Tag: firstweekofadvent2016

“Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise.”
Daily Meditation:
We reflect today on a promise of a day full of hope
of plenty, of peace. We ask for the grace to be open,
to respond to whatever the Lord is offering us in these precious days
of preparation and anticipation.

No matter how difficult our situation, we can trust in the Lord;
we can eat and be satisfied.

I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.

On that day it will be said:
“Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!
This is the LORD for whom we looked;
let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!”

Closing Prayer:
Lord of all,
you are a God of plenty, a Lord who provides
for us in our need.
As I begin these early days of Advent
help me to believe that You know what I need.
Give me the courage to listen to Your voice
and the freedom
to open my heart to the graces You are
offering me to place my trust in You.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.

“Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise.”

Daily Meditation:
A shoot shall sprout from the stump.
Our God can transform our weakness, our sin, all conflict and all division.
From every life-less stump – where any future hope has been cut off
– a shoot of new life can sprout.
He shall judge the poor with justice,
and decide aright for the land’s afflicted.

We need to really hear this “good news” so that our hearts can begin to be softened
to hear how profoundly our God desires to help us
and to make things right with all of creation.
Throughout the day today, we can lighten our spirits
as we turn to God and pray:
Let me rejoice at the coming of Your Son, for me!

Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace forever. Psalm 72

Closing Prayer:
God of forgiveness,
I turn to You in my great weakness
and beg for Your help.
Let me feel the joy growing in my heart
as I anticipate Your coming.

I hear the message of the prophets of old
and know that the Messiah will bring
new life and new ways of living.

From the humbleness of my life,
help me to grow and bloom
and hear the words
that will change the world.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen

“Lord, open my lips and my mouth shall declare your praise.”

Daily Meditation:
That He may instruct us in His ways.
Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!

We want to begin this journey by rallying ourselves
to turn to the Lord with great hope.
In the midst of many discouraging challenges in our lives
and the violence in the world around us,
we desire to spend this day in anticipation of the graces
our God desires to give us.

They shall beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks;
one nation shall not raise the sword against another,
nor shall they train for war again. Isaiah 2

Lord, I am not worthy to receive you; but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.

Closing Prayer:
Loving God,
I sense that all is Your creation
and everything and all of us,
are being drawn back toward Your loving heart.

Help me to be a person of peace,
to speak about Your peace in an uneasy world
and to live it among the people
You have put into my life every day.

Light in me a desire to prepare for Your coming
to stand in the darkness, waiting, eager and filled with joy.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.