The Collect for Purity has been an
opening prayer in Anglican liturgy since Thomas Cranmer translated it into
English during the time of the Protestant Reformation. The prayer has the classic structure of a Collect: (1) Address- “Almighty God”; (2) Extolling of an attribute of God- “to whom no secrets are hid”; (3) Petition-
“cleanse the thoughts of our hearts”;
(4) So that- “we might…worthily magnify your
holy Name”; (5) In
the name of Jesus- “through Christ our
Lord.”
Although
the confession of sin is at times placed at the beginning of the
service, the Collect for Purity also
acts as a mini-confession as we come into the Lord's presence stating that we are an open book to God with
“secrets” well known to Him. In spite of
our unworthiness, however, we can by God’s grace and Holy Spirit put aside these
sins and obstacles, and truly approach God in worship. How awesome it is that we have a God that is
willing bridge the gap between His holiness and our sin-soaked souls for the
sake of communing with us! Father Rob
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