1 ST SUNDAY OF ADVENT YEAR B WATCHING WITH HOPE PRAYER JOURNAL
Opening Prayer I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the LORD more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. Psalm 130:5 7(RSV) Readings FOR THE First Sunday OF Advent First Reading ~Isaiah 63:16b 17, 19b, 64:2 7 You, Lord, are our father, / our redeemer you are named forever. / Why do you let us wander, O LORD, from your ways, / and harden our hearts so that we fear you not? / Return for the sake of your servants, / the tribes of your heritage. / Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, / with the mountains quaking before you, / while you wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for, / such as they had not heard of from of old. / No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen, any God but you / doing such deeds for those who wait for him. / Would that you might meet us doing right, / that we were mindful of you in our ways! / Behold, you are angry, and we are sinful; / all of us have become like unclean people, / all our good deeds are like polluted rags; / we have all withered like leaves, / and our guilt carries us away like the wind. / There is none who calls upon your name, / who rouses himself to cling to you; / for you have hidden your face from us / and have delivered us up to our guilt. / Yet, O LORD, you are our father; / we are the clay and you the potter: / we are all the work of your hands. 2 Lectionary for Masses for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America 2001, 1998, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine.
Responsorial Psalm ~Psalm 80:2 3, 15 16, 18 19~ R/ Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved. O shepherd of Israel, hearken, from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth. Rouse your power, and come to save us. R/ Once again, O LORD of hosts, look down from heaven, and see; take care of this vine, and protect what your right hand has planted the son of man whom you yourself made strong. R/ May your help be with the man of your right hand, with the son of man whom you yourself made strong. Then we will no more withdraw from you; give us new life, and we will call upon your name. R/ SECOND Reading ~1 Corinthians 1:3 9~ B rothers and sisters: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God always on your account for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus, that in him you were enriched in every way, with all discourse and all knowledge, as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Lectionary for Masses for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America 2001, 1998, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. 3
Gospel ~Mark 13:33 37~ Jesus said to his disciples: Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his own work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. Watch, therefore; you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: Watch! Sunday LECTIO DIVINA SACRED READING OF SCRIPTURE Feel free to jot down your notes or reflections on the video in the space below. LECTIO DIVINA MEDITATION SMALL GROUP QUESTION #1 In the first reading from Isaiah 63:17 we read, Why do you let us wander, O Lord, from your ways, / and harden our hearts so that we fear you not? In what ways do you wander from the Lord? How has your heart become hard? 4 Lectionary for Masses for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America 2001, 1998, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine.
SMALL GROUP QUESTION #2 We do not know when Christ will come. How do you delay seeking Christ today? What distracts you from watching for him faithfully? LECTIO DIVINA PRAYER & RESOLUTION PRAYER Reflect on the word watch. Jesus uses it three times in today s Gospel. Are you watching for anything in your life? What do you find yourself expectantly waiting for? How do you watch for Christ in your day-to-day life? Take some time to reflect on a word or phrase that stands out to you from today s Gospel. Reflect on it and apply it to your own life. For example, You do not know when the time will come (Mk 13:33). You could ask yourself, What am I doing each day to seek out Christ? Have I put off prayer and pursuing a relationship with him, thinking that I can start tomorrow? 5
RESOLUTION St. Paul tells the people of Corinth, God is faithful, and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord (1 Corinthians 1:9). How will you answer the call to fellowship with Christ this Advent? What is one practical way you will prepare the home of your heart for the coming of the Christ Child? CLOSING PRAYER Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:1 5(RSV) Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. CCC 1817 6
Monday 1st SUNDAY OF ADVENT YEAR B In the Gospel reading, Jesus shares a parable to explain the necessity for our watchfulness. In it, he explains that he leaves his servants in charge, each with his own work. What work has God given to you? How have you been faithful to this call? How have you been distracted from it? The unity of the lay faithful is of the greatest importance: indeed they must be sanctified in everyday professional and social life. Therefore, to respond to their vocation, the lay faithful must see their daily activities as an occasion to join themselves to God, fulfill his will, serve other people, and lead them to communion with God in Christ. Christifideles Laici, 17 Tuesday In today s Gospel, Jesus warns us to be watchful and alert. What are you watching for this Advent season? Are you watchful for the upcoming sales and holiday celebrations, or for the coming of Christ? Where is your heart focused as you enter into this Advent season? What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him. 1 Corinthians 2:9(RSV) 7
Wednesday In the First Reading, Isaiah laments the brokenness of Israel and the world. Yet, as he does this, he pleads that God will come and set things right. How do you remain hopeful in the midst of the tribulations and darkness we face in the world? How can you cling to the hope of Christ s second coming rather than despair? By hope we desire, and with steadfast trust await from God, eternal life and the graces to merit it. CCC 1843 Thursday In the First Reading, Isaiah exhorts us, Would that we were mindful of you in our ways. How are you mindful of God as you go about your day? Commit to bringing him to mind consistently throughout your day today. Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God. Psalm 42:5 6 (RSV) 8
Friday 1st SUNDAY OF ADVENT YEAR B In the Second Reading and Gospel, St. Paul and Jesus both exhort us to be irreproachable at the time of Christ s coming and on guard. How can you strive to be a vigilant servant? We need the greater and lesser hopes that keep us going day by day. But these are not enough without the great hope, which must surpass everything else. This great hope can only be God, who encompasses the whole of reality and who can bestow upon us what we, by ourselves, cannot attain. Spe Salvi, 31 Saturday Dr. Gray spoke of the four watches of the night as they followed Christ s Passion in the breaking of the bread, the prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter s denial of Jesus, and Jesus s trial before Pilate. What obstacles have you experienced as you await Christ s second coming? Commit to following Jesus s example by praying and clinging to him in the Eucharist throughout these trials. In order to leave them a pledge of this love, in order never to depart from his own and to make them sharers in his Passover, he instituted the Eucharist as the memorial of his death and Resurrection, and commanded his apostles to celebrate it until his return. CCC 1337 9