Attaining the Joys of Salvation
Collect
O God, who see how your people faithfully await the feast of the Lord’s Nativity, enable us, we pray, to attain the joys of so great a salvation and to celebrate them always with solemn worship and glad rejoicing.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
Embracing the Splendor of Our Salvation
Today’s Mass Collect is such a simple, beautiful prayer that is asking God to grant us the joy of “so great a salvation” and to worship Him with reverence and gladness.
My heart is drawn to Titus 2:11-14 when I pray this Collect:
For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men, training us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions, and to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world, awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.
The purpose of God’s grace is not only to cleanse us of all unrighteousness but live a more holy and moral life. We can attain the joys in this life by giving God His proper worship and realizing that we have been rescued from the bondage of sin. As Paul reminds us in Ephesians 1:7—"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace […].” By the very nature of our adoption as sons and daughters of God, we can live in union with Jesus and come to a deeper understanding of joy we have received from this shared divine life.
A Prayer From the Liturgy of the Hours
Morning Prayer
Lord God, may we, your people, who look forward to the birthday of Christ experience the joy of salvation and celebrate that feast with love and thanksgiving. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.