CONSECRATION OF THE MILK AND HONEY. 189 Then shall the Deacon say to the People, Let us pray. Then the People shall kneel down; and the Bishop, turning to the Altar, and standing before it, shall say the following Prayer. O ALMIGHTY God, who didst bring thy chosen people into a land flowing with milk and honey, a figure of the spiritual land of rest, thy holy Church; and who hast taught us as new-born babes to desire the sincere milk of thy word: Bless [Here the Bishop is to make the sign of the Cross over the Milk and Honey:] these thy creatures of Milk and Honey: and grant that all those who after Baptism shall taste thereof, may be adopted into thy family, may preserve their Baptismal innocence, and may at length be fed with that blessed milk and honey which floweth for ever in the heavenly Jerusalem, the city that is above, through thine only-begotten Son 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. Then the People shall rise, and the Deacon shall carry the consecrated Milk and Honey into the Vestry, or to some other convenient place. Note, Every Priest must take care to apply to the Bishop for consecrated Milk and Honey; who shall, upon such their application, furnish them therewith. THE ORDER OF CONFIRMATION, Or, Laying on of Hands upon those that are Baptized. At the time appointed, all that are to be then Confirmed, being placed, the Adults and the Sponsors with the children in their arms standing in order before the Bishop, he shall begin the Office thus. Bishop. Our help is in the name of the Lord : Bish. Blessed be the Name of the Lord: Bish. The Lord be with you: Answ. And with thy spirit. Then shall the Deacon say to the People, Let us pray. Here all shall kneel down except the Bishop, who shall proceed, saying: ALMIGHTY and everliving God, who hast vouchsafed to regenerate these thy servants by water and the Holy Ghost, and hast thereby given unto them remission of all their sins: Send down from heaven, we beseech thee, O Lord, thine Holy Ghost the Comforter upon them; and daily increase in them thy manifold gifts of grace, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and ghostly strength, the spirit of knowledge and true godliness, and fill them with the spirit of thy holy fear now and ever. Sign them, O Lord, and mark them to be thine for ever, by the virtue of thy beloved Son's holy cross and passion. Mercifully confirm and strengthen them with the inward unction of thy Holy Ghost unto everlasting life. Amen. Then the People rising, and the Adults to be Confirmed, and the Sponsors with the Children in their arms, kneeling in order before the Bishop, (though it be Sunday, or between Easter and Pentecost,) he shall anoint them severally with the holy Chrism or Ointment, making the sign of the Cross upon their forehead, and saying: N. the servant of God, is sealed with the seal of the Cross, and anointed with Holy Ointment, as an emblem of the inward unction of the Holy Spirit, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. Then the Bishop shall lay his hands upon the Person's head, and say: DEFEND, O Lord, this thy child [or, this thy servant] with thy heavenly grace, that he may continue thine for ever, and daily increase in thy Holy Spirit more and more, until he come unto thine everlasting kingdom. Amen. And thus shall the Bishop do to every Person that is to be Confirmed, one after another; after which done, the Deacon shall turn to the People, and say, Let us attend. Then shall the Bishop say the following Prayer. O LORD God, who art unbegotten and without superior; thou Lord of all, who hast made the sweet savour of the knowledge of the Gospel to go forth among all nations: Do thou now grant that this Chrism may be effectual in these Baptized children, [or, persons,] that the sweet savour of thy Christ may remain firm and stable in them, and that they, dying with him in his death, may rise again with him in his resurrection, and live together with him ; 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. Then shall the Bishop say to the People: The peace of the Lord be always with you. Answ. And with thy spirit. Then shall the Deacon say to the People, Let us pray. And all kneeling down, except the Bishop, he shall say the Lord's Prayer, the People repeating it after him. OUR Father, who art in heaven, &c. &c. Amen. For thine, Then shall the Bishopsay the following Prayer. ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who makest us both to will and to do those things, which are good and acceptable unto thy Divine Majesty: We make our humble supplications unto thee for these thy servants, upon whom (after the example of thy holy Apostles) we have now laid our hands, as a sure token of thy favour and gracious goodness towards them. Let thy Fatherly hand, we beseech thee, ever be over them; let thy Holy Spirit ever be with them and so lead them in the knowledge and obedience of thy word, that in the end they may obtain everlasting life, through our Lord Jesus : |