As if on cue, for this 15th Sunday after Pentecost, in our traditional Roman calendar, Holy Church presents us with an oration of consolingly plaintive depth. This Collect might be jotted on a scrap of paper and carried about, and prayed, for the foreseeable future: “Ecclesiam tuam, Domine, miseratio continuata mundet et muniat: et quia sine te non potest salva consistere; tuo semper munere gubernetur.”
Speaking of plaintive, take note of those humming m’s. With its glittering facets of phonemes, the sound of the prayer read or, better, sung is superb. It communicates the profound artistry of our ancient faith-filled forebears.
