Prayers

(By Gerard Manley Hopkins, 1844-1889)

Moonless darkness stands between.
Past, the Past, no more be seen!
But the Bethlehem star may lead me
To the sight of Him Who freed me
From the self that I have been.
Make me pure, Lord: Thou art Holy;
Make me meek, Lord: Thou wert lowly;
Now beginning, and always,
Now begin, on Christmas day.

Praise to You, Lord God! You have become one of us! You have become a human being, while still retaining all Your power and holiness as God!

You, O Lord, made the journey of the unborn child. By being an embryo, a fetus, and a newborn, You joined all unborn and newborn children to You!

From the beginning of history, O Lord, You were the Creator of every human life.
Now, with Christmas, You join Yourself in an unthinkable way with the life You created.

Let this Christmas, O God, fill all of us with awe and wonder at how close human life is to You. Cleanse the world of all that tarnishes and rejects this gift. Purify our hearts of all that fears this gift. Let our Christmas joy be the joy of welcoming every human life! Amen!

Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires, [State your intention(s) here] through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother.  Amen.

Blessing of the Advent Wreath

(The blessing of the Advent wreath is done on the Saturday before the first Sunday in Advent. The head of the home or an appointed person will lead the others in the prayer.)

Prayer for the Saturday before the first Sunday in Advent.

Leader: Our help is in the name of the Lord.

All: Who made heaven and earth.

Leader: O God, by whose Word all things are sanctified, pour forth Your blessing upon this wreath and grant that we who use it may prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ and may receive from You abundant graces. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.

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Prayer for First Sunday in Advent (Hope)

(This prayer is repeated each day during the first week of Advent. After the prayer, light the first purple candle)

Leader: O Lord, stir up Thy might, we beg Thee, and come, that by Thy protection we may deserve to be rescued from the threatening dangers of our sins and saved by Thy deliverance. Through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.

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Prayer for Second Sunday in Advent (Love)

(This prayer is repeated each day during the second week of Advent. After the prayer, light both the first and second purple candles)

Leader: O Lord, stir up our hearts that we may prepare for Thy only begotten Son, that through His coming we may be made worthy to serve Thee with pure minds. Through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen

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Prayer for Third Sunday in Advent (Joy)

(The Third Sunday in Advent is also known as the The Joyful Sunday and it is represented by the rose candle. The following prayer is repeated each day during the third week. After the prayer, light the first & second purple candles and the rose candle)

Leader: O Lord, we beg Thee, incline Thy ear to our prayers and enlighten the darkness of our minds by the grace of Thy visitation. Through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen

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Prayer for Fourth Sunday in Advent (Peace)

(This prayer is repeated each day during the fourth week. After the prayer, light all 4 candles)

Leader: O Lord, stir up Thy power, we pray Thee, and come; and with great might help us, that with the help of Thy Grace, Thy merciful forgiveness may hasten what our sins impede. Through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.

O Mother of our Advent, be with us and see to it that He will remain with us in this difficult Advent of the struggles for truth and hope, for justice and peace: He, alone, Emmanuel.

(Light a candle, become aware of God’s presence, make the Sign of the Cross, and then pray)

Lord of all life,
You are our hope and our joy, our source of true happiness.
We have journeyed to Easter and in the most difficult of trials
we have renewed our baptism
and proclaimed Your resurrection.
We embrace with gladness the new life to which You call each one of us.
Bless us, our families and all the world,
with Your constant presence and protection.
May we give You thanks every day
and share the good news of our faith with all we meet.
And may the light of our Easter faith
guide our footsteps in Your ways of love, peace and truth.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
In Easter joy we proclaim, Christ is risen! Alleluia, alleluia!

(Make the Sign of the Cross)

copyright: Dioceses of Clonfert, Elphin, Kildare and Leighlin 

O God, we acknowledge You today as Lord, not only of individuals, but of nations and governments. We thank You for the privilege of being able to organize ourselves politically and of knowing that political loyalty does not have to mean disloyalty to You. We thank You for Your law, which our Founding Fathers acknowledged and recognized as higher than any human law. We thank You for the opportunity that this election year puts before us, to exercise our solemn duty not only to vote, but to influence countless others to vote, and to vote correctly.

Lord, we pray that Your people may be awakened. Let them realize that while politics is not their salvation, their response to You requires that they be politically active. Awaken Your people to know that they are not called to be a sect fleeing the world, but rather a community of faith renewing the world.

Awaken them that the same hands lifted up to You in prayer are the hands that pull the lever in the voting booth; that the same eyes that read Your Word are the eyes that read the names on the ballot, and that they do not cease to be Christians when they enter the voting booth. Awaken Your people to a commitment to justice, to the sanctity of marriage and the family, to the dignity of each individual human life, and to the truth that human rights begin when Human Lives begin, and not one moment later.

Lord, we rejoice today that we are citizens of Your kingdom. May that make us all the more committed to being faithful citizens on earth. We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.