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there kneel down; and taking the towel, hold it before their breasts, in such a manner, that if in communicating, it should happen that any particle should fall, it may not fall to the ground, but be received upon the towel. Then the clerk, in the name of all the communicants, says the Confiteor, or the general form of confession, by which they accuse themselves of all their sins to God, to the whole court of heaven, and request the prayers and intercession of both the triumphant and militant church. After which the priest, turning towards the communicants, says:

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May the Almighty God have mercy on you, ana forgive you your sins, and bring you to life everlasting. Amen.

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May the Almighty and merciful Lord grant you pardon, absolution and remission of all your sins. Amen."

Then the priest, taking the particles of the blessed sacrament, which is designed for the communicants, and holding one of them which he elevates a little over the pix or paten, pronounces the following words: "Ecce Agnus Dei," &c., that is, "Behold the Lamb of God: behold him who taketh away the sins of the world!" Then he repeats three times, Domine non sum, dignus, &c., that is, "Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof: speak but only the word, and my soul shall be healed." After which, he distributes the holy communion, making the sign of the cross with the consecrated particle upon each one, and saying to each one," Corpus Domine nostri," &c. "The body of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve thy soul unto life everlasting. Amen."

After the communion, the priest takes first a little wine into the chalice, which is called the first ablution, in order to communicate what remains of the consecrated species in the chalice; and then takes a little wine and water, which is called the second ablution, upon his fingers, over the chalice, to the end that no particle of the blessed sacrament may remain sticking to his fingers, but that all may be washed into the chalice and so received. Then wiping the chalice, and covering it, he goes to the book and reads a versicle of the Holy Scripture, called the communion, because it was used to be sung in the high mass, at the time that the people communicated. After this, he turns about to the people with the usual salutation, Dominus vobiscum; and then returning to the book, reads the collects or prayers called the post-communion; after which he again greets the people with Dominus vobiscum, and gives them leave to depart, with "Ite, Missa est," i. e. "Go, the mass is done." Here bowing before the altar, he makes a short prayer to the blessed Trinity; and then gives his blessing to all there present, in the name of the same blessed Trinity, "Benedicat vos," &c. "May the Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, bless you." He concludes, by reading at the corner of the altar, the beginning of the Gospel according to St. John, which the people hear standing; but at these words, Verbum caro factum est, The word was made flesh, both priest and people kneel, in reverence to the mystery of Christ's incarnation. The clerk at the end answers, “Deo gratias," "Thanks be to God." And then the priest departs from the altar, reciting to himself the Benedicite, or the canticle of the three children, inviting all creatures in heaven and earth to bless and praise our Lord.

CONFESSION.-When one would confess his sins, having duly prepared himself by prayer, by a serious examination of his conscience, and a hearty contrition for his sins, he kneels down at the confession chair, on one side of the priest, and making the sign of the cross upon himself, asks the priest's blessing, saying, "Pray, Father, give me your blessing." Then the priest blesses him in the following words: "The Lord be in thy heart, and in thy lips, that thou mayest truly and humbly confess all thy sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen!" After which, the penitent says the confiteor, in Latin, or in English, as far as mea culpa, &c.; and then accuses himself of all his sins, as to the kind, number, and aggravating circumstances; and concludes with this or the like form: "Of these, and all other sins of my whole life, I humbly accuse myself; I am heartily sorry for them, I beg pardon of God, and penance and absolution of you my ghostly father, and so he finishes the confiteor, "Therefore I beseech thee," &c. And then attends to the instructions given by the priest, and humbly accepts the penance enjoined.

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ABSOLUTION.-The form of absolution is as follows. The priest says, May the Almighty God have mercy on thee, and forgive thy sins, and bring thee to life everlasting. Amen."

Then stretching forth his right hand towards the penitent, he says, "May the Almighty and merciful Lord give thee pardon, absolution, and remission of thy sins. Amen."

"Our Lord Jesus Christ absolve thee, and 1, by his authority, absolve thee, in the first place, from every bond of excommunication or interdict, as far as I have power, and thou standest in need: in the next place, I absolve thee from all thy sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

"May the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, the merits of the blessed Virgin Mary, and of all the saints, and whatsoever good thou shalt do, or whatsoever evil thou shalt suffer, be to thee unto the remission of thy sins, the increase of grace, and the recompense of everlasting life. Amen."

