right arm is not to be thrust out from but kept near the body. In the mass, after the consecration, only those fingers which have not touched the host are thus employed.
When the priest makes the sign of the cross in the act of blessing any person or thing, his right hand is held so that the little finger is turned towards the object which he intends to bless; and thus the palm looks toward his left, and thumb and fingers are held (as directed above) extended and joined. While blessing the people, the priest places his left hand against his body a little below his breast; but when he blesses the oblations or any other object upon the altar, the priest places his left hand upon the altar.
In making the sign of the cross, the priest should take care not to move the hand over-quickly, and to trace lines that are straight and of equal length. The length of the lines, in blessing the people, should not exceed those used in blessing himself. All other crosses, except those made at the announcement of the Gospel and with the host over the chalice, are about a palm in length.
When the priest makes the sign of the cross over the Blessed Sacrament he does so not regarding it as an act of blessing but as an act which commemorates the power of the Cross and the manner of the Passion of Christ.
Lastly, when blessing himself or any other person, or any object whatsoever, the priest should stand erect.
Of the Endings of the Collects
As printed in our Book of Common Prayer, most of the Collects in the Mass-rite have only the short ending; but this omission cannot reasonably be regarded as a prohibition of the use of the full ending when, according to the old liturgical rules, the full ending is called for. Dr. Frere tells us (Some Principles of Lit. Reform; p.148) that, "In 1549 it was taken for granted that the rules for adding, or not adding, the appropriate ending to a collect were familiar to all who would use the Book." The following summary of the said rules, so far as they are applicable to our Rite, may be found useful.
The Collect of the day should have its full ending. If two collects are said, the second also, ordinarily, should have the full ending. If more than two collects are said, only
