The Collect for the Third Sunday of Easter

May Your people exult for ever, O God, in renewed youthfulness of spirit, so that, rejoicing now in the restored glory of our adoption, we may look forward in confident hope to the rejoicing of the day of resurrection. 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.

May Your people exult for ever, O God – Here is the goal of our entire existence. We want to rejoice forever in God and in the eternal life He gives us with Him.

renewed youthfulness of spirit – It is so easy to feel tired and rundown, depressed and old, especially when we live in such a world as ours has become. Yet this is not God's desire for us. Jesus once told the disciples, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). Children are often innocent, open, honest, filled with wonder, willing to be led, and unconditionally loving. We, too, must strive for this kind of youthfulness, putting aside our worry and cynicism, our anger and anxiety, and allowing ourselves to lean back in our Father's arms in peace.

rejoicing now in the restored glory of our adoption – God has made a covenant with us. He has adopted us as His own children, creating a family bond with us. We entered into this covenant when we were baptized, and we renew it every time we receive the Eucharist. When we fail and break the covenant bond we have with God, He restores it for us by His mercy. He fills us with a share in His glory. He illuminates us with His light. How can we not rejoice?

we may look forward in confident hope to the rejoicing of the day of resurrection – But God isn't finished yet! At the end of time, He will rejoin our risen bodies to the our souls. Hopefully, we will have been waiting in Heaven, confident in God's promises and already enjoying God's infinite love.

The Collect for the Second Sunday of Easter

God of everlasting mercy, Who in the very recurrence of the paschal feast kindle the faith of the people You have made Your own, increase, we pray, the grace You have bestowed, that all may grasp and rightly understand in what font they have been washed, by Whose Spirit they have been reborn, by Whose Blood they have been redeemed. 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.

God of everlasting mercy – On Divine Mercy Sunday, we do well to reflect on the depths of God's mercy. Of course, we can never reach the bottom of these depths. God is infinitely merciful, infinitely loving. When we repent and confess, turning to Him in humility, He forgives us...again and again and again. After all, Jesus told His disciples that they must forgive seven times seventy times (i.e., infinitely). Why would God not do the same?

recurrence of the paschal feast – Many people forget that Easter is not just a single day. Rather, Easter is an entire season, and today we celebrate the Second Sunday of this Easter season. Our Lord's Resurrection is so central to our faith that we continue to commemorate it for weeks. Further, every Sunday of the year may be considered a little Easter as we praise and worship our Lord with gratitude in our hearts for His dying and rising again to save us from our sins.

kindle the faith of the people You have made Your own – Faith is both a human act and a gift from God, but the initiative always lies with God. He gives us faith as a theological virtue, a divine gift. Our faith arises as a response to that gift. Further, God has established a covenant with us through Jesus Christ. We belong to Him. We are His family, His children by adoption. Further, Jesus paid the price for us, for our redemption, with His own blood. How can we not belong fully to our Lord?

increase, we pray, the grace You have bestowed – We are such frail, weak creatures. We are so prone to sins and falls. We need God's grace at every moment, and we must always ask God to send us more of His grace. This kind of prayer shows both gratitude for what He has already given us and a humble awareness of our continuing need for His constant help and support.

that all may grasp and rightly understand in what font they have been washed – How well do we understand the sacrament of Baptism? We would do well to read and meditate on the Catechism paragraphs 1213-1284 to better comprehend the great gift God has given us when He came to dwell within us, filled us with sanctifying grace, and made us members of His family, the Church

by Whose Spirit they have been reborn – The Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Blessed Trinity, is the love between the Father and the Son that is so strong, so intense, that He, too, is a Person. In this Spirit, we receive new life, eternal life. We can begin to live Heaven right now and can look forward to the day in which we fully unite the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in Heaven forever.

by Whose Blood they have been redeemed – Jesus shed every last drop of His precious blood for us. On the cross, He redeemed us from slavery to sin and death. He bought us for Himself. We belong to Him. And this is an infinitely good thing.

The Collect for Easter Sunday

O God, Who on this day, through Your Only Begotten Son, have conquered death and unlocked for us the path to eternity, grant, we pray, that we who keep the solemnity of the Lord's Resurrection may, through the renewal brought by Your Spirit, rise up in the light of life. 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.

have conquered death – Jesus is risen! Death no longer holds Him. He has given His life for us, sacrificed Himself for our sins. But because Jesus is the Only Begotten Son of God the Father, death cannot attain ultimate victory over Him. Jesus is God as well as Man, and He rises up from the dead, conquering death once for all.

unlocked for us the path to eternity – Because of Jesus' resurrection, death can no longer hold us either. Jesus has unlocked the gates of Heaven for us. We will still die a physical death, but then, if we remain in a state of grace, in relationship with God, and when we are purified of the consequences of our sins, our souls will rise to Heaven to be with Him forever. Eternal life will open up before us with all its infinite vistas, and we will see God face to face.

keep the solemnity of the Lord's Resurrection – How do we keep Easter? Has the day become more about Easter baskets and the Easter bunny? Or do we focus on the victory of our Lord and spend at least part of the day in joyful worship? Remember that solemnity and joy are not opposites, but actually go hand in hand as we adore our Risen Savior.

the renewal brought by Your Spirit – The Easter season is a perfect time to drink in the freshness of our faith and to allow the Holy Spirit to renew us with His life-giving love. As we are sprinkled (or drenched, depending on the priest) with Holy Water during our Easter Masses, we should take a moment to ask the Holy Spirit to sprinkle (or even drench) us with His love that we may renew our commitment to and our joy in our Christian faith.

rise up in the light of life – Easter is all about light and new life. At the Easter Vigil, we bask in the light of the Easter candle, which symbolizes the light that our Lord shines into our lives through the forgiveness of sins and the gift of grace poured out on us by His death and Resurrection. That forgiveness and grace bring us new life, life with our Lord forever in Heaven that we can start living right now. Alleluia! He is risen!

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 flesh – What 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.

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 charity – Are 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 (agapē 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 death – Jesus 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.

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 devotion – Devotion 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.

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 lowliness – Humility 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.