Collect for Whitsunday (1928 BCP)
Collect for Whitsunday (1928 BCP) is the collect appointed for Pentecost, commonly called Whitsunday, in the 1928 American Book of Common Prayer. It prays the feast as the promised gift of the Holy Ghost: God teaches the hearts of his faithful people, gives right judgment by the same Spirit, and makes the Church rejoice in holy comfort through the merits of Christ Jesus. The collect is therefore not a general prayer for religious feeling. It gathers Pentecost into illumination, discernment, comfort, Christ's mediation, and Trinitarian worship.
Text of the Collect
O GOD, who as at this time didst teach the hearts of thy faithful people, by sending to them the light of thy Holy Spirit; Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.
The opening address looks back to Pentecost as a divine act of teaching. "As at this time" does not merely date the prayer; it identifies the present feast with the biblical event remembered in the appointed Epistle. "Teach the hearts" makes the Spirit's work inward, but not private or anti-intellectual. The petition for "right judgment in all things" asks that the same Spirit who illumined the apostolic Church would govern Christian discernment now. "Holy comfort" is also more than consolation in distress: in the appointed Gospel, the Comforter teaches, recalls Christ's words, and gives Christ's peace.
Appointed Scripture
The Epistle gives the collect its narrative ground. The Spirit comes upon the gathered disciples with visible and audible signs, and the first effect is public witness: many nations hear the wonderful works of God.
WHEN the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
This explains why the collect asks for light and judgment rather than spectacle. Acts 2 does not leave the Church gazing at the signs; the signs serve intelligible proclamation. The light of the Holy Spirit makes the apostles speak so that the nations hear. In Prayer Book use, the same logic turns Pentecost into a petition for faithful judgment, ordered speech, and missionary witness.
The Gospel supplies the collect's language of comfort. Christ promises another Comforter, identifies him as the Spirit of truth, and connects his coming with obedience, remembrance, and peace.
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.
The collect's clauses follow that Gospel closely. The Spirit teaches; therefore the Church asks for right judgment. The Spirit is the Comforter; therefore the Church asks to rejoice in holy comfort. The Father sends the Spirit in Christ's name; therefore the collect concludes through the merits of Christ Jesus and confesses Father, Son, and Spirit in the unity of one God.
Liturgical Setting
The 1928 propers direct the Whitsunday collect to be used throughout Whitsun Week. That repetition matters: Pentecost is prayed as a feast with continuing pastoral and doctrinal force, not only as the memory of one Sunday.
This Collect is to be said daily throughout Whitsun Week.
The Daily Office marks the same feast at the beginning of Morning Prayer. The sentences name both witness and adoption: the Holy Ghost gives power for testimony to the ends of the earth, and the Spirit of the Son teaches the faithful to cry, "Abba, Father."
Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
The seasonal Venite antiphon carries the collect's "light of thy Holy Spirit" into direct adoration. The faithful do not adore spiritual experience; they adore the Lord whose Spirit fills the world.
On Whitsunday and six days after. - Alleluia. The Spirit of the Lord filleth the world : O come, let us adore him. Alleluia.
At Holy Communion, the Proper Preface for Whitsuntide expands the same theology eucharistically. It interprets Pentecost as fulfilment of Christ's promise, apostolic teaching, mission to the nations, and deliverance from darkness and error into true knowledge of the Father and the Son.
THROUGH Jesus Christ our Lord; according to whose most true promise, the Holy Ghost came down as at this time from heaven, lighting upon the Apostles, to teach them, and to lead them into all truth; giving them boldness with fervent zeal constantly to preach the Gospel unto all nations; whereby we have been brought out of darkness and error into the clear light and true knowledge of thee, and of thy Son Jesus Christ.
This preface confirms the collect's doctrinal balance. Pentecost is illumination, but the light has content: the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ. Pentecost is comfort, but the comfort gives apostolic boldness. Pentecost is inward, but it bears public fruit in preaching the Gospel unto all nations.
Historical and Theological Notes
Francis Procter and Walter Howard Frere place Whitsuntide in relation to the Jewish Pentecost and the Christian Passover. Their account explains why the 1928 BCP can call the day both Pentecost and Whitsunday while centering the collect on the gift of the Holy Ghost to the Church.
