Collects of the Roman Missals

Book excerpt: This study examines how the present liturgical texts are like and unlike those used by earlier generations, and therefore how the present generation of Roman Catholics may be different on their account.The precise form that the textual examination takes in each of the proper seasons, etc., depends upon the mix of retained, replaced, and edited collects. In every case, the author works with the Latin originals and the accompanying translations are her own.The entire project has three main steps: to examine each liturgical season to see how the spiritual and theological emphases of its collects have changed; to determine what these changes mean for the year as a whole; to evaluate the effect of the changes on the way that contemporary Catholics experience and live Christian faith. The work is important not simply for a better understanding today's and tomorrow's Catholics, but also for a correct understanding of our present Liturgy and its place in the western liturgical tradition.