The Opening Prayer is traditionally called the “Collect” because it serves to “collect” all the prayers of the gathered assembly into the one prayer of the Church. This serves as the climax of the gathering rites. We’ve begun liturgy by ritual action, dialogs and songs that are meant to create a sense of unity. Now, this unity in prayer is expressed in the Collect.

On a typical Sunday, the gathering rites include the Procession, Sign of the Cross and Greeting, Penitential Act and Gloria (outside of Advent and Lent). All of this leads to and is concluded by the Collect. Sometimes, however, there are special rituals that replace the usual gathering rites. When the baptism of infants is celebrated, the assembly gathers by welcoming the infant and his or her family. The presider, representing the gathered assembly, traces the sign of the cross on the infant’s forehead. On days like Palm Sunday, the Opening Procession is extended and includes a commemoration of the Lord’s entrance into Jerusalem. Regardless of the ritual we use to gather, these gathering rites always conclude with the Collect. The expression of unity in prayer is important in our liturgy.

These prayers roughly follow a certain structure which can be summed up in four words: YOU, WHO, DO, THROUGH. The Collect begins by addressing God (YOU). It continues by acknowledging something God has done or a characteristic of God (WHO). Then, there is a petition – we ask God to DO something. Finally, we recognize that our prayer is always through Christ and with the help of the Holy Spirit (THROUGH).

The response, “Amen” is our acknowledgment of the prayer of the presider. Through the “Amen” we make the Church’s prayer our own. Here’s an example (from the Third Sunday of Advent): “O God (YOU), who see how your people faithfully await the feast of the Lord’s Nativity (WHO), enable us, we pray, to attain the joys of so great a salvation and to celebrate them always with solemn worship and glad rejoicing (DO). 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” (THROUGH).

We now listen to the Word of God proclaimed in scripture and are nourished at the table of the Lord in the Eucharist not as individuals or even as members of just any community but as members of the Body of Christ.

– Josh Perry is director of the Office of Worship for the Diocese of Burlington.