Loving God, Merciful Father,
in this Season of Advent we turn to you in prayer.
As we wait for the coming of your son, we ask you to bless our family.
Help me to accept the Grace of your Peace.
Remove any obstacle that may prevent me from offering your Peace to others.
May your Peace fill our hearts, our minds and our home. As together we pray, “Come, Lord Jesus.”
We ask this through Christ our Lord Amen.
Gospel Reading Second Sunday of Advent, Mark.
The beginning of the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
It is written in the book of the prophet Isaiah: Look, I am going to send my messenger before you; he will prepare your way.
A voice cries in the wilderness: Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight.
And so it was that John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. All Judaea and all the people of Jerusalem made their way to him, and as they were baptised by him in the river Jordan they confessed their sins. John wore a garment of camel-skin, and he lived on locusts and wild honey. In the course of his preaching he said, ‘Someone is following me, someone who is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to kneel down and undo the strap of his sandals. I have baptised you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.’
The Gospel of the Lord.
Fr. Richards Reflection:
As I sit here to write this short Advent reflection I notice that it has started to snow outside. Since I was a child I have always loved watching it snowing, I guess there is something of a child in all of us.
At the centre of Christmas is a child – the baby Jesus. Jesus is a sign to us that we are all God’s children and loved by God. Christmas is a very busy time but it can also be an anxious time as we try to get a lot of things done.
This Christmas more than most will have new challenges so its important to take a step back and focus on what is important in our lives – the love we have for God and each other, that’s why the theme for the second Sunday of Advent is Peace. With this in mind we ask God to help us to be at peace this Christmas and so we pray;
Loving God,
as we wait for the coming of your Son, we ask you to bless our families. Help us to welcome Jesus this Christmas as the Light of the world May He give us the gift of Peace and may His peace guard our hearts, our minds and our home. Amen.
Fr.Richard.
Loving God, let your blessing come upon us as we light this our second candle .
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
May this lighted candle be a sign of Peace we pray to have with others, as we prepare for your coming.
May it turn our hearts to you in the days ahead. Give us peace and love as we wait in joyful hope.
We ask this through Christ our Lord Amen.
“Come, Lord Jesus.”
May the Lord bless us, protect us,keep us from all evil,
and bring us to eternal Life.
Amen.
