Opening Prayer Series: 2nd Sunday of Advent Year A

OPENING PRAYER SERIES:

THE MASS OPENING PRAYER SERIES ICON.

OPENING PRAYER

The Opening Prayer of the Second Sunday of Advent Year A reads as follows:

Let us pray

(that nothing may hinder us from receiving Christ with joy)

Father of power and mercy

opening our hearts in welcome.

Remove the things that hinder us from receiving Christ with joy,

so that we may share His wisdom 

and become one with Him when He comes in glory

for He lives and reigns with You and Holy Spirit 

One God, for ever and ever.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS 

In making this prayer tangible, the following reflection questions emerged:

1.            What are the things that are hindering us from receiving Christ with joy?

2.            What will I do about these hindrances to overcome them during this 2nd week of Advent?

3.            What parts of my life and my heart are closed or need to be expanded?

4.            What does sharing Christ's wisdom mean to me?

5.            How can I become one with God during this Advent season?

6.            What is my plan to achieve further spiritual growth for this liturgical year?

7.            How will I achieve my plan- each day, each week, each month?

GOSPEL REFLECTION

In today's gospel we meet the challenging character of John the Baptist who is a man on a mission in his preaching- ' Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is close at hand'. He baptized with water and those who went to him confessed their sins.  Still, for those who came for show, he gave them a real mouthful!!!

The challenge for us in this gospel is to ask are we 

·                     John the Baptist preaching 'prepare a way for the Lord' by the way we live, and to those we encounter in our workplace, families, friends and parishioners?

·                     one of John's listeners prepared to act upon John's preaching:  'Repent for the kingdom of Heaven is close at hand' by receiving the sacrament of reconciliation?

·                     a Pharisee or Sadducee attending reconciliation services in advent, because it is the place to be seen or with an 'I should attitude', but have no or little sincere desire to repent?

 The good news is that if we have not received the sacrament of reconciliation for a while- fear not. You will not get a mouthful like John the Baptist would give you. Jesus ( in the priest) will welcome you and help you confess sincerely and give you absolution.  There are  many resources which may help you understand this sacrament including 101 Inspirational Stories of the Sacrament of Reconcilation orPreparing for the Sacrament of Reconiliation: A Catholic Guide : Companion to 101 Inspirational Stories of the Sacrament of Reconciliation

If you regularly receive the sacrament, keep up the good practice since to grow in the spiritual life means we need to be honest with ourselves and know that we are sinners, but loved and redeemed by God.

Advent is a time to prepare the way of the Lord and to make straight His paths. 

Let us make the most of our Advent season, so that we may see the salvation of God in our lives.

On a personal note, I am attending an ordination and first Mass of a priest this weekend and celebrating with overwhelming joy and happiness. Join me in praying for him and for all our priests this weekend.

After all, a good priest helps us to prepare the way of the Lord and make our paths straight.