2nd Week of Advent: Friday

Here is the Collect for the 2nd Week of Advent.

This prayer was in the ancient Gelasian Sacramentary but not in any edition of the Missale Romanum before the Novus Ordo.

COLLECT:
Concede, quaesumus, omnipotens Deus, plebi tuae
adventum Unigeniti tui cum summa vigilantia expectare,
ut, sicut ipse docuit auctor nostrae salutis,
accensis lampadibus in eius occursum
vigilantes properemus.

LITERAL VERSION:
Almighty God, we beseech You, grant it to Your people
to await the Coming of Your Only-Begotten with the greatest vigilance,
so that, just as the author of our salvation Himself instructed,
we may wide awake rush with lighted lamps to meet Him in His approach.

Here in the Northern climes the days at The Sabine Farm are very short and darkeness is profound.  A little light is visible for miles as a stark rebuke to the darkness and it draws every eye, friendly or unfriendly. 

When the Lord comes, will He find faith?  Will He find those who profess His Name to be waiting or will they be drifting and inattentive. 

As the days of Advent fly onward, we have more and more the image of a people rushing, running, dashing to meet the Lord.  I see us diligently sweeping the path, moving obstacles lest His feet ("how beautiful the feet") by offended.  We do our part knowing full well that the Lord Himself will straighten all that we have not.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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2 Comments

  1. Brian H. says:

    Father, is there any place where one could track down an annoted Missal with the sources for the collects and other prayers? I think the gerneral (mis)impression is that they were all made up by a committee in the 70’s, and having the sources listed would be a useful corrective. Any chance the new translations ICEL will list the sources as well? It would be nice to have the referfence in the pews with the missalettes

  2. Geoffrey says:

    I agree. I am always fascinated finding out many of these prayers are older than we think! Thank you, Father!

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