Militant, Church.--A name used to describe the Church on earth,
fighting (which the word _Militant_ means) or contending against the
powers of the world, to distinguish it from the Church Expectant and
the Church Triumphant. (See CHURCH CATHOLIC.) In the Communion
Office the prayer said after the presentation of offerings is called
"The Prayer for the Church Militant," which is a pleading for the
Holy Church throughout the world offered in union with the Great
Sacrifice.
Ministry, The.--The Scriptural teaching in regard to the Sacred
Ministry is that certain persons are set apart to act as the agents
of God towards men and the agents of men towards God. The power of
the Ministry is inherent in, and derived from Christ, as when He
said, "As My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you." This was His
commission to the Apostles, and to them He promised, "Lo, I am with
you always even unto the end of the world." This promise implies a
transmission of this commission, so that the Ministry should never
die out, but be continued from generation to generation and from
century to century, "even to the end of the world." It also implies
that He will work in them and through them, so that whatsoever they
shall do in His Name shall be His work. As to the nature of this
Ministry it is declared in the Preface to the Ordinal that "It is
evident unto all men diligently reading Holy Scripture and Ancient
Authors, that from the Apostles' time {188} there have been these
Orders of Ministers in Christ's Church,--Bishops, Priests and
Deacons." And we find that these "Offices were evermore had in such
reverend estimation," that for 1,500 years after Christ no Christian
people recognized any other Ministry but that of Bishops, Priests and
Deacons; and we also find that even at this present time nine-tenths
of all Christian people are ministered to by a Ministry in Three
Orders. (See EPISCOPACY, PASTORS and also HOLY ORDERS.)
Miserere.--Meaning "Have Mercy." The Latin title of the 51st Psalm
which is used in the Penitential Office appointed to be read on Ash
Wednesday.
Missal.--In the early ages of the Church the Office of the Holy
Communion was contained in several separate volumes, one for the
Epistles, one for the Gospels, another for the anthems and a fourth
for the service itself with the Collects. These four volumes were
eventually united into one volume under the name _Missal_, _i.e._,
pertaining to the Mass, and therefore, it is the old title of the
book containing all that pertains to the Office of the Holy
Communion.
Mission.--A sending forth to preach the Gospel, as when our Lord
sent forth His Apostles. The word involves also the idea of power
and authority and also a definite sphere of operations. Thus when
a Bishop is consecrated, it is for some particular Diocese where he
has, by reason of his consecration, "the power of Mission." So also,
a Priest who is Rector of a Parish has the "power of Mission" in
that Parish. And the Bishop has no authority to minister in any
other Diocese, nor the Priest in any other Parish, save only {189} as
they may be invited to do so by the ecclesiastical authority thereof.
Such "power of Mission" is bestowed by the Church through her
Bishops and it is thus that she maintains order and prevents
confusion in her work.
Mission. Parochial.--The word "Mission" is also applied to a special
effort made in a parish to arouse and quicken its people; to lead
them to a deeper realization and appreciation of the privileges and
blessings of Christ's Religion; to set forth clearly by a series of
addresses and instructions how they can bring the Church's system to
bear on their hearts and lives and to lead them to ask, "Can we not
all do more than we are now doing and do all with a better spirit?"
A Mission is conducted by a Priest specially invited for the purpose
and is chosen for his aptness in carrying on such special work. If
well conducted and blessed of God a Mission brings great spiritual
blessings to the Parish in which it is held and its happy results
are to be seen in the awakened life and renewed energy of its
people.
Missionary.--One who is sent, whether Bishop, Priest, Deacon or
Layman, to do the work of the Church where it has not been
established, whether at home or abroad. As an adjective, the word
means, of or pertaining to Missions.
Missionary Council, The.--(See DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN MISSIONARY
SOCIETY.)
Missioner.--The name given to the Priest who conducts a Parochial
Mission. (See MISSION, PAROCHIAL.)
Missions.--The Missionary work of the Church. This includes _Foreign
Missions_, as in Africa, China, {190} Japan, etc., and _Domestic
Missions_, _i.e._, the Church's work within the United States where
there are no Dioceses; also work in towns and villages in Dioceses
where parishes have not been established. This last is called
DIOCESAN MISSIONS (which see, also, DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN MISSIONARY
SOCIETY).
Mitre.--The official covering for the head worn by the order of
Bishops. It represents mystically the cloven tongues of fire which
lighted on the heads of the Apostles on the Day of Pentecost. The
mitre is worn by many Bishops of the American Church, and the General
Convention, by its Committee on Vestments, declared, "The first
Bishop of the American Succession (Bishop Seabury) was accustomed to
wear the mitre in certain offices; and the first of our Bishops ever
consecrated in America (Bishop Claggett of Maryland) continued its
use. It has not been generally followed, but in the opinion of this
Committee this historic fact justifies any Bishop in resuming it."
