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E SACRIFICE OF THE MASS

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46<br />

<strong>THE</strong> COLLECT.<br />

arms on the Cross. Certain Religious Orders in<br />

portions of the Mass extend their arms almost to their<br />

full length. It should be remembered, however, that<br />

the Church adopts customs already existing, makes<br />

them her own, and consecrates them to the service<br />

of God. Her vestments are taken from the ordinary<br />

garments in use during the earliest existence, her Basilicas<br />

stage of her<br />

are the Roman Courts of<br />

Justice, and the method of praying with outstretched<br />

arms was and is still prevalent in the East, and<br />

to this day is seen amongst the poor in Ireland. The<br />

frescoes in the Catacombs represent saints of both<br />

sexes praying with arms outstretched. In the i4oth<br />

Psalm we read, &quot;The lifting up of my hands as an<br />

evening sacrifice,&quot; while St. Paul bids Timothy<br />

(i Tim. ii. 8) to pray, lifting up holy hands.<br />

The word Collect has been explained in various<br />

ways. One simple explanation<br />

is that the Collect<br />

gathers, collects together in the mouth of the priest<br />

the wants and wishes of the faithful, for whom the<br />

priest at Mass pleads.<br />

Many of the Collects now said were composed by<br />

St. Gelasius (492) or St. Gregory (590), while many are<br />

of a later date, and are continually added for new<br />

feasts.<br />

Almost all the Collects are addressed to the Father<br />

and end with the words,<br />

&quot;<br />

through our Lord Jesus<br />

Christ,&quot; &c. ; only a few, and these of recent date, are<br />

addressed to the Son, and none to the Holy Ghost.<br />

Why are the Collects chiefly addressed to the Father ?<br />

Because the Mass represents the Sacrifice by which<br />

Christ offered Himself to the Father, and therefore<br />

the prayers of the Liturgy are directed to the Father<br />

Himself.

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