Collect for Purity

The Collect for Purity is the name traditionally given to the collect prayed near the beginning of the Eucharist in most Anglican rites. It appears in Latin in the 11th-century Leofric missal^[1][2] and was part of the preparation prayers of priests before Mass. Thomas Cranmer translated the prayer into English and from there it has entered almost every Anglican prayer book in the world.

Versions

In the Leofric missal and the later Sarum Rite, the original Latin prayer occurs as one of the prayers said before mass:^[3][4]

Deus cui omne cor patet et omnis voluntas loquitur: et quem nullum latet secretum: purifica per infusionem sancti spiritus cogitationes cordis nostri: ut te perfecte diligere et digne laudare mereamur, per dominum nostrum iesum christum filium tuum qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate eiusdem spiritus sancti deus, per omnia secula seculorum. Amen.

A version appears as the introduction to the 14th Century anonymous contemplative treatise, The Cloud of Unknowing:

God, unto whom alle hertes ben open, and unto whom alle wille spekith, and unto whom no privé thing is hid: I beseche thee so for to clense the entent of myn heart with the unspekable gift of thi grace that I may parfiteliche love thee, and worthilich preise thee. Amen.

Cranmer's translation first appeared in the First Prayer Book of Edward VI (1549), and carried over unchanged (aside from modernisation of spelling) in the Second Prayer Book of Edward VI (1552) and The Book of Common Prayer (1662),^[5][6] and thence to all Anglican prayer books based on The Book of Common Prayer. This translation is still used in many Anglican churches:

Almighty God, unto whom all hearts be open, all desires known, and from whom no secretes are hid: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy holy spirit, that we may perfectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy holy name: through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The 1979 Book of Common Prayer published by The Episcopal Church includes a version in Rite Two with modern wording:

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The 1980 Alternative Service Book published by the Church of England, contains this version in modern English:^[7]

Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The 2015 Divine Worship Missal published by the Vatican for the Personal Ordinariates contains the following version:

Almighty God, unto whom all hearts be open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

References

1. Hatchett, Marion J. (1980). Commentary on the American Prayer Book. The Seabury Press. p. 318.
2. http://liberlocorumcommunium.blogspot.com/2012/12/prayer-before-mass-collect-for-purity.html
3. Sandon N (1990). "Vesting and prayers before mass". The Use of Salisbury: The Ordinary of the Mass (2nd ed.). Newton Abbot, Devon: Antico Church Music. p. 8.
4. Charles Wohlers. "The Sarum Missal: Ordinary of the Mass". Retrieved 2009-01-09.
5. The Book of Common Prayer. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 237.
6. Lynda M. Howell. "The Order of the Administration of the Lord's Supper, or Holy Communion". Retrieved 2009-01-08.
7. Central Board of Finance of the Church of England (1980). "The Order for Holy Communion Rite A". The Alternative Service Book 1980. Beccles: William Clowes. p. 119.