MERRY CHRISTMAS

(our friary Christmas tree)

 

From all your Franciscan brothers at the Prayer Fraternity here in AVA,  MO -- a Most Blessed Christmas,  a Most Holy Day when we celebrate the birth of our salvation, a Day to unite (or re-unite) hearts with family and friends in prayer that this Prince of Peace will shower his Peace over our un-peaceful world.    May you come to know and love EMMANUEL -- God-with-Us -- in ever newer and deeper ways!   MERRY CHRISTMAS from all of us here!   Thank you for being GIFT in our lives!

 

Grant, we pray, almighty God,

that, as we are bathed in the

new radiance of your incarnate Word, 

the light of faith, which illumines our minds,

may also shine through in our deeds.   

 

(Opening prayer from Christmas Mass at Dawn)

"O" Antiphons for Advent

 

(Advent snow on trees)

 

We are -- again -- grateful to Fr. Austin Fleming -- pastor at a parish in Concord, MA -- for this wonderful reflection for these last 8 days of Advent;  a reflection on the "O Antiphons"  and a prayer to accompany them.

 

In the last seven days of Advent the Church prays with seven "titles" of the Lord in anticipation of celebrating his birth at Christmas.  During this week before Christmas my Pause for Prayer will reflect each day on one of these titles, the first of which is Wisdom; the second, Adonai; the third, Root of Jesse; the fourth, Key of David; the fifth, Radiant Dawn; the sixth, King of All Nations; and the seventh and last, today, Emmanuel...

Isaiah had prophesied, "The Lord himself will give you this sign: the Virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel." (7:14).  Remember that "Emmanuel" means "God with us."


O Emmanuel

Come, Emmanuel, and be true to your name:
be our God-with-us!

God, be with us in war:
and show us the path to peace...

God, be with us in every joy
and show yourself its source...

God, be with us in our grief
and lead us through its darkness to light...

God, be with us in our loneliness
and wrap your arms around us in warmth
and in compassion...

God, be with us in our hopes and dreams
and teach us to trust
that we will have what we truly need...

God, be with us when we fail you
and our neighbor and ourselves:
forgive us and mend us with your mercy...

God, be with us in our weakness:
be strong for us, be strong in us 
and show your strength through us... 

God, be with us in the Church:
in the power of your Spirit lead us to truth
and to peace among ourselves...

God, be with us in our heart of hearts
and teach us to long for all that's yours to give...

Come, Emmanuel, and be true to your name:
God, be with us this Christmas
and in the new year before us...

We rejoice even now
for at the end of all days you will come again,
Emmanuel, God-with-us, 
and you will set us free...

God, be with us in these last hours of Advent
and bring us to the dawn of new life,
the birth of your Son, Jesus,
our brother and our Lord...

Amen.

PRAYING IN MONASTIC TIME

 

 

(a winter, no, well an advent, or fall snowfall)

 

 

PRAYING IN MONASTIC TIME

 

3rd Sunday in Advent:  "Be patient, therefore, until the coming of the Lord"   (James 5:7)

 

(This reflection by Amy Welborn appears in the Third Sunday of Advent and suggests something important by way of our tendencies in prayer to set a pretty rapid pace when we pray.   Maybe we have something to learn from 'monastic time' in prayer.   This appeared in the LIVING WITH CHRIST  missalette for December,  p.  105.)

 

I once gave a talk in a parish on what I call "monastic time."  That is,  prayer in a monastery is much different than in a normal parish, and not just because it happens around the clock.

 

Prayer in a monastery is .... relaxed.   It is deliberate.   There is absolutely no rush.   There are pauses between the lines of prayers and between responses. 

 

At the end of my talk, the pastor suggested that the group pray the Lord's Prayer on "monastic time";  slowly,  pausing between the stanzas.

 

It was hard.   The pull to just jump into the next line without even a breath was fierce and difficult to resist.   But gradually, we fell into the rhythm and learned patience.

 

The pull to see what comes next is strong -- both in prayer and in life.   But the Lord tells us:  patience.   Let go.   In the pauses,  in the silence,  in the waiting,  God is working.

 

Lord,  teach me patience as I wait for you;   teach me patience in my prayer.

 

 

 

PRAYER and 'the flash of a red cardinal'

 

(friary chapel with Advent wreath and colors)

 

 

GOD LEADING US -- IN PRAYER

 

(This reflection was based on Isaiah 48:17:   "I, the Lord, your God, teach you what is for your good, and lead you on the way you should go."   This was written by Sr. Melannie Svoboda, SND, and appeared as the December 13th reflection on the daily scriptures in the LIVING WITH CHRIST missalette.    www.livingwithchrist.us )

 

Sometimes in life we don't know what to do.   The path we are on changes radically,  ends abruptly,  or is enveloped in darkness.   At such times, how does God lead us?   How does God show us the way?   One way God leads us is through our personal prayer.   By sitting patiently and trustingly in prayer, we sometimes gradually see or feel the next step to take.

 

Other times God leads us through Scripture,    the sacrament of reconciliation,   a line from a spiritual book,  a comment from a good friend,  or even "the flash of a red cardinal against the white snow."  Someone once said,  "The best spiritual director is life itself."   I agree.   God often uses the people and happenings in our daily life to teach us and lead us on the way we should go.  

 

Prayer:   God, help me to be more attentive to all the ways you are teaching and leading me through the people and events in my daily life.

 

 

A BLESSED ADVENT prayer

 

(Advent wreathe in a Franciscan parish)

 

 

May this Advent season be a time to reflect on the many blessings that you have received from the Lord.

 

May each one of your actions reflect the love that you have for God, especially when treating one another.

 

May you be a sign of hope for the sad, the desperate, the lonely, the abandoned, but most especially for those whose faith is weak.

 

May Jesus be born every time you teach, preach, or interact with one another in the places where God has put you.

 

May all your life be blessed now and always.    AMEN

 

(This prayer appeared in Sacred Heart Province's Dec. 3rd newsletter)