What is a Collect?

A collect (’kä-likt or ‘kä-lekt) is a form of prayer unique to the Western Church (liturgically speaking, the Latin Rite and its offshoots). Here is an example that dates back to Leo the Great (A.D. 483):

Almighty and everlasting God, who art always more ready to hear than we to pray, and art wont to give more than either we desire or deserve; Pour down upon us the abundance of thy mercy; forgiving us those things whereof our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask, but through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord. Amen.*

Now that you have some idea of what collects look like, let’s take a closer look at their historical origins, their place in the liturgy, and their form. (This will lay the groundwork for a subsequent post examining the use of collects among the Reformation churches.)