EXTREME UNCTION.-In administering this sacrament, the following things occur, 1st. The priest, having instructed and disposed the sick person to this sacrament, recites, if the time permits, certain prayers, prescribed in the ritual, to beg God's blessing upon the sick, and that his holy angels may defend them, that dwell in that habitation, from all evil. 2dly. Is said the confietor, or general form of confession and absolution; and the priest exhorts all present to join in prayer for the person that is sick; and if opportunity permit, according to the quality or number of persons there present, to recite the seven penitential Psalms with the Litanies, or other prayers, upon this occasion. 3dly. The priest, making three times the sign of the cross upon the sick person, at the name of the blessed Trinity, says, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, may all power of the devil be extinguished in thee, by the laying on of our hands, and the invocation of all the holy angels, archangels, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, confessors, virgins, and all the saints. Amen." 4thly. Dipping his thumb in the holy oil, he

anoints the sick person in the form of the cross, upon the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hands, and feet; at each anointing making use of this form of prayer: "Through this holy unction, and his own most tender mercy, may the Lord pardon thee whatever sins thou hast committed, by thy sight. Amen."

BURIAL OF THE DEAD.-In the Roman Catholic Church, at the interment of a person, the pastor or priest, accompanied by his clerics, goes to the house of the deceased, and having sprinkled the body or coffin with holy water, recites an anthem. After this, the body is carried to the church, the clergy going before, two and two, after the manner of a procession, and singing the 50th Psalm, "Miserere,” "Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy," &c.; and the people following the corpse, and praying in silence for the deceased. When they have arrived at the church, the corpse is set down in the middle of the church, with the feet towards the altar, (except the deceased was a priest, in which case the head is to be towards the altar,) and wax tapers are lighted, and set up round the coffin. Then, if time and opportunity permit, is recited the dirge, that is, the office of the matins and the lauds for the dead, followed by a solemn mass for the soul of the deceased, according to the most an cient custom of the universal church. The dirge and mass being finished, the priest, standing at the head of the deceased, performs the burial services, which consists of prayers and singing. After this, whilst the body is carried towards the place of its interment, is said or sung an anthem. When they are come to the grave, if it has not been blessed before, the priest blesses it by a prayer. Then the priest sprinkles with holy water, and afterwards incenses both the corpse of the deceased and the grave. Then, whilst the body is put in the earth, is sung an anthem. After this, the priest sprinkles the body with holy water, and the ceremony is concluded with prayer.

MARRIAGE. In respect to marriage, the Catholic Church directs, 1st. That the banns should be proclaimed on three Sundays, or festival days, before the celebration of marriage; to the end, that if any knows any impediment, why the parties may not by the law of God, or his Church, be joined in matrimony, he may declare it.

2dly. The parties are to be married by their own parish priest, in the presence of two or three witnesses.

3dly. The parties express, in the presence of the priest, their mutual consent, according to the usual form of the Church; after which the priest says, "I join you in matrimony, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen!"

4thly. The priest blesses the ring, saying, "Bless, O God, the ring, which we bless in thy name, that she that shall wear it, keeping inviolable fidelity to her spouse, may ever remain in peace and in thy will, and always live in mutual charity. Through Christ our Lord. Amen!"

The priest sprinkles the ring with holy water; and the bridegroom taking it, puts it on the fourth finger of the left hand of the bride, saying, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

Amen." Here, also, according to the custom of Ireland, the bridegroom puts some gold and silver into the hand of the bride, saying, "With this ring, I thee wed, this gold and silver I give thee, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow."

5thly. After this, if the nuptial benediction is to be given, the priest says the mass appointed in the Missal, for the bridegroom, and the bride; and having said the Pater Noster, he prays over the new married couple, after which he administers to them the sacrament, and concludes by admonishing them to be faithful and affectionate to each other.*

GREEK CHURCH.

