Tuesday, December 5, 2006 week of Advent One
Collect:
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Readings:
AM Psalm 5, 6; Isa. 1:21-31; 1 Thess
PM Psalm 10, 11; 1 Thess 2:1-12; Luke 20:9-18
Collect for the Feast of Clement of Alexandria:
O God of unsearchable wisdom, you gave your servant Clement grace to understand and teach the truth as it is in Jesus Christ, the source of all truth: Grant to your church the same grace to discern your Word wherever truth is found; through Jesus Christ our unfailing light, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Clement of Alexandria
www.newadvent.org/cathen/04045a.htm
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clement_of_Alexandria
Psalm 34:9-14 or 103:1-4,13-18
Colossians 1:11-20; John 6:57-63
Anglican Cycle of Prayer: Kobe - (Japan) The Rt Revd Andrew Yutaka Nakamura
Advent calendar: Ways to change ourselves :
3. Tend to our spiritual health. Pray, meditate, spiritualize life. These are the values supporting our efforts. Without a strong religious or philosophical foundation, our changes will be meaningless.
Advent Calendar: Open Wide the Doors To Christ by Elizabeth Bookser Barkley
3)TUESDAY (Is 11:1-10; Lk 10:21-24) See with a child’s eyes. In retrospect, the divine plan for saving the world seems a bit foolish. Why send a child to do a man’s job? Jesus’ appearance among us as an infant reinforces today’s readings that "a little child shall guide them." Only if we become as open and transparent as children will we be able to comprehend the utter simplicity of God’s plan: to love us for all eternity.
Reflection:
We wait in darkness anticipating the celebration of Jesus’ birth at Christmas. With Advent we enter the dark period of the solar year with the promise of the light of the Messiah. We are called to focus our attention on responding to the light of Jesus’ presence, desiring to let his values enlighten us and transform the darkness of our lives, so that we can become lights leading others to Christ. In At Home with the Word, we are invited to fill in the valleys of our neglect; bring low our mountains of self-centeredness, and prepare our hearts to let our love become a harvest of goodness. These are good words to reflect on during Advent. We can ask ourselves: What am I doing well? What areas do I need to change? Advent is also a season full of possibilities for new beginnings - a time to prayerfully reflect on the purpose of our lives – always being open to seeing the unexpected gifts amidst the dailiness of ordinary lives. And so, as we wait in long lines this Advent Season, let us remember the waiting of those expecting the Messiah, striving for patience, humility and expectant hope. Waiting prayerfully and patiently is a good spiritual discipline that brings us closer to Christ and invites us to reach out to others.
Reflections by: Sr. Joelle Bauer, Oblate Director, Sacred Heart Monastery, Yankton, SD
Advent Blessing:
My husband is working in the yard again these days. We planted 6 new
camellias. It is a sign, I think, of hope and expectation of many more
years together in this house. For many months..actually years....after the
kidney cancer was removed, he had little interest in the yard. I truly
think somewhere down deep he did not dare to think he would be here to see
things grow. But now, we plant. One of the camellias we are planting has
a lovely pale pink bloom. The camellia is called "Margaret Ratcliffe".
By coincidence, I have a friend of the same name (minus the C). Margaret,
to me, is a picture of living a life of hope and joy. She is in her upper
90's and has trouble with both vision and hearing. Upon hearing that I was
able to find a "Margaret Ratcliffe" camellia to purchase, she was very
excited and wanted to know if I could find her one also to plant close to
her house so that she might be able to see it when it blooms. What
hope...expectation....not only for herself at 96 or so, but to plant
something that will grow and bloom long after her time on this earth has
passed.
To plant is all about hope and expectation. So indeed is the advent season
one of hope and expectation. May we all be inspired this Advent by an
elderly little lady who, with so much which could make her angry or
hopeless, hopes for the future blooms. She plants. I wish us all good
planting with hope for blooming things not only in our present times but
also future ones we may not see.....in our yard, our lives, and the lives of
those around us.
