Intercessions of the Litany.—Those petitions in the Litany which have for their response the words, "We beseech Thee to hear us, Good Lord," are so called. (See LITANY.)
Intermediate State.—Death is a separation of the soul and body; the body becoming lifeless and eventually decomposing into dust, the soul continuing to live as truly as ever. What becomes of the living soul when thus separated from the body by death? {149}
"Our Lord," says the Rev. J. H. Blunt, "has answered this question to a certain extent by the Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man (St. Luke 16:19-31). By that Parable He has taught us that the living souls of the departed live in a condition of happiness or misery suitable to the judgment which the all-seeing eye of God has passed upon their lives; the good Lazarus at rest in 'Abraham's Bosom,' the wicked Dives 'in torments.' At the same time our Lord has clearly revealed by His own words and those of His Apostles that there will be a general judgment at the last day, when all, good and bad, will have to stand before the Throne of God, not as bodiless souls, but with soul and body. And further, the Book of Revelation follows up the words of Christ and His Apostles with some very distinct disclosures as to the increased happiness of the good and the increased misery of the wicked after the final and open award of the Judge has been given in the general Judgment. The separate existence of the soul between death and the Judgment Day is, therefore, called the Intermediate State!" (See HADES, also DESCENT INTO HELL.)
Intonation.—The first two or three notes of a Gregorian chant introducing the recitative note; usually sung without the organ, by one of the Clergy or choir who is called the Cantor or Precentor.
Intone.—To recite or chant on one note with inflections of the voice at stated places, according to certain rules. The Minister intones the prayers, Epistle, Gospel, etc. Anciently the entire service was musically rendered, the Scriptures having their own peculiar intonation and inflections, the ordinary reading {150} tone being altogether excluded. This practice has been strictly adhered to in many of the English Cathedrals from the most ancient times to the present. In many parishes the services are also musically rendered, the Clergy intoning the prayers, the responses being sung by the congregation. The custom is growing in favor as an inspiring and Scriptural method of rendering the services. (See EVENSONG.)
Introit.—The Psalm which is sung while the Clergy are entering the Sanctuary for the celebration of the Holy Communion. Its literal meaning is The Entrance. Formerly the Introit was appointed for every celebration of the Holy Communion as well as Collect, Epistle and Gospel. In the first Prayer Book of Edward VI, the Introits were all printed before the Collect. Some of these are selected with a "striking appropriateness to the days for which they are appointed and show a deep appreciation of the prophetic sense of Holy Scripture." They are not often used at the present time as Hymns have been generally substituted, since the omission of the Introits from the Prayer Book.
Invitatory.—The name given to the Venite (O come let us sing, etc.) as being an invitation to the use of the Psalms in worship. This Psalm, the 95th, has been so named and used since the time of the Temple Worship at Jerusalem.
Invocation, The.—The words, "In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," used before sermons, is so called; to which the people respond "Amen." This is a very ancient usage, and founded on the belief that so important a work as {151} "preaching the Word" should be done in the Name of the Lord. The Invocation is the name given also to the third paragraph of the Prayer of Consecration in the Communion Office, in which the Merciful Father is invoked that He may "vouchsafe to bless and sanctify with Thy Word and Holy Spirit, these Thy gifts and creatures of bread and wine, that we, receiving them according to Thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ's holy institution, in remembrance of His Death and Passion, may be partakers of His most blessed Body and Blood."
J
James (St.) The Great.—One of the Apostles of our Lord, whose Festival is observed on July 25th, St. James was the brother of St. John and the son of Zebedee and Salome. With St. John he received the appellation of "Boanerges" from our Lord. He has also been surnamed the Great or the Greater by the Church, but neither of these designations can be satisfactorily accounted for. St. James was the first of the Apostles who suffered martyrdom and the only one whose death is recorded in the New Testament (Acts 12:1). In ecclesiastical art St. James is variously represented as a pilgrim with staff; with staff and shell; as a child with staff and wallet with shell upon it; on a white charger conquering the Saracens; this last with reference to his being regarded as the Patron Saint of Spain, Santiago, "St. Iago of Compostella." {152}