O God, Who cause the minds of the faithful to unite in a single purpose, grant Your people to love what You command and to desire what You promise, that, amid the uncertainties of this world, our hearts may be fixed on that place where true gladness is found. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
unite in a single purpose – God causes our unity as His people, and He desires our unity as His people. We are the Body of Christ, the Bride of Christ. We partake in the same Eucharist. We live as God's family in the same covenant, sharing in His divine life. We must, then, embrace the unity that God desires for us and gives us. We must stand together in faith, hope, and love against the forces of the enemy and the temptations of this world that threaten to tear us apart. We must hold fast to God's commandments, to the moral law that guides us along the path of life. We much share one purpose: love of God and love of our neighbors for God's sake.
to love what You command – Do we truly love what God commands? Or do we merely sigh and tolerate it as a sacrifice of obedience? Yet God's commands are perfect for us. God, Who made our human nature and perfectly understands its frailty, gives us exactly what we need to grow in love and to grow closer to Him. Those are the purposes of the commandments, after all. They aren't some arbitrary orders that we must fulfill or else. They are perfectly suited to us and to our needs. We should love them as gifts from God, which they are.
to desire what You promise – Sometimes it seems that we desire everything but what we should. We desire money, fame, honor, possessions, all the things of this world. We chase after those. But our desire of God and the eternal life He promises to those Who follow Him fades into the background or even disappears. We must adjust our priorities so that our desire for God overwhelms all else.
the uncertainties of this world – The world is more uncertain than ever these days, and if we focus too much on the chaos, it will drive us crazy.
our hearts may be fixed on that place where true gladness is found – Here is the answer to the uncertainties of the world. We must fix our hearts, focus our attention, and place our trust in one place, the place where true gladness is found. That place, of course, is God. In the midst of all the trials, all the difficulties, all the suffering, all the craziness of life, we must keep our eyes and our minds and our hearts on God. No, it isn't easy. Distractions are everywhere. We get sidetracked. We get angry. We get upset. We lose our focus. But we must always return to God. We will find true happiness and peace only in Him. So how do we fix our hearts on God (and get them back on God when they stray)? We pray (a lot!). We go to Mass and receive Jesus in the Eucharist (more than once a week if possible). We read Scripture. We study about our faith. And most importantly, we ask God to help us like we're doing in this collect.
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