The festival of Whitsuntide corresponds with the Jewish feast of Pentecost. That commemorated the delivery of the Law on Mount Sinai, fifty days after the Passover; and after the same interval from the true Passover when Christ was offered for us, the Holy Ghost was given to the Christian Church.
Procter and Frere also identify the collect as part of the old offices and preserve the Latin source form. The Latin makes clear the old collect's movement: the Spirit illumines the hearts of the faithful, so the Church asks to think or savour rightly in the same Spirit and rejoice in his consolation.
Deus, qui hodierna die corda fidelium Sancti Spiritus illustratione docuisti: da nobis in eodem Spiritu recta sapere, et de ejus semper consolatione gaudere.
Their historical explanation also guards the collect from a narrow reading. The Prayer Book gives Whitsunday proper psalms, lessons, collect, Epistle, Gospel, Daily Office markings, and eucharistic preface. The collect is brief because it stands inside that wider liturgical exposition of Pentecost.
The first Lessons contain the law of the Jewish Pentecost, and a prophecy of the conversion of Jews and Gentiles through the ministration of the Spirit of God; and from the New Testament we read our Lord's promise of this gift, its fulfilment, and the manner of life of those who are led by the Spirit.
Percy Dearmer's survey of Prayer Book worship identifies Whitsunday with the principal festivals marked by Proper Prefaces at Holy Communion. This supports the 1928 pattern: the collect belongs to one of the Great Festivals and is interpreted within the eucharistic thanksgiving itself.
Some special days are further marked out. The Great Festivals (Christmas, Easter, Ascension, Whitsunday, Trinity Sunday) have Proper Prefaces at Holy Communion.
Clause-by-Clause Reading
The collect begins with God's past act: "who as at this time didst teach the hearts of thy faithful people." Pentecost is grace before it is response. The faithful are taught because God sends the Spirit.
The petition then asks for "a right judgment in all things." In context, this judgment is not mere prudence. Acts 2 shows Spirit-given speech about the wonderful works of God; John 14 names the Spirit of truth who teaches Christ's words; the Proper Preface speaks of being led into all truth. Right judgment is therefore ecclesial, scriptural, and Christ-centered discernment.
"Evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort" joins truth to consolation. The Comforter does not replace Christ, but brings Christ's word, peace, and presence to remembrance. The collect's comfort is holy because it is governed by truth, obedience, and communion with the Father and the Son.
The conclusion, "through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour," keeps Pentecost within the economy of salvation. The Spirit is sent by the Father in Christ's name, and the benefits asked in the collect are received through Christ's merits. The final doxology, "in the unity of the same Spirit, one God," makes the prayer explicitly Trinitarian.
Use in Worship and Teaching
For parish worship, the Collect for Whitsunday is a compact doctrine of Pentecost. It teaches the faithful to ask for illumination without enthusiasm detached from truth, for judgment without cold rationalism, and for comfort without sentimentality. It also connects the feast directly to the Church's mission: the Spirit teaches hearts, gives speech to witnesses, forms obedience to Christ's commandments, and leads the Church from darkness and error into the clear knowledge of God.
Because the 1928 BCP orders this collect to be said daily throughout Whitsun Week, it can be used devotionally as a week-long prayer for discernment. Its structure is especially useful in catechesis: God sends the Spirit; the Spirit gives light; the Church asks for right judgment; comfort is found in the Spirit's holy work; and all is received through Christ Jesus our Saviour in the unity of the one God.
