Our Great Journey
Happy New Year. Today we begin the new liturgical year and will hear mostly from the Gospel of Mark.
This week our theme is “Wide Awake!”/ “Bien despierto” based on Mark 13:33-37/ Marco 13:33-37
Opening Prayer:
All pray the Sign of the Cross
Heavenly Father, your Son, Jesus, is your greatest gift to us, a great sign of your love. Guide us as we try to walk in that love together as a family this Advent. As we prepare our hearts for Christmas, bring us closer to each other and to your Son. Give us the grace and strength we need every day. Help us to always trust in you. Come, Lord Jesus, lead all people closer to you. Take away the darkness of our world with the light of your love. Amen.
In addition to our prayers from the heart, our prayer for December is The Apostles’ Creed. Please pray these prayers daily to learn. (The Apostles’ Creed is a profession of faith that preceded the Nicene Creed at the Council of Nicea in 325. The Apostles’ Creed is usually prayed when we begin the Rosary)
Using the Bible, invite a family member to read the Gospel aloud.
Things to talk about:
- What does it mean to “keep watch” for Jesus?
- Why do you think Jesus doesn’t tell us when the end of the world will be?
- What has Jesus put his servants in charge of?
- St. Nicholas was known for his generosity. Why is it important to be generous with others?
Things to do:
- Add a purple cloth to your prayer table.
- Purchase or make an Advent wreath, click here for daily Advent prayers.
- Come to the Penance Service on December 5
- In honor of St. Nicholas, in secret, do something kind and generous for someone.
Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, you are Emmanuel, God with us. In these holy days of Advent, come to your people with justice, healing and peace. Fill us with a spirit of love and generosity to others. You live and reign with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Pray the Apostles’ Creed as a family. Name the 3 beliefs in the creed.
Join us on Friday evenings, 7:00 p.m. to Pray the Rosary for Peace in the Middle East. We are praying a Rosary Novena and will continue to gather to pray the Rosary through December 8. This is a great way to learn the Rosary prayers.
Learn to draw different scenes from the Christmas story with details from Scripture and Catholic tradition.
See the connections between the big picture of
God’s story and our place in it. Sign up,
https://daily.formed.org/advent
22-episode, 7 minute daily Advent
reflection for families using the Jesse Tree to
meet the ancestors of Jesus Christ. Sign up,
https://daily.formed.org/advent
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Catholic Insights
The new liturgical year always begins on the First Sunday of Advent. Each year of a three year cycle the readings change, and the Gospel readings are taken from a different Gospel so that we learn more about the life of Jesus. This year, year B, most of the Gospels come from Mark.
Advent is a season of waiting in joyful anticipation for Christmas and also for the end of time when Christ will come again. We prepare our homes and our hearts to welcome Christ. The Gospel readings on the Sundays of Advent and Mary Feasts (Dec 8, Jan 1) provide a model for waiting, trusting and saying “Yes” to God.
This Scripture passage is the conclusion of the apocalyptic discourse. The disciples are told to “be alert” and to “watch.” The earlier portion of Mark 13 clarified that the disciples are not to be idle bystanders or passive observers before God’s advent; they are called to a courageous commitment to live out and share their faith. God’s advent is unknown. (Mk 13:32, 33.)
Feast Day December 6
March 15, 270 – December 6, 343
Nicholas was the fourth-century bishop of Myra, a province of Asia Minor. The best-known story about Nicholas concerns his charity toward a poor man who could not provide dowries for his three daughters of marriageable age. To help the family, Nicholas secretly tossed a bag of gold through the poor man’s window on three separate occasions, thus enabling the daughters to be married. Over the centuries, this particular legend evolved into the custom of gift-giving on the saint’s feast. In English-speaking countries, St. Nicholas became Santa Claus by a twist of the tongue—expanding the example of generosity portrayed by this holy bishop.
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