E SACRIFICE OF THE MASS

122 THE CONCLUSION OF THE CANON.
is represented to us in a very marked way in the sign
of the Cross made by His own Body. That Body lay
"
extended on the tree in the form of a Cross. Who
His ownself bore our sins in His Body on the
"
tree
at the mention of the Father
(i Peter ii. 24). But why
and the Holy Ghost is the sign of the Cross made
outside the Chalice ? Possibly to show (this
is all
we can say) that the greatest honour rendered to the
Father and the Holy Ghost, is through the Passion
of Christ, which we commemorate in the Eucharist.
At the words omnis honor et gloria all honour
and glory, the priest holds the Host and Chalice
together and slightly raises both. In this action we
have the Little Elevation, which is much more ancient
than the Elevation after the Consecration. In some
countries, e.g., Belgium, the bell is here rung three
times.
The Canon ends with the words per omnia
saecula saeculorum for ever and ever, to which the
people answer Amen through the server or choir. The
Canon ends in a burst of praise.