We expect the Christmas Collects to celebrate the birth of Jesus, and they do. But they also surprise us by repeatedly applying the birth of Christ to the life of the Christian believer. Because he is light, we can know light. Because he was born, we can be born again. Because he shared the life…
Illumine the World: Reflections on the Midday Collects
The ordering for Midday Prayer can serve as a great way to refocus on something other than our own problems and to work on bending ourselves back out instead of staying bent in.
The History of the Lent Collects
The theme of the Lent collects is human sinfulness and our need for God. We โacknowledge our wretchedness.โ We are โtempted,โ and our resistance is โweak.โ We have โno power in ourselves to help ourselves.โ We have โdisordered affectionsโ and โunruly wills.โ And so, what we need above all is โnew and contrite hearts,โ for…