Mixed Chalice.--The symbolical mixing of water with wine in the Holy
Communion to represent the union of the human with the Divine nature
in the Incarnation. It is also a lively memorial of Him who for our
Redemption did shed out of His most precious side both Water and
Blood. This mixing of Water with Wine for this purpose seems to have
been an Apostolical use and very probably was practiced by our Lord
Himself. This ancient practice remained universal for the first
1,500 years after Christ in all Churches, and is now quite common.
Morning Prayer.--The name given to the Church's Daily Office of
prayer offered in the morning. In the {191} first Prayer Book of 1549
both the Morning Service and that for evening began with the Lord's
Prayer and ended with the third Collect. In 1552, the Sentences,
Exhortation, Confession and Absolution were prefixed to Morning
Prayer, but not to the Order for Evening Prayer. In 1661, they were
prefixed to Evening Prayer also; and both Morning and Evening Prayer
were then lengthened at the end by the addition of all that follows
the third Collect. (See DAILY PRAYER; also MATINS.)
Morse.--The clasp used to fasten the cope in front is so called. It
is frequently made of precious metal and set with jewels. From the
Latin _morsus_, meaning a _bite_, hence a clasp.
Mothering Sunday.--A popular name used in England for the Fourth
Sunday in Lent. It is supposed to have derived this name from the
Epistle for the Day in which occur the words "Jerusalem which is
above is free, which is the Mother of us all." This no doubt gave
rise to the custom in England of making pilgrimages to the Mother
Church of the Diocese, _i.e._, the Cathedral. This Sunday also
became a holiday on which young persons in service were permitted
to visit their mothers in their homes. (See FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT;
also LENT, SUNDAYS IN.)
Movable Feasts and Fasts.--Those Feasts and Fasts which are not
observed on a fixed date, but are variable being dependent on the
time Easter is kept. Easter Day is always the first Sunday after
the full moon which happens upon or next after the Twenty-first day
of March; and if the full moon happen upon a Sunday, Easter Day is
the Sunday after. The {192} _Movable Feasts_ are the following:
Advent Sunday which is always the nearest Sunday to the Feast of St.
Andrew (Nov. 30) whether before or after; the three remaining
Sundays in Advent; Septuagesima, Sexagesima and Quinquagesima
Sundays; the Six Sundays in Lent; Rogation Sunday; Ascension Day,
Whitsun Day and Trinity Sunday; Monday and Tuesday in Easter Week;
Monday and Tuesday in Whitsun Week; also the number of Sundays
during the Epiphany and Trinity Seasons is variable, these Seasons
being longer or shorter according to the time Easter is kept. The
_Movable Fasts_ are the Forty Days of Lent, including Ash Wednesday,
Good Friday, Easter Even and the Lenten Ember Days; the Rogation
Days and the Whitsun Tide Ember Days.
Music, Church.--(See HYMNS; GREGORIAN MUSIC, PLAIN SONG, and
EVEN SONG, also INTONE.) Recognizing the fact that music always
characterized the worship of God's Church both under the Old
Dispensation and under the New, the essential thing is the character
of the music in our churches to-day and the mode of rendering it.
The organist, upon whom so much depends, should be a competent
musician, with a good knowledge of the music of the church, and
the music that he uses should be strictly sacred music. The choir
should consist of the best voices and most cultivated singers
available. They should be trained with care, not only in the music
they are to sing, but also in the Church service. The late Bishop
Thorold remarked on this subject, "We are all coming to feel that
Church Music is a great help to worship. . . .But I also feel that
if members of the choir accept {193} from God and the minister the
privilege of taking part in the services, the one thing they
owe to Almighty God, to the congregation and to themselves, is
REVERENCE. I know choirs where their singing is almost a means of
grace; it is done so beautifully, so reverently and with so much
care that it lifts up the whole service to a higher level. The one
secret of all good and acceptable rendering of the Church's music
is _reverence_."
Mystery.--A Truth or fact of Religion which has been revealed but
not explained is called a mystery, because proposed to our faith
faculty, such as the Incarnation, the Atonement, the Blessed Trinity,
the Doctrine of the Eucharist. St. Paul speaks of the whole
Revelation of Christ as the "Mystery of Godliness." Derived from the
Greek word _musterion_, which in the Greek Church is the equivalent
of our word "Sacrament."
Mystical Body of Christ.--The Church is called the Mystical Body of
Christ because He is the Head and we members of His Body. It is by
means of its Sacraments that we are made members of Him and
partakers of His Nature and Life. (See INCARNATION.)
N
N or M.--The letters placed after the first question in the Church
Catechism, "What is your name?" to show that the Christian name or
names of the person questioned should be given. "N" stands for {194}
the Latin word _nomen_, meaning name; while the letter "M" is an
abbreviation of double "N. N.," the "N" being doubled according to
an old custom to indicate the plural, viz., _nomina_, meaning names.
The same thing is to be seen in the letters "LL.D." standing for
the degree of "Doctor of Laws," the double "LL" signifying the
plural _legum_, meaning "of laws."