The word Collect is a Latin term (collecta, “to gather”) that comes to us from the Christian liturgy established in Roman Gaul (France) by the 5th century AD. It is a collection of petitions spoken by the pastor as one prayer to the Lord on behalf of the collected members of the Church. This is noted by the summons, “Let us pray,” before the prayer and the united “amen” at the end.

The structure of Collect of the Day follows a pattern of prayer similar to that of the blessing known to and used by Jesus in the synagogue liturgy of the Jewish community.

The Collect of the Day prepares the congregation to receive the special Word of the day that is about to be read. The collects are ancient. Most of them have been prayed by Christ’s Church for more than twelve hundred years! (Philippians 4:6; Ecclesiastes 5:1-3).