IV

In the attitude of devotion of which illustrations have been given the presence of Christ is closely connected with the consecrated elements. It is because the bread and wine are regarded as being after consecration the body and blood of our Lord that the devout worshipper is able to speak and pray in the manner which has been described. Other consequences of the same belief in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and in the early part of the sixteenth may be seen in the Hereford Missal, the Customary of St. Augustine’s Abbey at Canterbury, the Sarum Missal and Processional, the York Processional, and the Sarum Cantels of the Mass.

1. The fourteenth century manuscript of the Hereford Missal provides, like earlier documents already quoted, showing practices of the eleventh and twelfth and thirteenth centuries, for the carrying of the “body of Christ” in procession on Palm Sunday, and for acts of adoration in connection with the procession. It is directed that relics be carried as well as the Sacrament.

2. In the manuscript of the Customary of St. Augustine’s Abbey at Canterbury, which was apparently written in the first half of the fourteenth century, there are directions for carrying the “body of Christ” in procession on Ascension Day above the reliquary of St. Letard.

3. In the Sarum Missal the priest is directed after the consecration of the host to “incline himself to the host, and afterwards elevate it above his forehead so that it can be seen by the people,” and after the consecration of the chalice to “elevate the chalice to his breast or above his head”.

In the same Missal the following directions are given for the Communion of the celebrant:—

“After the peace has been given the priest is to say the following prayers privately before he communicates himself, holding the host in both hands.

“O God the Father, Fount and Source of all goodness, who in Thy pity didst will that Thine only-begotten Son shouldst descend for us to this lower world, and take flesh, which I unworthy hold here in my hands.

“Here the priest is to incline himself towards the host, saying,

“I adore Thee, I glorify Thee, I praise Thee with the whole purpose of my mind and heart, and I pray Thee not to forsake us The servants, but to forgive our sins, so that we may be able to serve Thee, the one living and true God, with pure heart and chaste body. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

“O Lord Jesu Christ, Son of the living God, who of the will of the Father and by the co-operation of the Holy Ghost hast given life to the world by Thy death, deliver me, I beseech Thee, by this Thy most holy body and blood from all my iniquities and from every evil; make me always to obey Thy commands, and suffer me never for ever to be separated from Thee, O Saviour of the world. Who with God the Father and the same Holy Spirit livest and reignest God for ever and ever. Amen.

“Let not the Sacrament of Thy body and blood, O Lord Jesu Christ, which I albeit unworthy receive, be to me for judgment and condemnation; but by Thy goodness may it be profitable to the health of my body and soul. Amen.

“Bowing low, he is to say to the body, before he receive it,

“Hail for evermore, most holy flesh of Christ, to me before all and above all the greatest joy. The body of our Lord Jesus Christ be to me a sinner the Way and the Life, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

“Here he is to receive the body, first making a cross with the body itself before his mouth. Then with great devotion he is to say to the blood,

“Hail for evermore, heavenly drink, to me before all and above all the greatest joy. The body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ be profitable to me a sinner for an abiding healing unto eternal life. Amen. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.

“Here he is to receive the blood; and, when he has received it, the priest is to incline himself, and to say with devotion the following prayer.

“I give Thee thanks, O Lord, Holy Father, Almighty, Eternal God, who hast refreshed me with the most sacred body and blood of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ; and I pray that this Sacrament of our salvation which I, an unworthy sinner, have received may not turn to me for judgment or for condemnation according to my deserts, but may be profitable for the health of my body and soul unto eternal life. Amen.”

The Sarum Missal and Processional provide for the carrying of the Sacrament in the Palm Sunday procession by the following directions:—

“While the palms are being distributed, a shrine with relics is to be prepared, in which the body of Christ is to hang in a pyx; … a light is to be borne before it in a lantern, and an unveiled cross and two banners are to be carried in front. Then the procession is to go to the place of the first station.… After the Gospel three clergy of the second grade … are to turn to the people, and standing on the west side of the great cross are to sing together, Behold the King cometh to thee, O Sion, mystic daughter, meek, lowly, sitting on beasts, whose coming the prophetic lesson has already foretold. After each verse the officiant is to begin the antiphon ‘Hail,’ turning to the relics, and the choir are to take it up from him, genuflecting and kissing the ground. The officiant is to genuflect first, and the choir are to genuflect with him.… Then the procession is to go to the place of the second station; and the shrine with the case of relics is to be borne with the light in the lantern between the sub-deacon and the thurifer, the banners being on either side; and the cantor is to begin the antiphon, Worthy art Thou, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honour. Then the antiphon, ‘The multitudes meet’.… They are to enter the church by the same door under the shrine with the case of relics held up across the door, singing, When the Lord entered the holy city, the Hebrew boys proclaimed the resurrection of life; with branches of palms they cried, Hosanna in the highest; when they heard that Jesus had come to Jerusalem, they went out to meet Him; with branches of palms they cried, Hosanna in the highest. Here the fourth station is to be, before the cross in the church; and at the station the officiant, the cross being now uncovered, is to begin the antiphon, and the choir is to take it up, genuflecting and kissing the ground.… When this is done, they are to enter the choir.”

The Sarum directions further appointed a like manner of treating the Sacrament on Good Friday and the following days, whereby the Sacrament was placed together with the cross in the Sepulchre on Good Friday, remained there throughout Holy Saturday, and on Easter Day was brought in procession to the altar.

4. In the York Processional instructions are given that after the Gospel in the blessing of the palms on Palm Sunday and before the procession goes round the church—

“The body of the Lord is to be brought out by another priest vested in an alb and silk cope with a silver cup through the eastern part of the church, with a pall held over it by two deacons and two acolytes, two clergy going before with torches to the aforesaid station. Then the priest is to bless, genuflecting three times and saying, Worthy art Thou, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honour. Afterwards the choir are to do the same, and to take up the antiphon. Then the priest is to return with the body into the church by the same way that he came.”

5. The Sarum Cantels of the Mass provide with elaborate card for the bodily and spiritual preparation of the priest before saying Mass, for his reverent demeanour and precise performance of the prayers and ceremonies, for securing that the elements are of the right matter and in proper condition, for certain emergencies in the celebration, and for the steps to be taken in the event of any accident befalling the Sacrament. It may suffice to give one instance of the last-mentioned provisions.

“If a drop from the chalice has fallen on the altar, the drop must be sucked up, and the priest is to do penance for three days. But, if the drop has penetrated through the linen cloth to the second linen cloth, he must do penance for four days; if to the third linen cloth, for nine days; if the drop of the blood has penetrated to the fourth cloth, he must do penance for twenty days. And a priest or deacon must wash the linen cloths which the drop has touched three times over a chalice; and the washing is to be preserved with the relics.”