ADVENT | YEAR C
WEEKLY REFLECTIONS ON THE SUNDAY READINGS
Sister Donna L. Ciangio, OP
Contents Foreword.........................................................v A Note About the Music......................................vi Longing for Newness.........................................vii Week One: The First Sunday of Advent....................1 Week Two: The Second Sunday of Advent................ 9 Week Three: The Third Sunday of Advent............... 17 Week Four: The Fourth Sunday of Advent...............25 Praying with the Psalms......................................32 The O Antiphons.............................................39 APPENDIX.................................................... 42 Family Devotion: Blessing the Advent Wreath.............................. 42 Family Devotion: Blessing of the Christmas Tree......................... 46 The Structure and Flow of a Session...................... 51 Resources from RENEW International...................55
Advent
WEEK ONE The First Sunday of Advent I will fulfill the promise. ENVIRONMENT FOR A SMALL GROUP On a table in the center of your group, place a purple or dark blue cloth, a Bible, a lighted candle, or an Advent wreath with the first violet or Sarah blue candle lit. You may want to have a votive candle for each group member to use for prayer at home. READINGS • Jeremiah 33:14-16 • Psalm 25:4-5, 8-10, 14 • 1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2 • Luke 21:25-28, 34-36 ICE BREAKER If you are meeting as a small group, introduce yourselves. • What is your favorite preparation for Christmas? GATHERING PRAYER All: Keep us alert, we pray, O Lord our God, as we await the coming of Christ your Son so that when he comes and knocks he may find us watchful in prayer and exultant in his praise. Amen.
Week One: The First Sunday of Advent
1
LISTENING TO THE WORD If in a small group, pray together: Lord, be in our minds, on our lips, and in our hearts as we listen to your Word. If you are meeting in a small group, read each of the following passages aloud. Pause in silence before those who wish to do so share their responses. READING 1: Jeremiah 33:14-16 The days are coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and Judah. In those days, in that time, I will raise up for David a just shoot; he shall do what is right and just in the land. In those days Judah shall be safe and Jerusalem shall dwell secure; this is what they shall call her: “The LORD our justice.” Take a moment to reflect. What word, phrase, or image in this scripture passage speaks to you? If you are in a small group, feel free to share. PSALM: Psalm 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14 You may download “To You, Lord,” a musical setting for this psalm, at www.ocp.org/renew-music. If you are meeting in a small group, you may sing the refrain together: To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul, my soul.
2
Waiting with Joy, Year C
READING 2: 1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2 Brothers and sisters: May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we have for you, so as to strengthen your hearts, to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. Amen. Finally, brothers and sisters, we earnestly ask and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that, as you received from us how you should conduct yourselves to please God— and as you are conducting yourselves—you do so even more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. Take a moment to reflect. What word, phrase, or image in this scripture passage speaks to you? If you are in a small group, feel free to share. GOSPEL: Luke 21:25-28, 34-36 Jesus said to his disciples: “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Week One: The First Sunday of Advent
3
And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand. “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.” Take a moment to reflect. What word, phrase, or image in this scripture passage speaks to you? If you are in a small group, feel free to share. APPRECIATING THE WORD Waiting with Joy The word “advent” comes from the Latin adventus which means the coming, particularly of something of great importance. For us Catholics, Advent is a time of quiet joy, reflection, and preparation for the coming of Christ. The symbols are all around us: • The dark blues and purples symbolizing the night, the search, the waiting for the dawn (Christ) to come. • The Advent wreath of evergreen symbolizing the eternal love of God. We use it in our homes as a 4
Waiting with Joy, Year C
•
• •
•
reminder of the true meaning of the season of Christmas. The candles of the Advent wreath: One is lit this week to break into the darkness and begin the vigil for dawn. As each week begins, another is lit until all four herald the nearness of Christmas. The darkness: the world without Christ and salvation. The Jesse Tree, a symbol used in many parishes, is a reminder of our salvation history and bears symbols of the fall of our first parents and of the coming of Christ. It evokes the tribe of Jesse from which Jesus came. “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” the traditional Advent song in which we call out for the coming of the Savior promised by God through the prophets. Emmanuel means “God with us.”
The season is rich in symbols that keep us focused on the reason for the season; that is, we celebrate the birth of our Savior, and we long for the coming of Christ—not in the manger but in the second coming when we will join him forever in glory. REFLECTION QUESTIONS • In the first reading, the LORD says, “The days are coming … when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and Judah.” What is that promise? Why is that promise as important to you as it was to the Israelites?
Week One: The First Sunday of Advent
5
• What does Jesus ask of us in the passage from the Gospel of Luke? ACTION: LIVING OUT THE GOSPEL • How will you live out the gospel this week? Select a specific goal—something you can do for family, parish, or community. • How can you make the most of this season of Advent? INTERCESSIONS If you are in a small group, the leader begins the prayer. Christ the Lord, Son of the living God, light from light, leads us into the light and reveals his holiness. With confidence, let us make our prayer: Come, Lord Jesus! Leader:
Light that never fades, dispel the mists about us,
All:
awaken our faith from sleep.
Leader:
Guard us from all harm today,
All:
may your glory fill us with joy.
Leader:
Give us unfailing gentleness at all times,
All:
toward everyone we meet.
Leader:
Come to create a new earth for us,
All:
where there will be justice and peace.
For whom or what do we want to pray during this first week of Advent? 6
Waiting with Joy, Year C
Leader:
Gathering all of our prayers Let us pray the Responsorial Psalm with great confidence in the Lord.
All:
To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
Leader:
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me; teach me your paths, Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior, and for you I wait all the day.
All:
To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
Leader:
Let us walk the Advent journey with great joy! Amen. Let us offer each other a sign of peace.
Week One: The First Sunday of Advent
7