Prayers of Intercession - Sunday December 12, 2010

 

PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL

THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT

DECEMBER 12, 2010

 

OUR RESPONSE TODAY: Come Lord Jesus, Come.

 

1. Let us pray for the Church,

   called to make Jesus real to our brothers and sisters everywhere,

   We pray to you Lord,

RESPONSE: Come, Lord Jesus Come.

 

2. Let us pray that as our youth plan their life's work,

   that they give prayerful consideration to the priesthood and religious life,

   We pray to you Lord,

RESPONSE: Come, Lord Jesus Come.

 

3. Let us pray that our hearts be strengthened,

   for the coming of the Lord,

We pray to you, Lord,

RESPONSE: Come, Lord Jesus Come.

 

4. Let us pray for the joy filled children of our parish,

   as they journey through Advent,

We pray to you Lord,

RESPONSE: Come, Lord Jesus Come.

 

5. Let us pray for those who have died

   and for those who mourn their loss,

We pray to you Lord,

RESPONSE: Come, Lord Jesus Come.

 

6. Let us now pray in silence for our personal intentions,

(Pause 5-7 seconds)

We pray to you Lord,

RESPONSE: Come, Lord Jesus Come.

Read more »

The Feast of The Immaculate Conception

December the 8th (Today) is the Feast of The Immaculate Conception.

You can learn all about this feast honoring Mary at Churchyear.net - All About The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

The following prayer comes to us from the official prayer of the Church, the Liturgy of the Hours;

Father,
you prepared the Virgin Mary
to be the worthy mother of your Son.
You let her share beforehand
in the salvation Christ
would bring by his death,
and kept her sinless
from the first moment of her conception.
Help us by her prayers
to live in your presence without sin.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever. Amen

Want to join your church in praying the psalms morning and night? Check out http://divineoffice.org/ providing the Liturgy of the Hours at your fingertips every day.

Peace and God Bless

Read more »

Prayers of the Faithful - December 5, 2010

 

PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL

SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT

DECEMBER 5, 2010

 

 

1. Let us pray for all Christians,

   called to work together to prepare the way of the Lord,

   We pray to you Lord,

RESPONSE: Lord, hear our prayer.

 

2. Let us pray that the atmosphere in our homes may be such as to develop a

   love for all things spiritual,

   We pray to you Lord,

RESPONSE: Lord, hear our prayer.

 

3. Let us pray for the peace of which Isaiah dreamt and which the Spirit promises,

We pray to you, Lord,

RESPONSE: Lord, hear our prayer.

 

4. Let us pray for all those working to make the season more festive,

   for those in need,

We pray to you Lord,

RESPONSE: Lord, hear our prayer.

 

5. Let us pray for those who are suffering with illness

   that they be strengthened and comforted in the knowledge

   that God is walking with them through their time of need,

We pray to you Lord,

RESPONSE: Lord, hear our prayer.

 

6. Let us now pray in silence for our personal intentions,

(Pause 5-7 seconds)

We pray to you Lord,

RESPONSE: Lord, hear our prayer.

Read more »

Feast of St. Nicholas - Candy Cane Blessing

December 6th is the day in the Church's tradition where we commemorate the death of St. Nicholas, bishop of Myra, a city in Lycia, a province of Asia Minor. Little is known about his save for a small collection of stories underling his great generosity as well as the fact that he attended the First Council of Nicaea in 325AD where our Creed was first adopted.

At some point along the way, it bacame tradition in our Church to bless the sweets given to children during the Christmas season on the feast of this very popular saint. Today in our homes we will often gather in the evening to bless our festive candy canes on this feast before placing them on our trees;

St. Nicholas Day Blessing of Candy Canes
by Edward Hays

Good St. Nicholas, we honor you
on this your holy feast day.
We rejoice that you are the patron saint
and the holy symbol of joy
for many peoples of many lands.

Come, great-hearted saint,
and be our patron and companion
as we, once again, prepare our homes and hearts
for the great feast of Christmas,
the birth of the Eternal Blessing, Jesus Christ.

