Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
This the collect for the 5th Sunday in Lent, and is used as the collect for the week for Morning Prayer at Mission of St. Clare. I have been using the Book of Common Prayer for devotions for over a decade, but now that I attend an Episcopal Church on the weekends, I am now seeing how the Daily Office and Sunday Eucharist are entwined.
The collect that we opened the service with on Sunday is directly connected to the theme of the lessons for the day, which in turn is related to the sermon for the day. When I pray this same collect for the following week I am reminded of both the Word and Table experienced the Sunday before. As the week moves along, I anticipate the scriptures and message on the following Sunday.
I especially like one phrase out of the collect:
“that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found”
In this fast paced world, it is easy to get caught up in the flow of life in the world. We want immediate gratification, and an immediate response from everyone. Our needs easily get confused with our desires, and our expectations of what makes us happy are so much greater than what is truly reasonable.
In this ever changing, ever expanding world, may our hearts be fixed on those things that truly bring joy and bring true satisfaction. May we get caught up in those things that are eternal and everlasting.