Advent,Week Four
Today we light again the candles of hope, love, and joy, and the fourth PURPLE candle, the candle of peace. Christ is the Prince of peace, come to reconcile us with God and others. Christ helps us to see that peace is possible.
💜Advent 4 Sunday
Only with an intense desire for the coming of Jesus Christ can we begin to merit His spiritual gifts. The Catholic Liturgy reminds us, during these four weeks of the time during which the world was without Jesus. To this we implore Him to hasten His coming.
In the reading which is the Gospel reading of today's liturgy the Angel announces that Mary will give birth so a son. After the announcement, the angel enters into a short song of praise of Jesus and in the process quotes from Samuel, (the promise of the eternal kingdom of David.) It is He (Jesus) who is the one who will rule.
📖Luke 1:26-38. “In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, "Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you." But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" And the angel said to her in reply, "The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God." Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.”
🙏🏼Let us pray, God of power and mercy, open our hearts in welcome. Remove the things that hinder us from receiving Christ with joy, so that we may share his wisdom and become one with him when he comes in glory.
📖Ps.89:2 “The promises of the LORD I will sing forever, proclaim your loyalty through all ages”
💜Advent 4 Monday
The Good News: The reading from Paul to the Romans makes the all important point that the mission of Paul (like the mission of Christ) is to spread the good news of redemption to the whole world, beyond the Jews to include even the Gentile -- among whom are we! Christmas is the inauguration of that good news.
📖 Rom. 1:1-10 “Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised previously through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel about his Son, descended from David according to the flesh, but established as Son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness through resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. Through him we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles, among whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ; to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. First, I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is heralded throughout the world. God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in proclaiming the gospel of his Son, that I remember you constantly, always asking in my prayers that somehow by God's will I may at last find my way clear to come to you.”
🙏🏼Let us pray, Jesus, you are the light of the world. Teach us to leave the darkness behind and to live in your light. Help us not to hurt each other by our words and actions. Make us thoughtful and generous so that we can be ready to greet you when you come.
📖 Ps. 25:8 “Good and upright is the LORD, who shows sinners the way”
💜Advent 4 - Tuesday
In his letter to the Philippians, Paul reminds us that not only are we preparing for Christmas when we remember how Christ came to Earth the first time, but he reminds us that Jesus will come again and we must be prepared by following those things that Jesus taught us by coming to show us the way.
Phil. 3:20b-21 “We eagerly await the coming of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will give a new form to this lowly body of ours and remake it according to the pattern of his glorified body, by his power to subject everything to himself”
🙏🏼 Prayer: Father, you show the world the splendor of your glory in the coming of Christ, born of the Virgin. Give to us true faith and love to celebrate the mystery of god made man.
🗣Carol: "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing."
💜Advent 4 - Wednesday
Here we are only a few days from Christmas, and we are probably overwrought with anxiety and stress because there is so much to do. Instead, we must take time to rejoice in the Lord and take time to be peaceful in mind and take time to focus on the special time that we are entering into.
📖 Phil. 4:4-7 “Rejoice in the Lord always! I say it again. Rejoice! Everyone should see how unselfish you are. The Lord is near. Dismiss all anxiety from your minds. Present your needs to God in every form of prayer and in petitions full of gratitude. Then God’s own peace, which is beyond all understanding, will stand guard over your hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus.”
🙏🏼 Prayer:All-powerful God, renew us by the coming feast of your son and free us from our slavery to sin.
📖 Baruch: 5:5; 4:36 “Rise up, Jerusalem, stand on the heights, and see the joy that is coming to you from God”
💜Advent 4 - Thursday
We return to the Prophet Isaiah to recall what was foretold about the coming of the Lord. As we read the words, we see how this Messiah was anticipated for thousands of years and how the coming of this Messiah would reign down justice upon those who earn it.
📖 Isaiah 11:1-5 “A shoot shall sprout form the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding. A spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord. Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide, But he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land’s afflicted. He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.
🙏🏼 Prayer: Father, creator and redeemer of mankind, you decreed, and your Word became man, born of the Virgin Mary. May we come to share the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share our human nature.
📖 Is. 35:4 “Say to the anxious: be strong and fear not, our God will come to save us”
💜Advent 4 - CHRISTMAS EVE
Christmas Eve is celebrated with holy joy. Our preparations are over, this is the time we have waited for, Christ is born in our hearts.
Soon, the day which had been prophesied for many ages will be at hand, and we all will rejoice. Christ will come again and he comes to us each time we receive Him in the Holy Eucharist. We have great cause for celebration.
The joy of salvation, through the coming into this world of our Saviour, remains a joy for all times.
May renew our lives and faith as Christians through the celebrations of this Holy night..
💜Advent 4 - CHRISTMAS
Today we celebrate the birth of Our Lord, Jesus Christ!! Amen! Alleluia!
We light ALL the Advent Candles and the Christ Candle in the center of the Advent Wreath
Let us make this Christmas a joyous and blessed day.
We are joyful because our Savior has come. He has come in History on that first Christmas night into our human world, He has come in Mystery when we receive Him in Holy Eucharist and He will come in Majesty on the last day.
Let us rejoice in Christ our Savior!
There is no greater celebration of the fulfillment at Bethlehem of the great prophecies which foretold the coming of Emmanuel and the shining of His light over all of the world.