See Also
- Book of Common Prayer (1928)
- Collects Epistles and Gospels (1928 BCP)
- Church Calendar (1928 BCP)
- Holy Communion (1928 BCP)
- Whitsuntide in the 1928 BCP
- Trinity Sunday
References
- ↑ Episcopal Church, The Book of Common Prayer (New York: Church Pension Fund, 1928), the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, "Collects, Epistles, and Gospels," "Whitsuntide. Pentecost, commonly called Whitsunday," Collect for Whitsunday; wording compared with local source
sources/justuspropers/ReadingsC.htm, lines 200-218, and extracted 1928 Standard Book PDF text intmp/revision-research/whitsuntide-in-the-1928-bcp/1928-propers-whitsun-pypdf.txt, PDF pages 46-47. 1928 Common Prayer, "The 1928 Book of Common Prayer: The Standard Book" facsimile. - ↑ Episcopal Church, The Book of Common Prayer (1928), "Collects, Epistles, and Gospels," "Whitsunday," Epistle, Acts ii. 1; wording checked against
sources/justuspropers/ReadingsC.htm, lines 221-242, and extracted 1928 Standard Book PDF text, PDF page 47. 1928 Common Prayer, "The 1928 Book of Common Prayer: The Standard Book" facsimile. - ↑ Episcopal Church, The Book of Common Prayer (1928), "Collects, Epistles, and Gospels," "Whitsunday," Gospel, St. John xiv. 15; wording checked against
sources/justuspropers/ReadingsC.htm, lines 243-273, and extracted 1928 Standard Book PDF text, PDF page 47. 1928 Common Prayer, "The 1928 Book of Common Prayer: The Standard Book" facsimile. - ↑ Episcopal Church, The Book of Common Prayer (1928), "Collects, Epistles, and Gospels," rubric after the Collect for Whitsunday; wording checked against
sources/justuspropers/ReadingsC.htm, lines 200-218, and extracted 1928 Standard Book PDF text, PDF page 47. 1928 Common Prayer, "The 1928 Book of Common Prayer: The Standard Book" facsimile. - ↑ Episcopal Church, The Book of Common Prayer (1928), Morning Prayer, Whitsunday opening sentences from Acts i. 8 and Galatians iv. 6; wording checked against local source
sources/justus1928/MP.htm, lines 143-150. 1928 Common Prayer, "The 1928 Book of Common Prayer: The Standard Book" facsimile. - ↑ Episcopal Church, The Book of Common Prayer (1928), Morning Prayer, seasonal Venite antiphon for Whitsunday and six days after; wording checked against local source
sources/justus1928/MP.htm, lines 329-331. 1928 Common Prayer, "The 1928 Book of Common Prayer: The Standard Book" facsimile. - ↑ Episcopal Church, The Book of Common Prayer (1928), Holy Communion, Proper Preface for Whitsuntide, "Upon the Feast of Whitsunday, and six days after"; wording checked against local source
sources/justus1928/HC.htm, lines 514-524. 1928 Common Prayer, "The 1928 Book of Common Prayer: The Standard Book" facsimile. - ↑ Francis Procter and Walter Howard Frere, A New History of the Book of Common Prayer, with a Rationale of Its Offices, revised edition (London: Macmillan and Co., 1907), p. 546, chapter XIII, "Collects, Epistles, and Gospels"; wording checked against downloaded Internet Archive OCR text
tmp/revision-research/collect-for-whitsunday/procter-frere-1907-djvu.txt, lines 47494-47501. Internet Archive, A new history of the Book of common prayer, with a rationale of its offices (1907). - ↑ Francis Procter and Walter Howard Frere, A New History of the Book of Common Prayer, revised edition (London: Macmillan and Co., 1907), p. 546 n. 55; the authors note that this collect was in the English Primer in the fourteenth century and that "as at this time" replaced "as upon this day" in 1661. Wording checked against downloaded Internet Archive OCR text
tmp/revision-research/collect-for-whitsunday/procter-frere-1907-djvu.txt, lines 47625-47630, with line-wrap normalization. Internet Archive, A new history of the Book of common prayer, with a rationale of its offices (1907). - ↑ Francis Procter and Walter Howard Frere, A New History of the Book of Common Prayer, revised edition (London: Macmillan and Co., 1907), pp. 546-547, chapter XIII; wording checked against downloaded Internet Archive OCR text
tmp/revision-research/collect-for-whitsunday/procter-frere-1907-djvu.txt, lines 47594-47604. Internet Archive, A new history of the Book of common prayer, with a rationale of its offices (1907). - ↑ Percy Dearmer, The Prayer Book: What It Is and How We Should Use It, Churchman's Penny Library No. 4 (London: A. R. Mowbray & Co. Ltd., 1907), p. 31, "The Ideal Before Us"; wording checked against
tmp/revision-research/whitsuntide-in-the-1928-bcp/dearmer-1907.html, lines 238-253; Project Canterbury transcription, The Prayer Book, by Percy Dearmer.