ORATION (LITURGY). — Here the term o. is taken in the precise sense that, in the liturgy, it assumes as the prayer recited by the officiant (bishop or priest), as interpreter before God of the sentiments of praise, supplication, and adoration common to all the faithful and addressed to him in their name.
At first, these o. were composed by the officiant himself (Giustino, Apol., I, 67); but already in the early centuries several well-composed ones were noted down, collected, and repeated (e.g., Didaché, Eucologion di Serapione, Sacramentari romani). Subsequently the o. became differentiated into the four o. of the Mass: the first, called the Collect, before the readings; the second, at the Offering of the gifts (Super oblata, Secreta); the third, after Communion (Postcommunio, Ad complendum); the fourth, recited over the people (Super populum); finally, the term o. came to be restricted especially to the first, the oration par excellence.
The specific characteristics of the o., especially in the Collect, are: 1) that it is a supplication, reserving praise and thanksgiving for the other Eucharistic o.; this supplication remains general and never descends into excessive detail, and when the intercession of the saints or some mystery is mentioned, this occurs solely in order to support our prayer; 2) a universal supplication: that is, an o. of all and for all, for the good of the entire community; this is manifested in the subject “we” (“quaesumus,” “preces nostras”), and in the object (“ut... serviamus,” “ut... vivere valeamus”); 3) a supplication that is absolutely spiritual in its petitions; spiritual and supernatural goods are always requested (“sic transeamus per bona temporalia, ut non amittamus aeterna” [3rd Sunday after Pentecost).
According to a liturgical principle, all the o. are
In the literary form of the Collects, a simple type and a more complex type may be distinguished. The simplest, and also the oldest, type expresses the substantial object either through verbal forms—Concede... Da nobis..., Exaudi..., Praesta...—or through a noun designating the grace requested—Auxilium..., Gratiam... This type also occurs in the Secreta and the Postcommunion. Characteristic of the Secreta is the beginning of the formula with a word alluding to the offering of the gifts: Accepta..., Accipe..., Haec hostia..., Haec oblatio..., Haec sacrificia..., Munera... Similarly, the Postcommunions employ the vocabulary of Communion: Haec communio..., Refecti..., Sacramenta..., Sumpta. The structure of the more complex type comprises four parts or subdivisions: a) an address to God, with attributes appended to it (omnipotens, sempiterne, Deus) or an entire predicative clause (Deus qui abundantia pietatis tuae); b) an invocation (Concede..., Praesta..., Respice...), with quaesumus added; c) a petition (ut...); d) the motivation for the petition (Per Dominum...). This more complex type is proper to the Collects and never occurs in the Secreta or the Postcommunions. The invocation of God with the predicative addition qui... is used especially on commemorative or festal days, both of the Lord and of the Saints.
The oration may also be divided into two parts: prelude and theme, or invocation and petition, developed at greater or lesser length. The prelude comprises the address together with its amplification, that is, the basis 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 may precede the petition, but may also follow it (Excita... Largire...). Other features of the ancient classical orations are the appropriate 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, and on the harmonious sequences of words and syllables, that is, on the use of the «cursus». In this way, the Roman Collects generally display a character of sobriety and elegance.