There are two questions to ask yourself as we study the prayer this week: What am I asking for and why do I want it? This week, we Lectio the Liturgy with the Collect for the Thirty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time.

Grant us, we pray, O Lord our God, the constant gladness of being devoted to you, for it is full and lasting happiness to serve with constancy the author of all that is good. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

When we ask God to “grant,” we have already given him approval to do something. In this prayer, we ask for the constant gladness of our devotion to Him. The level of devotion that is found in this phrase can be found in a famous quote. My version is slightly modified from President John F. Kennedy, “Ask not what God can do for you, ask what you can do for God.” When we truly love someone, we don’t look for what they can do for us, instead, we look for what we can do for them. It is the same with God. It is true that we need to go to God with our needs, but we also need to remember that our relationship with God is not all take, we need to give.

Constant devotion to God is waking up in the morning and asking Him what you can do for Him today. It is looking for someone who needs your help in your community. or in your parish, or in your home. We should also remember that God may want to answer someone else’s prayer through us.

As God, Jesus fed the hungry, healed the sick, and raised the dead. He still does those things, but He doesn’t do them because of who He is, he does them because of who we are, we are his beloved.

Why do we want the constant gladness of being devoted? To fulfill our desire for full and lasting happiness.

How would you define happiness? It may surprise some people that happiness is not found at the end of a search. Nor can it be purchased. Happiness comes from just the opposite.

In the Latin form of the prayer, for the word happiness, we find the word felicitas. The root meaning of the word means to bear fruit, or to be productive. Bearing fruit for others shows up in a variety of ways: mailing greeting cards, leading a bible study or prayer group, finding and ministering through a ministry at your parish, visiting the sick, the possibilities are endless and will always be life-giving. But remember, when we bear fruit for others, we gain the benefit, which is full and lasting happiness.

The prayer reminds us that God is the author of all that is good. The good fruit that we bear comes from Him. That is why full and lasting happiness is only found when we imitate Him and serve Him with constant service.