Daily Advent Prayer:
Mary
said:
"My being proclaims
the greatness
of the Lord,
my spirit finds joy
in God my savior,
For he has looked
upon
his servant in her
lowliness;
all ages to come shall
call me blessed.
God who is mighty
has done great things
for me,
holy is his name;
His mercy is from
age to age
on those who fear
him.
He has shown
might with his arm;
he has confused the
proud
in their inmost thoughts.
He has deposed the mighty
from their thrones
and raised the
lowly
to high places.
The hungry he has
given
every good thing,
while the rich
he has sent empty
away.
He has upheld Israel
his servant,
ever mindful of his
mercy;
Even as he promised
our fathers,
promised Abraham and
his descendants forever."
Lk 1, 46-5t.
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Gaudete Week
Our week begins with
"Gaudete Sunday." Gaudete means "rejoice" in Latin. It
comes from the first word of the Entrance antiphon on Sunday.
The spirit of joy that begins this week comes from the words of Paul,
"The Lord is near." This joyful spirit is marked by the third
candle of our Advent wreath, which is rose colored, and the rose colored
vestments often used at the Eucharist.
The second part of
Advent begins on December 17th each year - this year, in 2009, it
is Thursday of the Third Week of Advent. For the last eight
days before Christmas, the plan of the readings changes. The
first readings are still from the prophesies, but now the gospels
are from the infancy narratives of Matthew and Luke. We read
the stories of faithful women and men who prepared the way for our
salvation. We enter into the story of how Jesus' life began.
These stories are filled with hints of what his life will mean for
us. Faith and generosity overcome impossibility. Poverty
and persecution reveal glory.
Preparing our
Hearts and asking for Grace
We prepare this week
by feeling the joy. We move through this week feeling a part
of the waiting world that rejoices because our longing has prepared
us to believe the reign of God is close at hand. And so we consciously
ask:
Prepare our hearts
and remove the sadness
that hinders us from feeling
the joy and hope
which his presence
will bestow.
Each morning this
week, in that brief moment we are becoming accustomed to, we want
to light a third inner candle. Three candles, going
from expectation, to longing, to joy. They represent our inner
preparation, or inner perspective. In this world of
"conflict and division," "greed and lust for power," we begin each
day this week with a sense of liberating joy. Perhaps we can
pause, breathe deeply and say,
"My soul proclaims
the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices
in God my savior."
Each day this week,
we will continue to go through our everyday life, but we will experience
the difference our faith can bring to it. We are confident that
the grace we ask for will be given us. We will encounter sin
- in our own hearts and in our experience of the sin of the world.
We can pause in those moments, and feel the joy of the words,
"You are to name him
Jesus,
because he will save his people
from their sins." Mt 1:21
We may experience
the Light shining into dark places of our lives and showing us patterns
of sinfulness, and inviting us to experience God's mercy and healing.
Perhaps we wish to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconcilation this week.
We may want to make gestures of reconcilation with a loved one, relative,
friend or associate. With more light and joy, it is easier to
say, "I'm sorry; let's begin again."
Each night this week
we want to pause in gratitude. Whatever the day has brought,
no matter how busy it has been, we can stop, before we fall asleep,
to give thanks for a little more light, a little more freedom to walk
by that light, in joy.
Our celebration of
the coming of our Savior in history, is opening us up to experience
his coming to us this year, and preparing us to await his coming in
Glory.
Come, Lord Jesus. Come and visit your people.
We await your coming. Come, O Lord.
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