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St Paul's Catholic
Primary School

Our Prayer Life: Advent

 


 

Week 1

 

 

Welcome to our Celebration of the Word.

Let's begin by making the Sign of the Cross   …. In the name of the Father….

The prayer cloths around the school have changed from green to purple today.  If you were at Mass yesterday you will have noticed that the Priest and the Altar were also dressed in purple. That’s because yesterday was the first Sunday of Advent and purple is the colour for Advent.  It represents waiting and hoping as we prepare for Jesus’ birthday and for the day when he will come again.  We light our first  candle on the Advent Wreath. It is called the Candle of Hope or the Prophets' candle.  We will listen to a reading from a prophet.

 

A reading from the prophet Jeremiah

I, the Lord says this: the time is coming when I will keep the promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah.  I will choose a ruler from the family of David and he will be completely fair to everyone.

Judah will be safe

Jerusalem will have peace and it will be named  “the  Lord our Protector”.

The Word of the Lord………………thanks be to God.

 

Jeremiah is telling us that God is sending someone to us.  That someone was Jesus and we have to be on the look out for him.

 

In the next few weeks, you might be buying or making presents to give to your family and friends. You will be wrapping them and labelling them.  During these next weeks we can also prepare ourselves to receive God and he can sometimes come wrapped in the most unlikely covering.  The message today is to be ready to receive God, to watch out for when he might come to us; it might be when we are praying, in what someone says to us or does for us or what we are inspired to say or do for someone else.

Let us pray

"Loving God, as we light the first Advent candle of hope, we ask for your presence to fill our hearts and homes. May the hope of Christ's coming bring light to our darkness and renew our spirits. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

 

We’ll finish with the sign of the Cross  …  In the name of the Father…….

 

Week 2

 

 

 

 

Welcome to our Celebration of the Word.   We’ll start by making the Sign of the Cross  …

In the name of the Father …..

Yesterday was the 2nd Sunday of Advent. 

 So today we will light the 2nd Purple Candle,  this is the called the candle of Faith or the "Bethlehem Candle" reminding us of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem.

 

We begin this week by celebrating the great news that God sent his son to tell us how to live in his love.  This is good news for us because it is very easy to get caught up with everyday life, to think about ourselves and to make sad choices.  Today we are going to learn about John the Baptist who was sent to prepare the way for Jesus by telling people to be sorry for what they have done wrong and to keep on the straight path to Jesus.

 

A reading from the gospel given to us by St Luke

Glory to you O Lord

For 15 years, the Emperor Tiberius ruled that part of the world.  At that time, God spoke to Zechariah’s son, John who was living in the desert.

John went along the valley telling people, “Turn back to God and be baptised, then your sins will be forgiven.”

The gospel of the Lord

Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.

Isaiah the prophet was writing about John when he said “In the desert someone is shouting ‘Get the road ready for the Lord, make a straight path for him.’ “

 

John the Baptist called on us to prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of Jesus.  As friends of Jesus we try to see him in everyone we meet – old and young, rich and poor.  One of the ways we can prepare for the coming of Jesus at Christmas is to make a special effort to show our love and care for those around us. Perhaps you could use some of your pocket money to buy something for the food bank and help someone you don’t know who is really in need.

Let us pray "God of peace, as we light the second Advent candle of peace, may your peace fill our hearts and our world. Help us to be peacemakers in our relationships and communities. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen."

We’ll finish with the Sign of the Cross   ….   In the name of the Father……

 

 

 

Week 3

 

 

 

 

Let’s begin by making the sign of the Cross    … In the name of the Father……

Yesterday was the 3rd Sunday of Advent, we light the pink candle today, the candle of Joy or the "Shepherd’s Candle" reminding us of the Joy the world experienced at the coming birth of Jesus

Last week we heard about John the Baptist, he was called to prepare the way for Jesus – telling people to be sorry for what they had done wrong.   Today we hear a bit more about his message.

 

A reading from the gospel given to us by St Luke

Glory to you O Lord

The crowds asked John “ what should we do?”

He said “ if you have two coats give one of someone who doesn’t have any, if you have food share it with someone who has none.”

Tax collectors asked him what they should do, he said “only make people pay what they owe, don’t take any for yourself.”

Some soldiers also asked the same question, to them he said “ be satisfied with your pay.”

Everyone was excited to listen to him and asked him if he was the Messiah but he answered “ I am baptising you with water but someone will come who will baptise you with fire and the Holy Spirit, I am not worthy to untie his sandals.”

The gospel of the Lord

Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.

 

In his message John is telling people to be fair and to share, if John the Baptist were here today and we asked him what we can do to get ready for Jesus what do you think he would say?  Try to think of something you can do this week to follow John’s teaching and prepare for Jesus’ birthday and for when he comes again.

Let us pray

Gracious God, as we light the third Advent candle of joy, may the joy of your salvation fill us with gladness. Help us to share this joy with others, especially those in need. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen."

We’ll finish by making the sign of the Cross…….In the name of the Father…..