Spirituality in Action (SIA) NO 1

SPIRITUALITY IN ACTION:WEEK 1 OF ADVENT SERIES.

The Advent Wreath: SIA Advent Series. Icon.

In my Opening Prayer series, I posed a number of questions in relation to the Opening Prayer of the Mass today. You might like to refer to this series.

Normally I go to Sunday Mass, but due to different circumstances, I had the advantage of going to Saturday night Mass (for myself) and Sunday night Mass (to play the piano). Two different styles of Masses gave me two different perspectives on this first Sunday of Advent.

I wish to share my thoughts and feelings about my First Sunday of Advent and how I attempted my Spirituality in Action SIA). These thoughts and feelings and experiences are as follows:

1.The blessing of the Advent Wreath was poignant. The words of the prayer endless and ever new resonated for me. Each year with the Lord is endless- eternal, and yet God, in His generosity, gives me a chance to start afresh- the ever new. I felt heartened by these words and will allow them to permeate my advent.

2. The Second Reading was encouraging- Christ speaking to me through St Paul to live the kind of life He wants me to live- in other words to take Him seriously and to put it into action. My SIA is to read this again during the week to keep me focused.

3. One of the hymns sung at the Saturday evening mass was fascinating- called

'Nations, Hear the Prophet's Word'- sung to the tune of Good King Wenceslas.

Here is the first verse and refrain-

1. Nations, hear the prophet's word, God will come to save us.

O be still and know the Lord; Howe else may God save us?

Refrain: People be not sad of heart, God will come and save us. 

Be forever glad of heart; God will live among us.

My spirituality in Action is to sing this hymn during the week and allow the hope of this Season to permeate my heart. I also want to invite Jesus to come and save me especially in my weaknesses.  I wish to use the Sacrament of Reconciliation well during this season of Advent.  I hope that this might encourage you also to say 'Come Lord Jesus'.

2. Playing for Sunday night Mass is usually not my domain at all. My SIA- a simple yes to playing as a response to' increasing my strength for doing good'. It would have been easier to say no and not be inconvenienced. I am ever an inconvenience to God.

3. Before I went to Mass, I named my hindrances/ obstacles from previous Advents. My SIA is to change one of these each week. Having a focus on one change for the week ties in with the above hymn.

4. Wanting to give Christ an eager welcome is more challenging this year, due to the loss of a loved one.  This first Christmas without my father will be difficult. Still, my SIA is to think of the eager welcome dad hopefully has received from the Lord, and to visualize the eager welcome that Christ shares with me each day, especially when I am struggling in my grief.

I feel heartened too that I can remember in my prayer all those people who find this time of preparing for Christmas a real struggle- My SIA is to pray for them, that in their struggle, that they may experience Christ's eager welcome and some hope.

5. My final SIA is to commit myself to some spiritual growth for the year- not just for the season of Advent. I have decided to learn more about my faith so I really can take the call of Christ seriously.  I will tell you more about this in my faith nurturing series.

I hope that you had a beautiful First Sunday of Advent 

and that you Wait for the Lord during this first week full of hope and expectation.

Week 1 Advent Opening Prayer

OPENING PRAYER SERIES.

The Mass: Opening Prayer Series Icon.

WEEK 1 ADVENT OPENING PRAYER.

The opening prayer of the Mass for the first week of Advent reads as follows:

Let us pray,

(that we may take Christ's coming seriously)

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 Holy Spirit, 

                                 one God, for ever and ever.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

In making this prayer tangible for my life during this week, the following reflection questions emerged:

1.     What does taking Christ's coming seriously truly mean for me?

2.  What were the hindrances and obstacles I accepted in my life in previous  Advents?

3.    Name these hindrances/obstacles and choose one of them this week to change this Advent season.  By working on one hindrance/obstacle each week four changes will have occurred and the call to take Christ's coming seriously will be a reality.

4.    How will I increase my strength of will for doing good?
The strength of will for doing good for me will be in my home, family, workplace, parish- an small act of kindness when I do not feel like it will be a great start to increasing my strength for doing good.  Why not start slowly and choose just one per day- I am sure the Holy Spirit will provide the opportunity for me- I pray that I am open to seeing and hearing it and have the courage to act.

5.  What does giving Christ an eager welcome at his coming mean for me this advent?

6.    Am I ready to be called to His side in the kingdom of Heaven?
As humans we are imperfect so we are never totally ready to meet Christ, but the commitment and desire to be ready during this Advent is important.  My list of hindrances/obstacles will assist me in identifying why I am not quite ready to be called to His side. I can take heart in knowing that Christ will hear my prayer and honour my efforts to change.

7.    What does living with God mean for me during this first week of Advent?
Of course, 1 do not know what living with God eternally will be like and Scripture supports this unknowing. One thing I do know is that I can live with God each day by the way I live.

 There is often an alternative Opening Prayer which is chosen by the priest. Should you hear the alternative Opening Prayer on this first Sunday of Advent, why not reflect on it during the week, see what questions emerge for you and decide how you will achieve your 'SIA'- Spirituality in Action 

Well looks like I have work to do this Advent to heed the call to take Christ's coming seriously.

I hope your Advent journey is spiritually exciting and challenging as we focus on 'preparing the way for the Lord' together.

Visit next week for Week 2 of Opening Prayer series. 

