Exhortation

An earnest admonishment. Two exhortations to prepare the congregation for communion were published in the 1548 Order for Communion, and these were included in the 1549 BCP. A third exhortation was added in the 1552 BCP. The 1928 BCP also included three exhortations, but the 1979 BCP has only one, a conflation of prior material (pp. 316-317). The exhortation is not printed with the Rite 2 eucharistic liturgy. The BCP allows the exhortation to be used in whole or in part during the liturgy or at other times. The exhortation recalls the institution of the eucharist and its benefits for a spiritual sharing in Christ's risen life and for making us one with Christ and members one of another. It also gives thanks to God for the creation of the world, for God's continual providence and love for us, for the Incarnation and our redemption through Christ, who died to “make us the children of God by the power of the Holy Spirit, and exalt us to everlasting life.” As a public spiritual direction, the exhortation calls on the people to make a worthy approach to the eucharist, including examination of their lives and conduct. It advises those who “need help and counsel” to seek a suitable priest and make a sacramental confession of sin. The final paragraph is new to this revision, with allusions to the oblation of various eucharistic prayers in the 1979 BCP. See Oblation.