Collect taken from the Fifth Sunday of Easter.
Collect: Almighty ever-living God, constantly accomplish the Paschal Mystery within us, that those you were pleased to make new in Holy Baptism may, under your protective care, bear much fruit and come to the joys of life eternal. Through our Lord Jesus Christ…
“Almighty ever-living God, constantly accomplish the Paschal Mystery within us,“
– Note that this is not a description but a request; We are asking God to continue to accomplish the Paschal Mystery within us. Although Christ died and rose once for all we each must go through the process of having that mystery take root us. It is the ongoing process of salvation, sanctification, and glorification.
“that those you were pleased to make new in Holy Baptism may, under your protective care, bear much fruit and come to the joys of life eternal.”
– Baptism accomplished the Paschal Mystery in us, but we need God’s protection for that mystery to grow and bear fruit. So, we ask for exactly that. Ultimately, the fruit we desire most is eternal Joy with God in heaven.
Questions & Advice: Have you stopped allowing the Paschal Mystery to be accomplished in you? Have you ever fallen into a “once saved, always saved” mentality? Do you seek to bear fruit as a baptized Christian, or are you concerned only with survival and the bare minimum?
Learn a little more about justification. Spend some of your daily prayer time reflecting on the ways that the Paschal Mystery has had an effect in your life. Ask God for the grace to continue bearing fruit, even it it’s invisible to you.
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| An ancient baptistery |