Saturday, March 27, 2021

The Collect for Palm Sunday

Almighty ever-living God, Who as an example of humility for the human race to follow caused our Savior to take flesh and submit to the Cross, graciously grant that we may heed His lesson of patient suffering and so merit a share in his Resurrection. Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

an example of humility for the human race to follow – Jesus Christ “though He was in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6-8). It doesn't get any humbler than this. Our Lord became man to save us and to give us an example of humility to follow as He lay down His life for us.

caused our Savior to take fleshWhat caused the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity to take flesh? Both humility and love. He loves us so much that He willed to humble Himself and become one of us in order to save us.

submit to the Cross – Jesus could have saved us with one drop of His precious Blood, but He chose to go to the Cross, to shed every drop to show us exactly how much He loves us.

we may heed His lesson of patient suffering – Suffering does and will always come to all of us. Through it, God teaches us, purifies us, tests us, strengthens us, and prepares us for glory in Heaven. How well do we respond to the suffering God allows for us? Are we patient? Or do we complain? Do we seek to avoid it? Or do we embrace it with love and unite it to the suffering of Christ so that it can bear great fruit in our lives and the lives of others?

merit a share in His Resurrection We never earn our way to Heaven, yet we must cooperate with God's grace and with His plan for our lives. This is how we merit, through our obedience, our repentance, and our love. God created us without us, but He will not save us without us.

Saturday, March 20, 2021

The Collect for the Fifth Week of Lent

By Your help, we beseech You, Lord our God, may we walk eagerly in that same charity with which, out of love for the world, Your Son handed Himself over to death. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

By Your help – The writer of this prayer lays a firm foundation with these three little words. We are about to pray for something that we cannot give ourselves or earn for ourselves or do by ourselves. We need God's help and grace constantly.

may we walk eagerly with that same charityAre we eager in our love? Or do we hem and haw and hesitate and make excuses? Further, the word “charity” has largely shifted its meaning these days, so we have to remember that in this context, it does not mean giving to the poor, but rather, it refers to divine love (agapÄ“ in Greek) and the human share in divine love that allows us to will the very best for all people and do whatever we can to help them achieve that best.

out of love for the world“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life” (John 3:16). For the Son so loved the world that He suffered and died on the cross to atone for our sins and open the gates of Heaven.

Your Son handed Himself over to deathJesus could have saved us by shedding one drop of His precious Blood. He could have called down legions of angels to stop the crucifixion. He did not have to die. He chose to die. Why? Because He wanted to reveal the full depths of His love for us by pouring out every last drop of His Blood.

Saturday, March 13, 2021

The Collect for the Fourth Week of Lent

O God, Who through Your Word reconcile the human race to Yourself in a wonderful way, grant, we pray, that with prompt devotion and eager faith the Christian people may hasten toward the solemn celebrations to come. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

Who through Your Word reconcile the human race to Yourself in a wonderful way – Jesus Christ is the Word of God, the ultimate revelation of the Blessed Trinity to humanity, the One Who has reconciled us to the Father by dying on the cross, atoning for sin, and opening the gates of Heaven. This is truly wonderful in the deepest sense of the word. It should inspire awe and wonder in our minds and hearts.

with prompt devotionDevotion is a word that people use frequently but often fail to fully understand. For some, the word carries negative connotations, suggesting dullness or rote repetition or excessive solemnity. Even those who see devotion as a positive trait, might focus on the solemn, the quiet, the routine. But devotion is actually about love and loyalty, enthusiasm and zeal, affection and attachment. To be devoted to God means to give Him our whole selves freely, generously, and fervently with a heart filled with love.

and eager faith – Are we eager in our faith? Or do we plod along just going through the motions? Do we strive to know more and more about God so that we can deepen our faith and love Him more? Or are we complacent and just doing enough to get by?

the Christian people may hasten toward the solemn celebrations to come – This Fourth Sunday of Lent is Laetare Sunday. Laetare is a Latin imperative (a command word) that means “rejoice!” or “be glad!” We are halfway through Lent. Holy Week and Easter are fast approaching, and we need to strengthen our devotion and faith as we continue our journey toward these most solemn (in a positive sense) days of the year, days when we meet our Risen Lord in a special, most intimate, most beautiful way.

Saturday, March 6, 2021

The Collect for the Third Week of Lent

O God, author of every mercy and of all goodness, Who in fasting, prayer and almsgiving have shown us a remedy for sin, look graciously on this confession of our lowliness, that we, who are bowed down by our conscience, may always be lifted up by Your mercy. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

author of every mercy and of all goodness – God is the master storyteller. Without compromising our free will in any way, He writes the story of our lives, incorporating His mercy and goodness into every line. Indeed, all God creates is good, and even when evil corrupts the good that God has made, God brings good out of the situation for those who love and trust Him. Even when we sin and then repent, God gives us the infinite good of His mercy, showering us in His forgiveness and love.

fasting, prayer and almsgiving – These are the three traditional activities of Lent. Fasting helps us let go of our attachments to the material world. Prayer helps us strengthen our bond with God, especially when we focus on praying to get Someone rather than something. Almsgiving spreads God's love, the love that we value in fasting and reach out for in prayer, to our neighbors.

a remedy for sin – Fasting, prayer, and almsgiving lead us to recognize, acknowledge, repent of, and seek forgiveness for our sins. We let go of sinful tendencies in fasting, seek God's mercy in prayer, and unselfishly recognize the needs of others in almsgiving.

look graciously on this confession of our lowlinessHumility is a simple recognition of reality. Before God, we are nothing. Without God, we can do nothing. We need His grace at all times. If He stopped thinking of us for even a moment, we would cease to exist. We are fully dependent upon God.

we, who are bowed down by our conscience – We are sinful people, and we know it. If we truly examine our consciences, we will find that we have offended God very often in our thoughts, words, and deeds, in commission and omission. We must be aware of our sins and faults and failings not so that they can drag us into despair but so that we can bring them to God with repentant hearts.

may always be lifted up by Your mercy – God's mercy is always available to us when we come to Him with repentant hearts, humbly asking His forgiveness. He reaches down, lifts us up, and sets us back on the right path, the path that leads straight to Him.