Ordinary Form·Introductory Rites
The Collect
The priest 'collects' the prayers of the people into one opening prayer.
What happens
The priest invites the people to pray with the words 'Let us pray.' All pray silently for a brief time, after which the priest, with hands extended, says the proper to the day. The people make the prayer their own by the acclamation '.'
Why it happens
Through the the character of the celebration is expressed; the priest's prayer, gathering up the silent petitions of the faithful, is addressed to God the Father, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit, and concludes with a Trinitarian ending.
Sources
- GIRM §54
- Order of Mass n. 9