Today I was blessed to attend Mass for the Octave of Christmas at Blessed Sacrament Parish, one of Birmingham's ecclesiastical gems located on the west side. It was a low Mass in the Extraordinary Form. The dark Romanesque church was about half-full. I attended Mass there many Sundays when I lived in Birmingham. The priest offered confessions before and after Mass, and after the Leonine Prayers, we all sung the Veni Creator Spiritus for the plenary indulgence.
In the missal, I read the most beautiful thing. At the kiss of peace, there was a little note in the missal that said, in former times, the priest used to kiss the Sacred Host before the kiss of peace. In the solemn Masses I've attended, I noticed that the kiss of peace begins with the celebrant and deacon, then the deacon to subdeacon, and down from there. Thus, in former times, the kiss would have rather begun between the celebrant and the Sacred Host, and down to the deacon, etc.
I couldn't find an image of the priest kissing the Host, which makes sense if it is a more ancient practice. However, I found an image of the priest kissing the paten. I'm not sure if this is related:
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