It’s a pretty common practice to say routinely the collect for the previous Sunday every day, whether at matins or vespers, or at mass, or in one’s personal prayers.

At St. Paul’s we employ the “Michaelmas skip,” following the Gottesdienst calendar, so if you aren’t doing that, you may not use this particular collect for a couple weeks, or maybe not at all this year, but really it’s worthy of use any time. We also use The Lutheran Hymnal, with its crusty old Jacobean language, though if you’re like me, you might still find that language beautiful. Anyhow, here’s the collect, for Trinity XX:

Grant, we beseech Thee, merciful Lord, to Thy faithful people pardon and peace, that they may be cleansed from all their sins and serve Thee with a quiet mind; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Today I was struck by the phrase “serve Thee with a quiet mind.” And I found it especially helpful during these unseemly times. As we all know, 2020 has been an exceptionally difficult year in many ways. First the pandemic struck, then it became politicized. Then the riots came, and they, too, became politicized, or rather, became recognizable as having been political from the beginning. Cancel culture has been roaring across the land. The media are largely complicit, with most of their reporting having become wildly partisan and shockingly dishonest. And we’re in a heated election season to boot.

I find myself frequently fretting over what might become of this country. And I shouldn’t, I know. I pray for our nation and for our churches, and remember, then, that there is one thing needful. And what I really need, and what everyone needs, is to be cleansed from all their sins, and serve their merciful Lord with a quiet mind.