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.,