This lovely study of the Collects of the Book of Common Prayer is the fruit of deep meditation fed by wide reading among the classics of Christian devotional literature. Its theological stance is thoroughly orthodox - in many respects counter-cultural - but its style and specific content are fresh and original.

Though not primarily a study of the history of the Collects, this book supplies enough detail to enable us to appreciate their ancient roots, going back in some cases to the early Popes, their reworking by Archbishop Cranmer, plus new ones composed y Cranmer and others a century later by Bishop John Cosin . . .

Sometimes the author's reflections lead to surprising places. A richness of meaning emerges from a deceptively simple prayer. It is delightful to see how the author illuminates truths hidden behind the sparsity of the Collects' language with apposite quotations from the Scriptures or the Spiritual classics . . .

- Rt. Rev. Dr. Keith Rayner. AO, former Archbishop of Melbourne and Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia.