PRAYER (LITURGY). - Here the term o. is taken in the precise meaning it assumes in the liturgy: the prayer recited by the officiant (bishop or priest) as an interpreter before God of the sentiments of praise, supplication and adoration common to all the faithful, addressed to him in their name.
At first these o. were composed by the officiant himself (Justin, Apol., I, 67); but already in the first centuries several well-composed ones were noted, collected and repeated (e.g., Didache, Euchologion of Serapion, Roman Sacramentaries). Later the o. was specified in the 4 o. of the Mass: the 1st, called the Collect, before the readings; the 2nd, at the Offering of the gifts (Super oblata, Secreta), the 3rd, after Communion (Postcommunio, Ad complendum), the 4th, recited over the people (Super populum), and finally the term o. was restricted especially to the first, the oratio par excellence.
The specific characteristics of the o., especially in the Collect, are: 1) that it is a supplication, reserving praise and thanksgiving to the other eucharistic prayers; this supplication stays on general lines and never descends too much into detail, and when mention is made of the intercession of the saints or of some mystery, this happens solely to support our prayer; 2) a universal supplication: that is, a prayer of all and for all, for a good of the whole community; which is manifested in the subject "we" ("quaesumus", "preces nostras"), in the object ("ut... serviamus", "ut... vivere valeamus"); 3) a supplication absolutely spiritual in its petitions; spiritual and supernatural goods are always asked for ("sic transeamus per bona temporalia, ut non amittamus aeterna" [Third Sunday after Pentecost]).
According to a liturgical principle all the o. are addressed to God, that is, to the Father, interposing the mediation of Christ (I Pt. 4, 11; I Clem., 61; Tertullian, Adv. Marcion., IV, 9). The Council of Hippo, in 393, specifies that "cum altari assistitur, semper ad Patrem dirigatur oratio". In the Roman liturgy almost all the o. are addressed to God the Father, coming from the classic period of the so-called Leonine, Gelasian and Gregorian Sacramentaries (and originally also the o. of Advent); whereas in the Gallican liturgy the o. are often addressed to the Son, placing before the final clause the clause "Salvator mundi". In the Roman Missal, Breviary, Pontifical and Ritual there are about 50 o. addressed to the Son, only one to the Holy Spirit (in the blessing of the abbot), but they are all of medieval or modern origin, that is, later than the 16th century; whereas the Collect and the Postcommunion of the Mass of "Corpus Domini", of the 13th century, constitute the first exceptions. In the characteristic Roman conclusion "Per Dominum..." the two appositions "Filium tuum" and "Deus" were added later, to emphasize the divinity of Christ.
In the literary form of the Collects a simple type and a more complex type are distinguished. The simpler, and also more ancient, type expresses the substantial object either with verbal forms Concede... Da nobis..., Exaudi..., Praesta..., or with a noun designating the grace requested Auxilium..., Gratiam... This type also occurs in the Secreta and in the Postcommunio. Characteristic of the Secreta is to begin the formula with a word alluding to the offering of the gifts. Accepta..., Accipe..., Haec hostia..., Haec oblatio..., Haec sacrificia..., Munera... Similarly the Postcommunio refer to the phrasing of Communion. Haec communio..., Refecti..., Sacramenta..., Sumpta. The schema of the more complex type comprises four parts or subdivisions: a) an address to God, adding attributes to it (omnipotens, sempiterne, Deus) or an entire predicative proposition (Deus qui abundantia pietatis tuae); b) an invocation (Concede..., Praesta..., Respice...), with quaesumus added; c) a petition (ut...); d) the motivation of the petition (Per Dominum...). This more complex type is proper to the Collects, it never occurs in the Secreta or in the Postcommunio. The invocation to God with the predicative addition qui... is used especially on commemorative or feast days either of the Lord or of the Saints. The o. can also be divided into two parts: prelude and theme, or invocation and petition, developed more or less extensively or briefly. The prelude comprises the address with the amplification, that is, the foundation of our petition; the theme contains the petition itself (Prelude: Deus qui nos in tantis periculis... non posse substinere, theme: da nobis... ut... vincamus). The invocation can precede the petition, but also follow it (Excita... Largire...). Other peculiarities of the ancient classic o. are the fitting arrangement of the various members, well proportioned among themselves and enriched with complements, parallelisms and antitheses, and the euphony based on the eurhythmy of the clauses, both incidental and final, on the harmonious successions of words and syllables, that is, in the use of the "cursus". In this way, the Roman Collects show in general a character of sobriety and elegance.
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Pietro Siffrin