EUCHARISTIC ADORATION
THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR (# 1)
A Weekly Pastoral Tool for the YEAR OF THE EUCHARIST
First Week of Advent, Year A
Nov. 28 – Dec. 4, 2004
“Stay Awake … Be prepared!”
(+) In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
(A moment of silence)
SONG: Any suitable Eucharistic hymn or Advent song may be sung.
WORDS OF POPE JOHN PAUL II
(From the encyclical letter, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, n. 8 & 18)
The Eucharist is always in some way celebrated on the altar of the world. It unites heaven and earth. It embraces and permeates all creation. The Son of God became man in order to restore all creation, in one supreme act of praise, to the one who made it from nothing. He, the eternal high priest who by the blood of his cross entered the eternal sanctuary, thus gives back to the Creator and Father all creation redeemed. He does so through the priestly ministry of the church, to the glory of the most Holy Trinity. Truly this is the “mysterium fidei” which is accomplished in the Eucharist: The world which came forth from the hands of God the Creator now returns to him redeemed by Christ …
The acclamation of the assembly following the consecration appropriately ends by expressing the eschatological thrust, which marks the celebration of the Eucharist: “until you come in glory”. The Eucharist is a straining towards the goal, a foretaste of the fullness of joy promised by Christ; it is in some way the anticipation of heaven, the “pledge of future glory”. In the Eucharist, everything speaks of confident waiting “in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ”.
SILENT ADORATION AND PRAYER
OPENING PRAYER
Leader: Let us pray that we may take Christ’s coming seriously.
(Brief silence)
All-powerful God, increase our strength of will for doing good that Christ may find an eager welcome at his coming and call us to his side in the kingdom of heaven where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Assembly: Amen.
Part I
JESUS MASTER TRUTH
Listening To the Word
GOSPEL READING: Mt 24:37-44
PERSONAL REFLECTION
(As a tool for personal reflection, please visit the PDDM Website: www.pddm.org // www.pddm.us for the BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (# 1): A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy . The Biblico-Liturgical Reflections are an aid for a deeper understanding of the Gospel reading.)
SONG: Any Advent hymn or suitable song of praise may be sung.
Part II
JESUS MASTER WAY
Confrontation with the Word
POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
Leader: More than any time of the year, Advent prods us to look to the future. We reflect on how we – the community of believers – live our lives of Christian discipleship so that we may find our lasting joy in the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. We are reminded too of our Lord’s coming to each one of us in the daily events of our life and finally, at the hour of our death and at the final judgment. The key message of this Advent week is “Stay awake … Be prepared!” In light of the Gospel we have heard, let us make a revision of life.
1. Are we intent to live righteously in constant readiness for the coming of the Son of Man? What does our renewed vigilance for the Lord’s coming consist in?
2. How do we make use of the grace of Advent season given us by the Lord? Are we creatively engaged that Christ has come, continues to come in our daily life, and will come again gloriously at the end time?
3. Do we pray the beautiful Advent invocation: “Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!” with joyful hope and confident trust?
PRAYER: (Cf. Andrew Chao, Glory to the Lord, vol. II, Manila: EAPI, 1967, p. 17-18.)
Leader: Lord Jesus Christ, you already came to save us, and you still wish to come in order to bring us to your heavenly kingdom. Help us, O Lord, to be wakeful and sober, that we may always be ready for your coming.
Assembly: Hear us, O Lord, our Savior.
Leader: Banish from our hearts hatred and the spirit of revenge, that we may with our neighbor live together as brothers and sisters.
Assembly: Hear us, O Lord, Prince of peace.
Leader: Help us to subdue the pride in our hearts, that we may respect one another as God’s children.
Assembly: Hear us, O Lord, humble and meek of heart.
Leader: With the fire of your love, warm the coldness of our hearts that we may be able to love God and our fellow men and women.
Assembly: Hear us, O Lord, King of love.
SONG: Any suitable song may be sung.
Part III
JESUS LIFE
Acting upon the Word
PERSONAL PRAYER
CONTEMPLATING WITH MARY THE FACE OF CHRIST: The Mysteries of the Rosary may be prayed in part or in full.
THE WAY OF SOLIDARITY: PRAYER OF INTERCESSION
Leader: Pope John Paul II, in his Apostolic Letter, “Mane Nobiscum Domine” exhorts us: “Can we not make this Year of the Eucharist an occasion for diocesan and parish communities to commit themselves in a particular way to responding with fraternal solicitude to one of the many forms of poverty present in our world? I think for example of the tragedy of hunger which plagues hundreds of millions of human beings, the diseases which afflict developing countries, the loneliness of the elderly, the hardships faced by the unemployed, the struggles of immigrants. These are evils which are present – albeit to a different degree – even in areas of immense wealth. We cannot delude ourselves: by our mutual love and, in particular, by our concern for those in need we will be recognized as true followers of Christ. This will be the criterion by which the authenticity of our Eucharistic celebrations is judged.”
In the spirit of solidarity with all of humanity and with the use of news briefs, let us now make our prayers of intercession for the world.
1. VIOLENCE FLARES IN SUNNI TRIANGLE: Ambushes and bomb attacks jolted central and northern Iraq on Wednesday evening as insurgents pressed a campaign against American and Iraqi forces after the American-led offensive that left swaths of Fallujah in ruins. The violence flared in cities across the Sunni Triangle, from Ramadi to Bayji to Kirkuk. (SILENT PRAYER)
2. MINES KILL, MAIM 8,000: More than 8,000 people were killed or maimed last year by land mines, although an international treaty that banned the weapons five years ago has reduced the carnage, an activist group said Wednesday. (SILENT PRAYER)
3. LOCUSTS INVADE CAIRO: In an echo of the biblical plagues, millions of locusts swarmed into northern Egypt on Wednesday for the first time in 50 years, prompting authorities to order emergency pesticide spraying to protect the region’s important agriculture industry. (SILENT PRAYER)
4. THOUSAND FLEE IVORY COAST TURMOIL: They cross border to Liberia, but aid has yet to reach the region. Frightened and in search of food, shelter and peace, thousands of refugees surged across the border Wednesday from Ivory Coast, West Africa’s longtime economic bastion, paddling across the river frontier by canoe to escape growing turmoil at home. (SILENT PRAYER)
5. REBUILDING PEOPLE IN FRESNO, CA - USA: Residents living outside Fresno’s Poverello House will literally be given a step up this week when they are moved into wooden sheds built where their tent city once was. The fenced tent camp, known as Michael McGarvin Jr. Village of Hope, was opened last year at Santa Clara and G streets as an alternative to the outdoors and cold weather for the homeless. (SILENT PRAYER)
(Other prayers may be added.)
THE LORD’S PRAYER
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Leader: Father in heaven, our hearts desire the warmth of your love and our minds are searching for the light of your Word. Increase our longing for Christ our Savior and give us the strength to grow in love that the dawn of his coming may find us rejoicing in his presence and welcoming the light of his truth. We ask this in the name of the Lord.
Assembly: Amen.
FINAL SONG: Any suitable Eucharistic hymn or Advent song may be sung.
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US