May these sweets, these candy canes,
be a sign of Advent joy for us.
May these candy canes,
shaped just like your Bishop's staff,
be for us a sign of your benevolent care.

We rejoice that you are the holy bringer of gifts
and that so many have been delighted
through your great generosity.
Help us to be as generous of heart.

Wherever these candy canes are hung,
on tree or wall or door,
may they carry with them
the bright blessing of God.
May all who shall taste them
experience the joy of God
upon their tongues and in their hearts.

We ask God, now, to bless
these your brightly striped sweets
in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

To learn more about St. Nicholas, head on over to the St. Nicholas site at St.Nicholas.org. Tons of fun facts and great prayer reflections and home activities for individuals and families!

Peace and God Bless

Read more »

Second Week of Advent - Hope for Change

As our Second week of Advent begins, our prayer of hope and deasire for peace continues. As you continue to share prayer with us, may you be truly blessed and may you receive the graces you need most from your Father who loves you.

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, for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen”

Read Isaiah 11:1-10
“On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him...Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them.”

Reflect
Today we hear this wonderful proclamation of the end of violence and a promise of justice and peace. Let us experience today what it will be like to be freed from the power of injustice, conflict and division. Our longing, our desire: that we might be set free.

Pray
Dear Lord, through the darkness, I look for your wisdom. I want my heart to be open to you. Let me be a peacemaker in my own life, and in the world. Let me pray especially for this difficult world and those who are so in need of an end to violence. My heart begs for this in your name. Amen.

Read more »

Christmas Mass Times

To help with your Christmas and Holiday planning here are the times when our parish Community will be gathering to offer worship to God and share the Eucharist which is, of course, the focus and font of all our other celebrations and traditions;

December 24- Anticipated Christmas Mass; 7:00 p.m.

December 25: Midnight & 10:00 a.m. - Christmas Day; A Holy Day of Obligation

December 26: 10:00 a.m. - Sunday Mass; Feast of The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

December 31: 5:00 p.m.; A Special Mass of Thanksgiving for the blessings of this past year...NOT an anticipated January 1st Mass

January 1: 10:00 a.m.; Feast of Mary, Mother of God; A Holy Day of Obligation

Januarcy 2: 10:00 a.m.; Regular Sunday Mass

As both Christmas and The Feast of Mary, Mother of God fall on Saturday's this year, and both are Holy Days of Obligation, these very important feast supersede any anticipated Masses a parish may do prior to their regular Sunday celebrations. Practically this means that for Saturday December 25th and Saturday January 1st we are unable to have our usual Saturday Evening celebrations of the Anticipated Sunday Mass. These extremely important feasts must always be celebrated in place of any regular anticipated masses in a parish.

Questions about the scheduling of Mass times for Holy Days of Obligation (like Christmas and January 1st) or Sunday Masses verses anticipated Masses in general? Our Bishops have had a lot to say on the matter and, thanks to the wonders of the internet, now you can read all about it in the comfort of your home or wherever you happen to be; CCCB on The Celebration of Christmas Masses.

Wondering what the heck a 'Holy Day of Obligation' is? Catholic Online has all your answers!

May your prayerful and spirit-led preparations this Advent help to create a holy space in your home and in your heart for the birthing of our Lord of Light and Love...Jesus Christ.

Peace and God Bless

Read more »

First Week of Advent - The Advent Wreath and Keeping Awake

As we reach the mid-point of our first week of hope-filled waiting and preparation the following two videos should be of great help. The first from Franciscan communications is a brief description of the Advent wreath and an explanation of where the tradition originated and how and why we use this rich symbol as a part of our Advent waiting.

The Second is a brief reflection on some of the themes of this first week of Advent, brought to you by the folks at Catholic Digest. I hope you enjoy both of these and that your Advent preparations help you to create a space in heart and home for the birthing of our Lord;












Peace and God Bless

Read more »