Bishop Eric Menees
Dear Friends,
As we continue
our examination of the Holy Eucharist – Standard Text – 2019 BCP, today we look
at the Collect for Purity.
A Collect is a
prayer that is meant to do what its name reflects – collect the thoughts and
intentions of those gathered for worship. Collects have been a part of
Christian Worship since the time of the Early Church, and Archbishop Cranmer
made good use of them by adapting them to the context of the English
Reformation.
The 2019 BCP will
be very familiar, as it is virtually unchanged from the 1979 BCP version with
this exception; the rubrics (generally printed in red), otherwise known as
liturgical directions, allow for the Celebrant to invite the gathered
congregation to join in saying the prayer. The 1979 BCP version allowed only
for the Celebrant to offer the prayer on behalf of the people.
The Collect for Purity
The Celebrant prays (and the People
may be invited to join)
Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known,
and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the
inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily
magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Collects generally follow a pattern:
Addressing God and laying out an aspect of His character.
A petition or request is made.
An invocation and doxology
The concluding AMEN
In this Collect God is addressed as being both omnipotent
(all powerful) — “Almighty God” — and
omniscient (all knowing) — “all desires known, and from whom no secrets are
hid.” — In this prayer, it is acknowledged that we do not have to make our
desires known, nor try to hide our secrets, because God already knows us so
intimately that nothing is new or “news” to God.
We ask God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to cleans our
innermost thoughts (the thoughts of the heart), in order that we may truly
worship Him. That worship is expressed in our love and our praise, as we
“magnify” his holy Name.
In the Collect for Purity, there is a trinitarian prayer we
pray to Almighty God: We ask God to inspire us through his Holy Spirit, and we
pray it all through our intermediary, “Christ our Lord.”
The prayer ends as all prayers should, and as all of ours do
– by saying AMEN. The word “amen” has its roots in Hebrew and is generally
translated: “so be it.” The intention with an AMEN isn’t so much, ‘“so be it”
as I have requested,’ but rather ‘“so be it” as you, God, desire.’ This was
expressed by Jesus in his prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane when he said, “not my will but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)
Needless to say, the Collect for Purity is theologically
packed and beautifully expressed, asking God to prepare us for worship. I pray
that this Sunday, as you prepare for worship, you’ll pay close attention to the
Collect for Purity.
Bishop Menees
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