the propitiatory blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost for ever.
And they respond:- Amen.
And he unites the two parts, the one with the other, saying:- Divided, sanctified, completed, perfected, united, and commingled have been these renowned, holy, life-giving, and divine mysteries, the one with the other, in the adorable and glorious name of Thy glorious Trinity, O Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, that they may be to us, O Lord, for the propitiation of our offences and the forgiveness of our sins; also for the grand hope of a resurrection from the dead, and of a new life in the kingdom of the heavens, for us and for the Holy Church of Christ our Lord, here and in every place whatsoever, now and always, and for ever.
XVII. In the meantime he signs the host with his right thumb in the form of a cross from the lower part to the upper, and from the right to the left, and thus forms a slight fissure in it where it has been dipped in the blood. He puts a part of it into the chalice in the farm of a cross: the lower part is placed towards the priest, the upper towards the chalice, so that the place of the fissure looks to the chalice. He bows, and rising, says:- Glory be to Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, who hast made me, unworthy though I be, through Thy grace, a minister and mediator of Thy renowed, holy, life-giving, and divine mysteries: through the grace of Thy mercy, make me worthy of the pardon of my offences and the forgiveness of my sins.
He signs himself with the sign of the cross an his forehead, and does the same to those standing round him.
The Deacons approach, and he signs each one of them an the forehead, saying:- Christ accept thy ministry: Christ cause thy face to shine: Christ save thy life: Christ make thy youth to grow.
And they respond:- Christ accept thy oblation.
XVIII. All return to their own place; and the Priest, after bowing, rises and says, in the tone of the Gospel:- The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with us all.
The Priest signs himself, and lifts up his hand over his head, so that it should be in the air, and the people be partakers in the singing:-
The Deacon says:-We all with fear, etc.
And at these words:- He hath given to us His mysteries:
The Priest begins to break the body, and says:- Be merciful, O Lord, through Thy clemency to the sins and follies of Thy servants, and sanctify our lips through Thy grace, that they may give the fruits of glory and praise to Thy divinity, with all Thy saints in Thy kingdom.
And, raising his voice, he says:-And make us worthy, O Lord our God, to stand before Thee continually without stain, with pure heart, with open countenance, and with the confidence which is from Thee, mercifully granted to us: and let us all with one accord invoke Thee, and say thus: Our Father, etc.
The People say:- Our Father, etc.