Rev. Brian Dinkel, IVEPastor · Our Lady of Peace

From the Pastor's Desk

Dear Friends,

The high point or the climax of the introductory rights is the Collect. The very name comes from the idea of what is going on, "to gather up the prayers". All who have come together in the gathering and in Introductory Rites have brought their petitions and intentions to the Lord. This is a moment in which the priest "collects" or "gathers them". This means that as the moment of silence that precedes the Collect prayer itself, the faithful would do well to realize that they are in God's presence and bring to him, silently, their petitions.

As one Liturgical source puts it, "The very function of summing up prevents the content of the Collect Prayer from being more than general in nature. The important thing here is that the community appears before God by virtue of the very fact that the priest, acting as its mouthpiece, humbly and reverently directs the petition toward God. (Cf., Josef Jungmann, Missarum Solemnia)

Now, just to be sure, the moment of the Mass and the prayer that we are referring to here is just after the Kyrie or when there is a Gloria. The prayer that is said just before the readings from Scripture.

Here is further explanation on this moment from our Office of Worship:

The Introductory Rites conclude with the Collect, also called the Opening Prayer. After a brief moment of silence, a time for us to gather our personal intentions, the priest prays on behalf of the entire assembly, collecting all our prayers into one, a reminder that we are not isolated individuals. As one, unified body, our prayers rise together to the Father. But there is something else important about the Collect: it changes throughout the year. The prayers reflect the liturgical season. During the Easter season, the prayers proclaim Christ's resurrection and our new life in Him. During Advent, they help us prepare for His coming. In Lent, they call us to conversion. In Ordinary Time, the prayers guide us in living out our baptismal call day by day.

This is the beauty of the Liturgical Year, it forms a divine rhythm—Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, Ordinary Time—that mirrors the seasons of nature and our own lives. Times

of preparation. Times of celebration. Times of beginnings, growth, death, and resurrection. Notice, too, how the Gloria disappears during Advent and Lent, seasons of waiting and penance. Then it returns on Christmas and Easter with even greater joy. The liturgical year teaches us to trust God's timing, knowing He is present in every season of our lives. Over these past weeks, we have journeyed together through the opening moments of the Mass. We have learned that our participation matters, that music is prayer, and that unity in worship strengthens our mission. When we come to Mass with humility, honesty, and trust in the Lord, we open ourselves to God's transformative grace, and we are sent forth by God, having been renewed, ready to bring Christ's love to the world.

As we continue our liturgical renewal, let us always remember what we have learned about those early moments of the Mass. Let the mystery of Christ's action in gathering his people take root in your heart. We might be tempted to rush through familiar words and gestures, but if we pause, we see they are the liturgy's first moments of encounter—pointing us toward the greatest encounter of the Mass: Christ in the Eucharist. All of us were chosen to be there on that day, for a reason: Christ has something he wants to tell each of us personally. May we be renewed, truly Renewed at the Table of the Lord, now and always.

Let us continue to grow in our renewed understanding and love for the Holy Mass--uniting our efforts and prayers to the work of spiritual renewal here in our Diocese.

Mary, Our Lady of Peace, pray for us,

Fr. Brian