 

THE ADVENT WREATH 

ADVENT WREATH

Since the 900s Advent has been considered the beginning of the Church year. The word Advent is from the Latin adventus for "coming" and is associated with the four weeks of preparation for Christmas. Advent always contains four Sundays, beginning on the Sunday nearest the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, (November 30) and continuing until December 24. It blends together a penitential spirit, very similar to Lent, a liturgical theme of preparation for the Second and Final Coming of the Lord, called the Parousia, and a joyful theme of getting ready for the Bethlehem event.   

The Advent Wreath represents the time before Christ when people waited for the coming of the Messiah, the Light of the world. Each year in Advent people wait once again 'in darkness 'for the coming of the Lord, His historical coming in the mystery of Bethlehem, His final coming at the end of time, and His special coming in every moment of grace.

"Customarily the Advent Wreath is constructed of a circle of evergreen branches into which are inserted four candles. According to tradition, three of the candles are violet and the fourth is rose.” (Book of Blessings 1510).  

 The Advent Wreath is an important liturgical symbol which helps us to prepare the way of the Lord with the lighting of the candles each week.  During Advent, family and friends can gather around the Advent Wreath lighting the appropriate candle(s), read from the daily Advent meditation and sing Advent hymns. The Church's official Book of Blessings also provides a blessing ceremony for the Advent Wreath which can be used in the absence of a priest.  

The rose candle is lit the third Sunday of Advent, for this colour anticipates and symbolizes the Christmas joy announced in the first word of the Entrance Antiphon: "Rejoice" (Latin, Gaudete). For this reason, the Third Sunday is also called Gaudete Sunday, and rose colour vestments are permitted. The traditional colour of the vestments during Weeks 1, 2 and 4 is either purple or violet to represent penitential spirit. Advent is a season of hope, but a penitential spirit during this season is a fitting way to prepare the way of the Lord.  

 Using the same Advent Wreath for each year at home can be effective, as it gives a sense of continuity. As each Advent passes, I prefer to create it differently, without losing my continual sense of journeying with the Lord.  However, a few years ago, I used a different Advent Wreath to coincide with the liturgical season of years A, B, or C.  This approach helped me differentiate between Years A, B and C and head the call to prepare the way of the Lord seriously- a fresh start to the liturgical year. Today we are blessed with so many different types and styles from which to choose, some of which can be seen here. 

When lighting the Advent Wreath, it should be lit as a circular journey with the fourth candle at the front of it- the nearest to Christmas. In more recent times, some people prefer to add a white candle to represent Christmas.  However, although this has some practical merit for our home Advent Wreaths, it is important liturgically not to confuse the liturgical symbols- the Advent wreath is specific and associated with Advent with its 3 purple and one rose colour candle, whilst the Crib with Christmas.  

Why not check out what Pope Benedict has to say about the season of advent here.
The Advent reflections located there and perhaps my Opening Prayer series may also help your Advent to be a season truly worthy of waiting for the Lord. 

Introduction to Opening Prayer Series

OPENING PRAYER SERIES: 

The Mass: Opening Prayer Series Icon.

 

INTRODUCTION

How do you reconnect with your Sunday Mass during the week?  My aim of this weekly Opening Prayer Series is to reconnect with Sunday Mass, so as to make it a daily experience. This series is about discovering and enhancing our faith together by daily reflecting and making alive in a tangible way the Opening Prayer.

I hope that you will find it uplifting and beneficial to your faith journey. 

 

You might be wondering 'what is the Opening Prayer of the Mass'? Understanding the structure of the Opening Prayer may be helpful before we launch deeper into this series.

 

At the end of the Introductory Rite of the Mass is the Opening Prayer or Collect.The priest invites us to pray silently for a moment, and then, in our name, expresses the theme of the day’s celebration and petitions to God the Father through the mediation of Christ in the Holy Spirit.

STRUCTURE OF THE OPENING PRAYER ( COLLECT)

 

In other words, he ‘collects’ or gathers up all the prayers on our behalf and offers them to God. He reads it from the Book of the Chair. The unfolding of this opening prayer is as follows:

 

• An invitation to prayer: ‘Let us pray’,

 

•    A time of silence: a time to present our intentions to God.
•   The invocation: these can be varied but they all address God in some form- for
     example- Father, Eternal Father, Lord, God of mercy and power, Father of love.
•    The anamnesis or thanksgiving:
•    The request: Give.
•    The affirmation of the mediation of Christ: ‘Through Christ our Lord’.
•     Our response: ‘Amen’.

 As we commence a new liturgical year, what  will YOUR new year spiritual resolution be?

 

I hope the Opening Prayer series will add to your spiritual nourishment

 

About New Horizons Welcome to New Horizons

ABOUT NEW HORIZONS.

Christ the Redeemer

WELCOME TO NEW HORIZONS 
 

New Horizons is born from a desire to encourage my fellow Catholic brothers and sisters to discover and enhance their Catholic faith. It will portray the teachings of Jesus Christ in union with the Catholic Church. I hope my Christian brothers and sisters will also find it appealing. I am a Catholic passionate about nurturing and developing my relationship with God, and have pastoral and counselling background.

I am excited to share my blog with you- a journey of discovery and enhancement of our Catholic faith 
I hope to share with you many topics that relate to our Catholic faith during the journey and these will be presented in different ways including

·        Daily or twice weekly posts such as the daily Wisdom and inspirational prayer series

·         series format over a number of weeks- check out the Scripture series

·    Seasonal topics- the Liturgical Seasons series will explore aspects of each of the Liturgical seasons of the Year commencing with Advent. 

Hope that New Horizons- discover and enhance your Catholic faith will be fruitful for your spiritual journey.