support it beneath; and holding one of the hosts between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand, raised a little above the paten which he now holds as high as and near his breast, he turns, by his right and faces the people. Keeping his eyes fixed on the Sacrament, the priest says, privately, "Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world." And then he says, privately, the following words, thrice—"Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof; but speak the word only and my soul shall be healed." If a ciborium be used, the priest does not take up the paten, but moves the ciborium forward on the corporal, uncovers it, holds it by the stem, with his left hand, and a host over it with his right hand, and proceeds as directed above. Persons to be communicated should present themselves "in order." Bishops, priests, and deacons, duly habited, should kneel at the altar-steps. If any lay persons who are members of Religious orders or communities present themselves, they should kneel at the altar-rail, before and apart from the other people. Of the people, boys and men should kneel on the Epistle-side of the said rail, and girls and women on the Gospel-side. Deaconesses, not being under solemn vows, should kneel with the other women.
Going to administer the communion to the people, the priest should pass directly down the altarsteps (not diagonally), and then to the end of the rail on the Epistle-side. As he is about to give the sacrament to each person, the priest makes with the host, the sign of the cross over the paten or the ciborium. It will suffice, if the priest says the first-half of the formula, "The Body" etc., as he communicates each person, and then says, once only, at the end of each railful, the concluding sentence, "Take and eat," etc. The people should kneel in upright posture, keep head erect, present right hand bare, palm uppermost and open, supported by the left hand, a little higher than the breast, and carry the host with the right hand to the mouth and take it with the tongue from the palm of the said hand. When he has finished administering the Body of Christ to the people then kneeling at the altar-rail, the priest returns to the altar, places the paten or ciborium upon the corporal, removes the pall from the chalice, genuflects, rises again,
