The Collect for Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter is:
“Graciously grant to your Church, O merciful God, that, gathered by the Holy Spirit, she may be devoted to you with all her heart and united in purity of intent. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.”
Reflection
As we draw closer to Pentecost, our prayer increasingly focuses on receiving the Holy Spirit. This is a wonderful echo of the way the Apostles and Mary prayed and waited for the first Pentecost. So, today’s theme focuses on the unity that the Spirit seeks to bring about. That unity comes not from a mere accident of location, but from the deepest part of human beings, their hearts. The kind of unity Christ desires for His church comes from pure intentions. The purity we’re praying for is not a reference to sexual purity, but purity as in not mixed. The Church earnestly desires and prays that our intentions, as well as the thoughts and feelings of our hearts, are completely focused on the mission of Christ.
So, for your daily contribution to the Church’s collection of prayer,
Reflect on your intentions. What motivates you? What captivates your heart most? We are often untamed and filled with mixed motives. Therefore, pray especially that the Holy Spirit change your heart and purify your intentions. Pray that you can work with Him in building up the unity of the Church. Then spiritually unite that prayer to all the Masses throughout the world today. That way, when the priest says “Let us pray,” you can be a part of that “us” even if you don’t get to attend Mass.