Peace on Earth
Info from this site:
http://www.claudette.shalfleet.net/advent/fourthweek.htm
Today we light again the candles of hope, love, and joy, and the fourth PURPLE candle, the candle of peace. Christ is the Prince of peace, come to reconcile us with God and others. Christ helps us to see that peace is possible.
💜Advent 4 Sunday
Only with an intense desire for the coming of Jesus Christ can we begin to merit His spiritual gifts. The Catholic Liturgy reminds us, during these four weeks of the time during which the world was without Jesus. To this we implore Him to hasten His coming.
In the reading which is the Gospel reading of today's liturgy the Angel announces that Mary will give birth so a son. After the announcement, the angel enters into a short song of praise of Jesus and in the process quotes from Samuel, (the promise of the eternal kingdom of David.) It is He (Jesus) who is the one who will rule.
📖Luke 1:26-38. “In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, "Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you." But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" And the angel said to her in reply, "The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God." Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.”
🙏🏼Let us pray, God of power and mercy, open our hearts in welcome. Remove the things that hinder us from receiving Christ with joy, so that we may share his wisdom and become one with him when he comes in glory.
📖Ps.89:2 “The promises of the LORD I will sing forever, proclaim your loyalty through all ages”
💜Advent 4 Monday
The Good News: The reading from Paul to the Romans makes the all important point that the mission of Paul (like the mission of Christ) is to spread the good news of redemption to the whole world, beyond the Jews to include even the Gentile -- among whom are we! Christmas is the inauguration of that good news.
📖 Rom. 1:1-10 “Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised previously through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel about his Son, descended from David according to the flesh, but established as Son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness through resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. Through him we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles, among whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ; to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. First, I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is heralded throughout the world. God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in proclaiming the gospel of his Son, that I remember you constantly, always asking in my prayers that somehow by God's will I may at last find my way clear to come to you.”
🙏🏼Let us pray, Jesus, you are the light of the world. Teach us to leave the darkness behind and to live in your light. Help us not to hurt each other by our words and actions. Make us thoughtful and generous so that we can be ready to greet you when you come.
📖 Ps. 25:8 “Good and upright is the LORD, who shows sinners the way”
💜Advent 4 - Tuesday
In his letter to the Philippians, Paul reminds us that not only are we preparing for Christmas when we remember how Christ came to Earth the first time, but he reminds us that Jesus will come again and we must be prepared by following those things that Jesus taught us by coming to show us the way.
Phil. 3:20b-21 “We eagerly await the coming of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will give a new form to this lowly body of ours and remake it according to the pattern of his glorified body, by his power to subject everything to himself”
🙏🏼 Prayer: Father, you show the world the splendor of your glory in the coming of Christ, born of the Virgin. Give to us true faith and love to celebrate the mystery of god made man.
🗣Carol: "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing."
💜Advent 4 - Wednesday
Here we are only a few days from Christmas, and we are probably overwrought with anxiety and stress because there is so much to do. Instead, we must take time to rejoice in the Lord and take time to be peaceful in mind and take time to focus on the special time that we are entering into.
📖 Phil. 4:4-7 “Rejoice in the Lord always! I say it again. Rejoice! Everyone should see how unselfish you are. The Lord is near. Dismiss all anxiety from your minds. Present your needs to God in every form of prayer and in petitions full of gratitude. Then God’s own peace, which is beyond all understanding, will stand guard over your hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus.”
🙏🏼 Prayer:All-powerful God, renew us by the coming feast of your son and free us from our slavery to sin.
📖 Baruch: 5:5; 4:36 “Rise up, Jerusalem, stand on the heights, and see the joy that is coming to you from God”
💜Advent 4 - Thursday
We return to the Prophet Isaiah to recall what was foretold about the coming of the Lord. As we read the words, we see how this Messiah was anticipated for thousands of years and how the coming of this Messiah would reign down justice upon those who earn it.
📖 Isaiah 11:1-5 “A shoot shall sprout form the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding. A spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord. Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide, But he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land’s afflicted. He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.
🙏🏼 Prayer: Father, creator and redeemer of mankind, you decreed, and your Word became man, born of the Virgin Mary. May we come to share the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share our human nature.
📖 Is. 35:4 “Say to the anxious: be strong and fear not, our God will come to save us”
💜Advent 4 - CHRISTMAS EVE
Christmas Eve is celebrated with holy joy. Our preparations are over, this is the time we have waited for, Christ is born in our hearts.
Soon, the day which had been prophesied for many ages will be at hand, and we all will rejoice. Christ will come again and he comes to us each time we receive Him in the Holy Eucharist. We have great cause for celebration.
The joy of salvation, through the coming into this world of our Saviour, remains a joy for all times.
May renew our lives and faith as Christians through the celebrations of this Holy night..
💜Advent 4 - CHRISTMAS
Today we celebrate the birth of Our Lord, Jesus Christ!! Amen! Alleluia!
We light ALL the Advent Candles and the Christ Candle in the center of the Advent Wreath
Let us make this Christmas a joyous and blessed day.
We are joyful because our Savior has come. He has come in History on that first Christmas night into our human world, He has come in Mystery when we receive Him in Holy Eucharist and He will come in Majesty on the last day.
Let us rejoice in Christ our Savior!
There is no greater celebration of the fulfillment at Bethlehem of the great prophecies which foretold the coming of Emmanuel and the shining of His light over all of the world.
Peace on Earth
Info from this site:
http://www.claudette.shalfleet.net/advent/fourthweek.htm