Reading the Prayer Book as it stands, from Matins to the Consecration of an Archbishop, no reviewer could miss its devotional beauty. It is, perhaps, a misfortune that the most beautiful Office of the Christian Church, the Eucharistic Office, should come in the middle, instead of at the beginning, of our Prayer Book, first in order as first in importance. Its character, though capable of much enrichment, reminds us of how much devotional beauty the Prayer Book has from ancient sources. In our jealous zeal for more beauty we are, perhaps, apt to underrate much that we already possess. God won't give us more than we have until we have learnt to value that which we possess. It is impossible, in the time that remains, to {57} do more than emphasize one special form of beauty in "The Book of Common Prayer"--The Collects. The Prayer-Book Collects are pictures of beauty. Only compare a modern collect with the Prayer-Book Collects, and you will see the difference without much looking. Learn to value the Prayer Book. From birth to death it provides, as we shall see, special offices, and special prayers for the main events of our lives, though many minor events are still unprovided for. [1] See p. 13. [2] Possibly, the origin of the British Liturgy revised by St. Augustine, and of the present Liturgy of the English Church. [3] From _vulgus_, a crowd. [4] Cf. Acts iv. 24, "They lifted up their voices _with one accord_". [5] The word _Mass_, which has caused such storms of controversy, originally meant a _dismissal_ of the congregation. It is found in words such as Christ-mas (i.e. a short name for the Eucharist on the Feast of the Nativity), Candle-mas, Martin-mas, Michael-mas, and so on. [6] This was published _in extenso_ in a Blue Book, issued by the Government on 2 June, 1854. [7] It is difficult to see how any revision could obtain legal sanction, even if prepared by Convocation, save by an Act of Parliament after free discussion by the present House of Commons. [8] Public Baptism of Infants. [9] "The Folkestone Baptist," June, 1899. [10] "Letters and Memoirs of William Bright," p. 143. [11] "Life and Letters of H. P. Liddon," p. 329. {58} CHAPTER IV. THE CHURCH'S SACRAMENTS. We have seen that a National Church is the means whereby the Catholic Church reaches the nation; that her function is (1) to teach, and (2) to feed the nation; that she teaches through her books, and feeds through her Sacraments. We now come to the second of these two functions--the spiritual feeding of the nation. This she does through the Sacraments--a word which comes from the Latin _sacrare_ (from _sacer_), sacred.[1] The Sacraments are the sacred _media_ through which the soul of man is fed with the grace of God. {59} We may think of them under three heads:--their number; their nature; their names. (I) THE NUMBER OF THE SACRAMENTS.