Then resuming his mitre, the Bishop says forthwith over the water aforesaid:

I

Be thou hallowed by God's Word, thou heavenly wave, be thou hallowed, water, on which trod the feet of Christ thou, who imprisoned in the mountains findest thy way; thou, who dashed on the rocks remainest whole; thou, who poured forth on the earth losest not thy being. Thou art the support of the dry land; thou bearest up the weight of the mountains, yet abidest uncrushed; thy place is in the highest heavens; thou girdest round the universe; by thee remaining unwashed are all things washed. When the Hebrew tribes fled, thou didst harden and stand firm; thy salt tide is again set free, and thou dost overwhelm the dwellers by the Nile, thy raging surf pursuing the host of the enemy; thou thyself art at once the salvation of the faithful, and the ruin of the wicked. The rock smitten by Moses poured forth thy streams; deep down in the flint thou couldst not lie hid, but didst gush forth at his availing word; borne in the clouds, thou makest the fields fertile by thy gladsome showers. To thee we owe the drink, which to our bodies parched with heat is sweet and pleasant, healthful and life-giving. Thou coursest through the most secret channels, and from thy retreat furnishest the spirit of life, or the sap that gives fertility: lest the dried up womb of the exhausted earth withhold its wonted store. By thee the seed-time, by thee the harvest, is gladdened; nay, rather God has so ordained that we know not whither thou retirest,2 or rather, while we rehearse the excellencies of the water, do we proclaim Thy wondrous works, O God, the Almighty, Whose influence we behold and acknowledge. Thou art the Fountain of blessing, Thou the Source of salvation: Thee we humbly intreat and implore to shower down the abundant streams of Thy grace upon this house, with the fulness of Thy blessing: grant to it all that is good; send prosperity; ward off whatever is adverse; destroy the evil angel of wicked works; set the Angel of

This blessing is to be found in St. Gregory's Sacramentary.

2 Down to this, we have little more than a transcript of a passage in St. Ambrose's Exposition of the Gospel of St. Luke, Bk. 10, on ch. xxii. vv. II, 12, n. 48.

Light to be the support and champion of the good. In Thy Name is this house begun, in Thy Name may it be completed, and may Thy blessing long preserve it from all harm. May these foundations be worthy to be made strong by Thee, these roofs to be under Thy shelter; mayest Thou enter these doors, and penetrate to the inmost shrine. May Thy countenance shine upon us and give profit to men, and strength to its walls.

The Bishop then goes to the church door, and with the end of his staff traces a Cross on the upper part, and another on the lower part inside. Then handing back his staff, and standing in the same place, he continues:

May Thine invincible Cross be set on this threshold, and both door-posts be marked with the sign of Thy grace; and of the greatness of Thy mercy may they who visit this house find peace with plenty, sobriety and moderation, an overflowing store and compassion. May all disturbance and mishap be driven away. May dearth, plague, disease, illness, the onslaughts of wicked spirits ever be warded off by Thy visitation, that the blessing of Thy presence in this place may spread to its uttermost boundaries, and pervade its porches on every side; may all its corners and inmost parts be laved by this cleansing stream, so that gladsome peace, gracious hospitality, a plenteous store, religious. reverence, and the abundance of the means of salvation may never fail in this place. And when we call upon Thy holy Name, do Thou send down the fulness of every good gift, and put evil temptations to flight; may we be found. worthy to have with us the angel of peace, chastity, charity,. and truth, who may ever guard, shield, and defend us from all evils. Through our Lord Jesus Christ Thy Son, Who lives, &c.

R. Amen.

[If the sepulchre is beneath the altar stone, the Bishop next makes the mortar, as at p. 37, with all that there follows, as far as p. 49.]

He now returns to where he blessed the water, and, standing mitred and facing the high altar, says:

Dearest brethren, let us humbly pray God the Father

Almighty, in Whose house are many mansions,' that it may please Him to bless and to guard this dwelling through the sprinkling of this water mingled with wine, salt, and ashes. Through our Lord Jesus Christ His Son, Who lives and reigns, &c.

R. Amen.

The Bishop now proceeds with his mitre on to the altar, where he intones, and the Choir continues the following Antiphon:

THE CONSECRATION OF THE ALTAR.

If there be many altars in the church which are then to be consecrated, the Bishop shall repeat at each altar in succession the same ceremonies and prayers as at the first altar.

Antiphon (Tone 4).

Introibo ad altare Dei : ad Deum qui lætificat juven

tutem meam.

I will go unto the altar of God; unto God Who gives joy to my youth.

Psalm xlii.

Judica me, Deus, et discerne causam meam de gente non sancta; * ab homine iniquo, et doloso erue me.

Repeat the Antiphon if need be.

Quia tu es, Deus, fortitudo mea: * quare me repulisti, et quare tristis incedo, dum affligit me inimicus ?

Repeat the Antiphon.

Emitte lucem tuam, et veritatem tuam : * ipsa me deduxerunt et adduxerunt in montem sanctum tuum, et in tabernacula tua.

Repeat the Antiphon.

Judge me, O God, and defend my cause, [and deliver me] from an ungodly nation from the unjust and deceitful man do Thou deliver me.

Repeat the Antiphon.

For Thou, O God, art my strength; * why hast Thou cast me off? and why must I walk about mourning while the enemy oppresses me ?

Repeat the Antiphon.

O send out Thy light and Thy truth; they shall lead me, and bring me to Thy holy mountain, and to Thy tabernacles.

Repeat the Antiphon.

St. John xiv. 2.

Glory be to the Father, &c., is omitted, but the Antiphon is once more repeated. At the first recital of the Antiphon, the Bishop, retaining his mitre, stands before the altar, and, dipping the thumb of his right hand into the water he has just now blessed, he traces a Cross therewith on the middle of the altar-table, saying:

May this altar be hallowed in honour of Almighty God, of the glorious Virgin Mary, and of all the Saints, and to the name and in memory of St. N. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Peace be to thee.

Then dipping the same thumb anew into the blessed water, he traces four Crosses at the four angles of the altar-table, repeating each time the foregoing words. The following scheme will show in what order this is to be done.

Having finished this, at the conclusion of the Antiphon and Psalm xlii., the Bishop, standing in the same place, takes off his mitre, and says:

Thou Victim of propitiation, offered once for all on the altar of the Cross for our ransom, foreshadowed by the stone the Patriarch Jacob erected for a memorial where sacrifice should be offered, and the gate of Heaven above be ever opened for the declaration of Divine Truth; Thee, Lord, do we humbly beseech to command that the polished surface of this stone, which is to be soaked with the Blood of the heavenly sacrifice, be enriched with the fulness of Thy gracious blessing, Thou Who didst of old write the Law on tablets of stone. Through Christ our Lord.

R. Amen.

After this prayer the Bishop goes round the altar-table seven times, sprinkling it and its basement with the water last blessed, using a bunch of hyssop as a sprinkler. Standing before the middle of the altar, he intones, and the choir continues the Antiphon (Tone 7):

The Bishop, meanwhile, having resumed the mitre, goes round the altar, sprinkles it, and returns to the middle thereof as before. These three verses ended, the Bishop still standing