Prayers From the Heart of the Church - A Lenten Devotional

Every Mass begins with an opening prayer called the collect. It is called the collect because the priest is “collecting” the hearts and prayers of the whole congregation into prayer at that moment, with the invitation, “Let us pray.” The collect sets the tone for the entire Mass and gives us a focus for our prayer.

The collects are unique each day of Lent. Each is rich in spiritual theology. They take us deep into the mystery of our relationship with God, our spiritual life, and our Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Over the course of Lent, the collects offer us an intensive course in spiritual theology in the form of short daily prayers. These prayers, drawn from the heart of the Church in the Mass, will become the heart of our Lenten devotional this year. Beginning Ash Wednesday, the collect for that day and an accompanying reflection will be emailed to those who subscribe. (They will also be available on our parish website.) Plunging into these prayers offered from the heart of the Church will give us the chance to go deepthis Lent. And for those who are able to attend daily Mass, the Lenten devotional will serve as a helpful companion as you participate in Mass each day.

Sign up here to receive the daily Lenten devotional emails. Click here to view past devotionals.