Let us pray (in silence) [with joy and hope as we await the dawning of God’s brightness]
pause
God,
you have made this most holy night
radiant with the splendour of the true light,
may we who even now obscurely share the mystery of your light
come to enjoy your light in fullness,
who is alive with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God now and for ever.
Amen.
The above is my reworking of the collect shared by Roman Catholics and Episcopalians/Anglicans. I am very happy to receive comments and also suggestions for improvement. The process of producing such a reworking is always a wonderful mulling over and over and over. The process has value – even though I acknowledge the product may be able to be improved. I have struggled more than most on this particular reworking, and will see how it wears.
The original was
Deus, qui hanc sacratissimam noctem veri luminis
fecisti illustratione clarescere,
da, quaesumus, ut, cuius in terra mysteria lucis agnovimus, eius quoque gaudiis perfruamur in caelo.
Qui tecum…
This collect originates in the Gelasian Sacramentary for the Vigil Mass of Christmas (#5) and the Gregorian Sacramentary for the stational Mass of Midnight at St Mary Major (#36) and is used in the Sarum Missal for the Christmas Mass at Cockcrow (iv Missa in gallicantu). It is an early reminder of the Christian rivalry with solstice celebrations. There is also an echo of the ancient association of Christmas and Epiphany.
Common Worship (CofE) has it
Eternal God,who made this most holy night
to shine with the brightness of your one true light:
bring us, who have known the revelation of that light on earth,
to see the radiance of your heavenly glory;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
BCP (TEC) has
O God,
you have caused this holy night to shine with the brightness of the true Light:
Grant that we, who have known the mystery of that Light on earth,
may also enjoy him perfectly in heaven;
where with you and the Holy Spirit
he lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting.
Amen.
Roman Catholics have it as
O God,
who have made this most sacred night radiant with the splendour of the true Light,
grant, we pray, that we who have known
the mysteries of his light on earth
may also delight in his gladness in heaven. Who lives and reigns with you…
