Collect taken from Tuesday of the fourth week of Easter.
Collect: Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, celebrating the mysteries of the Lord’s Resurrection, we may merit to receive the joy of our redemption. Through our Lord Jesus Christ…
“Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, celebrating the mysteries of the Lord’s Resurrection“
– We invoke God’s help as always, but notice that it is a prayer which presumes some action on our part. We pray for God to make fruitful our efforts to celebrate the mysteries of the Lord’s resurrection. And we must not overlook the use of the word “mystery.” The resurrection is not merely a fact we know, but a mystery we encounter and gradually come to know in a way that is very similar to how we come to know a person but can never adequately sum them up.
“we may merit to receive the joy of our redemption.”
– The word “merit” is greatly disliked among our separated brethren and even by some within the Church. Previous translations avoided the word altogether. Nonetheless, it is a central part of the faith. It should not be a scandal because this whole prayer is asking God to grant us that merit and in no way gives us the credit or power to save ourselves.
Questions & Advice: Do you overlook the word “mystery?” How have you allowed the faith to be an encounter rather than a list of facts? Do you understand Church teaching on merit? Do you shy away from merit? Are you zealous in obtaining merit?
Learn more about mystery or merit. Spend some of your daily prayer time asking God to help you respond to his mysteries with sincerity. Learn about the ways that God enables us to merit more grace and evaluate the ways you can more consciously strive for merit in your daily life. As always, this must be done in humility.
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| Ancient Mosaic of Paschal Candle |