Marilyn Cepeda
Mobile, Alabama
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Readings:
AM Psalm 5, 6; Isa. 1:21-31; 1 Thess
PM Psalm 10, 11; 1 Thess 2:1-12; Luke 20:9-18
Collect for the Feast of Clement of Alexandria:
O God of unsearchable wisdom, you gave your servant Clement grace to understand and teach the truth as it is in Jesus Christ, the source of all truth: Grant to your church the same grace to discern your Word wherever truth is found; through Jesus Christ our unfailing light, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Clement of Alexandria
www.newadvent.org/cathen/04045a.htm
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clement_of_Alexandria
Psalm 34:9-14 or 103:1-4,13-18
Colossians 1:11-20; John 6:57-63
Anglican Cycle of Prayer: Kobe - (Japan) The Rt Revd Andrew Yutaka Nakamura
Advent calendar: Ways to change ourselves :
3. Tend to our spiritual health. Pray, meditate, spiritualize life. These are the values supporting our efforts. Without a strong religious or philosophical foundation, our changes will be meaningless.
Advent Calendar: Open Wide the Doors To Christ by Elizabeth Bookser Barkley
3)TUESDAY (Is 11:1-10; Lk 10:21-24) See with a child’s eyes. In retrospect, the divine plan for saving the world seems a bit foolish. Why send a child to do a man’s job? Jesus’ appearance among us as an infant reinforces today’s readings that "a little child shall guide them." Only if we become as open and transparent as children will we be able to comprehend the utter simplicity of God’s plan: to love us for all eternity.
Reflection:
We wait in darkness anticipating the celebration of Jesus’ birth at Christmas. With Advent we enter the dark period of the solar year with the promise of the light of the Messiah. We are called to focus our attention on responding to the light of Jesus’ presence, desiring to let his values enlighten us and transform the darkness of our lives, so that we can become lights leading others to Christ. In At Home with the Word, we are invited to fill in the valleys of our neglect; bring low our mountains of self-centeredness, and prepare our hearts to let our love become a harvest of goodness. These are good words to reflect on during Advent. We can ask ourselves: What am I doing well? What areas do I need to change? Advent is also a season full of possibilities for new beginnings - a time to prayerfully reflect on the purpose of our lives – always being open to seeing the unexpected gifts amidst the dailiness of ordinary lives. And so, as we wait in long lines this Advent Season, let us remember the waiting of those expecting the Messiah, striving for patience, humility and expectant hope. Waiting prayerfully and patiently is a good spiritual discipline that brings us closer to Christ and invites us to reach out to others.
Reflections by: Sr. Joelle Bauer, Oblate Director, Sacred Heart Monastery, Yankton, SD
Advent Blessing:
My husband is working in the yard again these days. We planted 6 new
camellias. It is a sign, I think, of hope and expectation of many more
years together in this house. For many months..actually years....after the
kidney cancer was removed, he had little interest in the yard. I truly
think somewhere down deep he did not dare to think he would be here to see
things grow. But now, we plant. One of the camellias we are planting has
a lovely pale pink bloom. The camellia is called "Margaret Ratcliffe".
By coincidence, I have a friend of the same name (minus the C). Margaret,
to me, is a picture of living a life of hope and joy. She is in her upper
90's and has trouble with both vision and hearing. Upon hearing that I was
able to find a "Margaret Ratcliffe" camellia to purchase, she was very
excited and wanted to know if I could find her one also to plant close to
her house so that she might be able to see it when it blooms. What
hope...expectation....not only for herself at 96 or so, but to plant
something that will grow and bloom long after her time on this earth has
passed.
To plant is all about hope and expectation. So indeed is the advent season
one of hope and expectation. May we all be inspired this Advent by an
elderly little lady who, with so much which could make her angry or
hopeless, hopes for the future blooms. She plants. I wish us all good
planting with hope for blooming things not only in our present times but
also future ones we may not see.....in our yard, our lives, and the lives of
those around us.
Marilyn Cepeda
Mobile, Alabama
posted by Gloriamarie Amalfitano @ 1:24 PM
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