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The Holy Eucharist
(Also called the Lord’s Supper, the Holy Communion, and the Mass)

ALMIGHTY GOD, unto whom all hearts are 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. Amen.

COLLECT OF THE DAY (B.C.P.)

HYMN

INSTRUCTION

LESSON from the O.T. or the N.T.

HYMN

GOSPEL (B.C.P.)

¶ When the Priest says The Holy Gospel for . . . is written in the . . . chapter of St. . . . the Congregation will stand and say Glory be to thee, O Lord, and at the end, Thanks be to thee, O Christ. Either before or after the Gospel may come Notices and an Instruction or Sermon.

OFFERING & INTERCESSION

HYMN

¶ The alms shall here be collected and placed upon the altar.

¶ Then shall representatives of the congregation bring the bread and wine for the Holy Sacrifice, which the Priest shall reverently place upon the altar while all stand.

¶ Then shall follow the Intercessions which may include: The Parish and Diocese, The whole Catholic Church, The Faithful departed, The President and all in civil authority, The Family of nations, For Christian education, For Social justice, For the Spread of Christ’s Kingdom.

¶ At the end of the Intercessions all shall stand.

CONSECRATION & COMMUNION

THE Lord be with you.
And with thy spirit.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up unto the Lord.
Let us give thanks unto our Lord God.
It is meet and right so to do.

It 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.

¶ Here will come the Proper Preface.

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

HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, Lord God of hosts, Heaven and earth are full of thy glory: Glory be to thee, O Lord Most High. Amen.

ALL glory be to thee, Almighty God, our heavenly Father, for that thou didst give thine only Son Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the Cross for our redemption; who made there a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world; and did institute, and command us to continue, a perpetual memory of that his death and sacrifice, until his coming again: For in the night in which he was betrayed, he took Bread; and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take, eat, this is my Body, which is given for you; Do this in remembrance of me. Likewise after supper, he took the Cup; and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of this; for this is my Blood of the New Covenant, 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.

WHEREFORE we do celebrate here before thy Divine Majesty, with these thy holy gifts, which we now offer unto thee, the memorial thy Son hath commanded us to make; having in remembrance not only his blessed passion and precious death, but also his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension.

VOUCHSAFE, O merciful Father, to bless and sanctify, with thy Word and Holy Spirit, these thy gifts of bread and wine; that we, receiving them, may be partakers of his most blessed Body and Blood.

AND we earnestly desire thee to accept this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, which we here offer and present, together with ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice unto thee; beseeching thee that we may all be made one body with thy Son Jesus Christ. And although we are unworthy to offer unto thee any sacrifice; yet we beseech thee to accept this our bounden duty and service; through Jesus Christ our Lord; by whom, and with whom, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, all honour and glory be unto thee, O Father Almighty, world without end. Amen.

And now, as our Saviour Christ hath taught us, we are bold to say,

OUR FATHER, Who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

¶ After a pause, the Prayer of Humble Access, as follows:

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. Amen.

¶ When the Priest administers the Holy Communion he shall say to each communicant or to all together: The Body (and Blood) of our Lord Jesus Christ. And each communicant shall answer: Amen.

THANKSGIVING

The Lord be with you.
And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.

ALMIGHTY and everliving God, we most heartily thank thee, for that thou dost vouchsafe to feed us who have duly received these holy mysteries, with the spiritual food of the most precious Body and Blood of thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ; and dost assure us thereby of thy favour and goodness towards us; and that we are very members incorporate in the mystical body of thy Son, which is the blessed company of all faithful people; and are also heirs through hope of thy everlasting kingdom, by the merits of his most precious death and passion. And we humbly beseech thee, O heavenly Father, so to assist us with thy grace, that we may continue in that holy fellowship, and do all such good works as thou hast prepared for us to walk in; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen.

HYMN OR GLORIA PATRI

BLESSING

¶ In place of the Blessing from the B.C.P. this old (c. 200 A.D.) form of dismissal may be used: “And now let each one hasten to do good works, to please God and live aright, devoting himself to the Church, practicing the things he has learned, advancing in the service of God.

NOTES FOR THE CLERGY

THERE is general approval today of the simplification of the Bible, Church doctrine, Church music, and such Prayer Book services as Morning Prayer, to adapt them to young people or to special occasions. It would seem reasonable and not contrary to the mind of the Church to make a similar simplification and adaptation of the Church’s chief act of worship. The idea of an inalterable Eucharist is not in fact the primitive one, and did not finally establish itself until the advent of the printing press and the triumph of “fundamentalism” in scripture interpretation and doctrinal formulation in the XVI. century.

Many will miss familiar parts of the Prayer Book here omitted. They may be reminded that the Prayer Book service in its long history has acquired elements out of many different times, places, and theologies. For example, the Commandments, the Kyrie, the Creed, the Confession, the Gloria in Excelsis are all acquisitions, some of them quite late. The original Eucharist was simple, logical, intelligible, and often very short.

The compiler of this service trusts it has no features which contravene Catholic and orthodox tradition, and he is assured by competent liturgists and theologians that such is the case.

The following suggestions are offered:

1. Those who prefer can insert a sung Kyrie immediately before the Collect of the day.

2. The Gospel should be read (from the pulpit or lectern) with dignified ceremonial. Except for this, the beginning of the service may be very informal (perhaps taken by laymen), the priest going to the altar at the Offering.

3. Any of the hymns may be omitted. Or in their place a psalm appropriate to the season, or one of the familiar canticles of Morning or Evening Prayer, may be sung. Hymns may be divided, one or two verses of the same hymn, e.g., “O come, Emmanuel” in Advent, and “The royal banners” in Passiontide, being such at each place marked “Hymn.”

4. The Offering of bread and wine should (in accordance with the best liturgical tradition) be given special dignity.

5. Some may prefer to put the Intercessions immediately before the blessing. Thus after the period of Eucharistic vision we pray for others before we go out to live the Eucharistic life among them. They may be very informal, e.g., “Let us pray for Bishop Brown” or “for Mrs. Smith, seriously ill,” summing up after each section with a phrase from the Prayer Book (e.g., from the Prayer for the Church) or a Collect, followed by the “Amen.”

6. The service should begin and end quietly, omitting all “processionals” and “recessionals.”