Second Sunday of Advent
As we continue into the second week of Advent, the liturgy turns our minds to the foundation of our Christian hope.
As we continue into the second week of Advent, the liturgy turns our minds to the foundation of our Christian hope. The Collect for the First Sunday of Advent sets the tone for the season: penitence, expectation, and redemption. And for this reason, we pray that Collect every day of Advent. However, the Collect for the Second Sunday of Advent focuses on the promises given by Our Lord, the reason for our expectation, and how we grow in the knowledge and love of our Saviour.
Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning; Grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace, and ever hold fast, the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Who liveth.
The first Advent of Our Lord was promised throughout the Old Testament. It was upon these promises and prophecies that the Patriarchs (Abraham being especially notable) had faith in Christ. And like them, it is from all of the Scriptures that we ourselves know Christ, and, having faith in him, we hope and love. Even though we first encounter them by the means of our teachers (parents, priests, catechists, etc.), they all work to bring us closer to the Scriptures, in a right understanding of them. (This relationship between the Scriptures and the Church is treated in-depth in Sacred Scripture & the Authority of the Catholic Church.)
This impacts not only our study but also our entire lives. For our whole lives should be formed by God’s Word, so we should spend our lives dwelling in his Word. For it is by acquaintance with the written Word that we grow closer to the person of the Word. This is seen excellently in the Daily Office. Every Christian is called to offer his morning and evening sacrifice, and the Office—the very prayer of the Church—provides a helpful framework for offering those sacrifices, praying the Psalter, reading the Scriptures, and offering prayers and canticles unto God.
The Epistle for the Mass today emphasises this. We read from Romans,
Whatsoever things were written afore time were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
As we continue our season of expectation by fasting, we are reminded of the importance of understanding more deeply the content of our faith.
History of the Collect
This Collect is original to the 1549 Book of Common Prayer. It is a composition of Cranmer, part of his famous Advent Collects. This Collect, like last week’s, is the fruit of deep reflection on the Scriptures. It is timed well as a reminder, after the first week of fasting, of the foundation of our hope, the reason we fast, and how we should model our lives.
This is in contrast to the Sarum/Roman Collect, which continues the ‘Stir up’ theme:
Stir up, O Lord, our hearts to prepare the way of thy Only Begotten: that by his coming we may be counted worthy to serve thee with purified hearts. Who livest.
It serves as a similar kind of reminder, after our first week of fasting, of the proper disposition we ought to have in Advent. We must prepare ourselves, by continuation in good works generally, to celebrate the first Advent of Our Lord and in waiting for the second Advent of Our Lord.
Finally, it must be noted the different styles of the Collects. It is clear that the Prayer Book Collect is written in English. It reflects English style not only in its emphases but also in its length. This is opposed to the Sarum/Roman Collect which, having been written first in Latin, packs much meaning in a punch, so to say.