“Give
9M us this day our daily bread…”
Today we celebrate a special Catholic
solemnity
G that calls us to reflect upon Mary’s
special provenance as being the mother of
Jesus. But as we give honor to the “Immaculate Conception of Mary” let us realize that
;
this is not only a Catholic theological
understanding of faith; Martin Luther, in one
of his sermons, once had this to say: “It is a
sweet and pious belief that the infusion of
Mary’s soul was effected without original sin;
so that in the very infusion of her soul she
was also purified from original sin and
adorned with God’s gifts, receiving a pure
soul infused by God; thus from the first
moment she began to live she was free from
all sin.” Let us draw deeply into Mary’s lived
profile of purity as we pray: “Eternal God,
you sanctified the Blessed Virgin Mary in the
womb of St. Anne, creating her to be a pure
and spotless dwelling place to bear you Son.
United to her prayers, and inspired by her
virtuous example, may we be led to the
heavenly glory of your Son, Jesus, who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one
God, forever and ever.” AMEN (Daily Prayer:
If there is one word that epitomizes the
dominant charisma of Advent it would
probably be “waiting.” And another word
that describes what type of “waiting” we are
doing is “patient.” And putting them
together, “patient-waiting” may be two
things we are not very good at, nor are they
two things that our contemporary culture
especially esteems. But as we look at our
Advent wreath, which now has two candles
out of four lit, the time of “patient waiting” is
being whittled down. Soon enough we will
be symbolically celebrating Jesus’ coming
among us, and that, of course, will be on
Christmas day! So let us now stop, take a
deep breath, take stock in the “hope” of this
season, and pray: “Christ our Advent hope,
bare brown trees, etched dark across a
winter sky, leaves fallen, rustling, ground
hard and cold, remind us to prepare for your
coming; remind us to prepare for the time
when the soles of your feet will touch the
ground, when you will become one of us to
be at one with us.” AMEN. (Kate McIhagga)
2012)
Is 41:13-20
Week two of Advent reflects a theme
that is certainly an appropriate one for the
season—peace. As we look around at our
neighborhoods, our public and commercial
places, even within our homes, the holiday
(or “holy-day”) settings and decorations
are all about making people smile, joyful,
being put in a place of peace. We
acknowledge our Lord Jesus as being the
“prince of peace.” May peace reign
supreme in our hearts at this time and let
us pray that our peace will be contagious
as we say: “The coming of our Lord is
near, and we wait for God’s redeeming
presence. Draw close, Saviour of all
creation—our hearts ache for justice, our
minds long for holiness, our spirits seek
for unity. The coming of our Lord is near,
and we wait for the fulfillment of God’s
promises. Draw close, reconciler and
transformer of all things—renew our world,
restore your peace, and display your
righteousness.” AMEN. (Christine Sine)
The book of the prophet Isaiah is one
that gets a lot of attention during our
annual church season of Advent.
Today’s first reading for Mass is from
Isaiah, and its message embodies well,
as do many passages from Isaiah, the
Advent hope that those who are poor
and in need will be visited and blessed
by God. As was said in today’s reading,
“…I, the Lord will answer them, I the God
of Israel will not forsake them.” And
these words of hope assure us as well as
we anticipate with faith the coming of our
Lord, who will comfort us and bring forth
in us joy! Let us pray: “By day and by
night and through every season, you
watch over us, loving God. By the light
of our Advent wreath we shall wait in
patience for your Son, our Lord Jesus
Christ. His coming comforts our fears
and brings hope to our waiting world. All
glory be yours, now and forever.”
AMEN. (Elizabeth McMahon Jeep)
As we close out our week of school
today and anticipate next week’s activities
and excitement, it might be good to give
special focus to our virtue for December—
hope. As such it is a virtue that can be a
steady presence in our lives, but it is also
a virtue that can increase in intensity,
particularly when that for which we hope
draws ever closer! So let us now shift our
focus momentarily to that wonderful day of
hope and expectation that we await with
exhilaration and joy, and may this spirit of
“hope” also kindle complementary spirits
of compassion and peace within us as we
now pray: “God of hope, we praise you
during this season of Advent and always.
Draw us into your light as we journey. May
we be filled with trust. May our anticipation of the joyful coming of your Son ever
increase. May our hope grow with each
passing moment. We ask this through
your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.”
AMEN. (Lisa Freemantle & Les Miller)