Bishop sending the fermentum to the altars where his Priests were celebrating. We may well use this little ceremony to recall our own unity with the Church through all the ages. The very tradition of Catholic custom binds us to our forefathers in the Faith, and that which they used to represent the unity of all Christian people may well serve to represent to us our unity through all time, as well as over the world.

THE AGNUS DEI

At High Mass we sing a hymn to Our Lord, the Agnus Dei. It is the first formula of the Mass that is addressed to Our Lord himself, and calls him by his sacrificial title of "Lamb of God." This hymn was introduced by Pope Sergius I at the end of the seventh century, in order to occupy the time taken by the breaking of the consecrated Bread for distribution at the Communion -in his own words, "at the time of the breaking of the Lord's Body." In its original form, the same petition was sung twice, the third and slightly different petition being added in the churches of France. About the same period, the variation for use in Masses of the Dead was also introduced in France, again with a third, and slightly different, petition after the first two similar ones.  The Agnus Dei is an act of worship and petition addressed to Our Lord in his Eucharistic presence.

THE PRAYER "WE DO NOT PRESUME"

Before the invitation to Communion the congregation says this well known Anglican prayer. Many think such a prayer of humility is inappropriate at this point, when our thoughts are centered on the joy of receiving Holy communion. However, in the latter part of the prayer there is a declaration of the doctrine of the real presence of