The Collect - Trinity 5

The Latin Collect
Da nobis, quaesumus, Domine: ut et mundi cureue pacifice nobis tuo ordine dirigatur; et Ecclesia tua tranquilla devotione laetetur.

The Collect (1549)
GRAUNTE Lorde, wee beseche thee, that the course of thys worlde maye bee so peaceably ordred by thy governaunce, that thy congregacion may joyfully serve thee in all godly quietnes; thoroughe Jesus Christe oure Lorde.

The Collect (1662)
Grant, O Lord, we beseech thee, that the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered by thy governance, that thy Church may joyfully serve thee in all godly quietness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Commentary
Cranmer translated this, pretty much literally, from the Sarum Missal. The collect (originally from the 7th Century Leonine Sacramentary) and its attendant readings were appointed there for this day, but, due to calendar differences, appear in the Tridentine Missal for the 4th after Pentecost. Cranmer’s choice of ‘congregacion’ to translate ‘Ecclesia’ was, perhaps, not the best, seeming to restrict the prayer to the local church only. This was remedied in 1662 by the substitution of ‘Church’.

Meditation
Why are we here? What is the purpose of this world? There are many ways to answer those questions, but what we are led to pray this week is, for the Christian, at the heart of them all. We are here to serve God. The world exists as a place for that to occur. We pray for peace, not necessarily the kind of peace that makes us comfortable, not necessarily the kind of peace that brings earthly comfort to others. Both of these are good, but they are secondary goods. We pray for peace under God’s governance, and chiefly that the Church might be free to serve Him with inner quietness and with joy. What a marvelous and mindbending prayer this is, deceptively simple words, but words that, if we truly pray them, will redirect our thoughts and our attention for eternity.

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