This Church disowns the authority of the pope, and denies that the Church of Rome is the true Catholic Church. Yet, in many respects, its rites and ceremonies appear as idle and unfounded, as those of the former. Their priests wear their beards and a peculiar dress. The virgin Mary is the great object of veneration, and there is scarcely a cottage without her picture, with a light before it. Among other absurdities, they administer the extreme unction, by anticipation, to whole households. They do not admit, like the Roman Church, of images or statues, but use paintings and silver shrines. In their churches, which are generally small and plain, the men and women sit apart, and have separate entrances. In praying, they face to the east, and seldom kneel. There are only one hundred and thirty days in the year free from fasts, which are strictly kept.

Weddings among the Greeks are celebrated with rejoicings, and a procession attends the bride to her future home. In the procession are often many young girls, dressed in white, preceded by music, who scatter flowers in the path.

The funerals are attended with show. The body is richly dressed, and strewed with flowers. A long procession is formed, and two or three old women hired for the occasion, walk by the side of the bier howling, and asking of the dead such questions as these, "Why did you die? you had money, friends, a fair wife, and many children. Why did you die?" On the ninth day after, a feast is given by the nearest relative, accompanied with music and dancing.

In the Russian Church, which is a branch of the Greek Church, the clergy are extremely ignorant. Every house has a painting of some saint, or of the virgin, before which the inmates offer prayers, and per. form many ceremonies. Their fasts and festivals, which are numerous, are observed with great strictness; the latter with much rejoicing. A great reverence is entertained for the number forty, which a Russian seeks frequent occasion to use; for example, to express twenty shillings, he would say forty six-pence. Baptism is performed by trine immersion, and with much ceremony.

The marriages of the nobility are solemnized much as in other parts of Europe; but the courtship of the peasants is singular. The suitor applies to the mother, saying, "Produce your merchandize, we have

*Catholic Christian.

money for it." Should the bargain be concluded, the bride at the wedding is crowned with a chaplet of wormwood, not an unapt emblem for the wife of a Russian boor. Hops are thrown over her head, with the wish that she may prove as fruitful as this plant. Second marriages are tolerated; the third are considered scandalous; and the fourth absolutely unlawful. On the burial of a deceased person, a paper signed by the bishop is put into his hand, as a passport to a better world.

LUTHERANS.

In 1523, Luther drew up a liturgy or form of prayer and administration of the sacraments, which, in many particulars, differed little from the mass of the Church of Rome. But he did not intend to confine his followers to this form; and hence every country, where Lutheranism prevails, has its own liturgy, which is the rule of proceeding in all that relates to external worship, and the public exercises of religion. The liturgies used in the different countries, which have embraced the system of Luther, perfectly agree in all the essential branches of religion, in all matters that are of real moment and importance; but they differ widely in many things of an indifferent nature, concerning which the Scriptures are silent, and which compose that part of the public religion that derives its authority from the wisdom and appointment of men. Assemblies for the celebration of divine worship meet every where at stated times. Here the Holy Scriptures are publicly read; prayers and hymns addressed to the Deity; the sacraments administered; and the people instructed in the knowledge of religion, and excited to the practice of virtue, by the discourses of their ministers.

Of all Protestants, the Lutherans are perhaps those who differ least from the Church of Rome, not only in regard to their doctrine of consubstantiation, namely, that the body and blood of Christ are materially present in the sacrament of the Lord's supper, though in an incomprehensible manner; or, that the partakers of the Lord's supper receive along with under, and in the bread and wine, the real body and blood of Christ; but likewise as they represent several religious practices and ceremonies as tolerable, and some of them useful, which are retained in no other Protestant Church. Among these may be reckoned the forms of exercises in the celebration of baptism; the use of wafers in the administration of the Lord's supper; the private confession of sins, the use of images, of incense, of lighted tapers in their churches, (particularly at the celebration of the Lord's supper,) with a crucifix on the altar. All these are practices of the Church of Rome. Some of them, however, are not general, but confined to particular parts.

Formerly, private confession was universally practised by the Lutherans, though they never held, with the Roman Catholics, forgiveness of sins in this world to be necessary for forgiveness in another life; and it was connected with the disgraceful custom of giving, on that occasion, a small present to the confessor. This confession money, as it was called, constituted in many places an important part of the clergyman's salary; but this custom, as well as private confession itself, has been abolished

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