ADVENT 2020 GOSPEL ACCLAMATION SERIES
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Advent 2020 Gospel Acclamation Series. |
MONDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT:
In preparing for Christmas
during Advent, I would like to reflect up on the Gospel Acclamations each day.
You might wonder why I chose
to reflect upon the Gospel Acclamations. My reasons are as follows:
1.
They are short and can be used as a prayer
focus throughout the day.
2.
It encourages me to re-examine the Gospel
itself for the day and the connections between the Gospel Acclamation and the
Gospel itself.
3.
Gospel Acclamations at Mass can pass by
quickly. This advent I want to sit with them prayerfully and give them
attention.
Each post will proclaim the
Gospel Acclamation and then ponder how the acclamation can be lived throughout
Advent.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION:
Alleluia, Alleluia O Emmanuel, our King and Giver of Law:
come to save us, Lord our God!. . Alleluia.
Today’s Gospel is taken from LK 1:39-45. It is the Gospel that retells the Visitation
of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth. It is important to remember the terrain and
the hilly country that Mary had to travel- no cars in those days. Remember too she was pregnant in what would
have been considered peculiar circumstances.
Her cousin Elizabeth who people had called barren, which in those days
was considered a slight from God was now in her 6th month. Elizabeth did conceive herself as distinct
from Mary, which was through the power of the Holy Spirit. Nothing is impossible with God. It should also
be considered that Elizabeth and Zechariah had prayed for a child but none, up
to this point had been conceived. Still both mothers were together as pregnant
mums to be. Elizabeth was taken back to
see Mary and to have a visit from her- ‘Why should I be honoured with a visit from
the mother of my Lord’. Notice too that John the Baptist in the womb’
recognised’ Jesus too. Yes, babies do
kick but we can surmise that John the Baptist when he kicked in the womb also
had a sense of who Mary was and who it was she was carrying also. Mary stayed with Elizabeth 3 months- many
people have morning sickness in the early months but Mary stayed with Elizabeth
for 3 months up until the time of the birth of John the Baptist. She realised that Elizabeth needed her. She
was unselfish and did not think of her own pregnancy needs, but of Elizabeth.
How do
I respond to someone I know is in need?
Am I
willing to place the other person’s need over my own needs/wants/’desires?
What
attitude do I have towards pregnant women?
Do I
respect life of the unborn child or think I have the right to kill anunborn
child through abortion?
Think
of a time/incident in your life when someone came to give you help that you
needed?
With
advent near to a close, what can I spiritually do in these days?
How have
I grown in the Advent season and what have
I learned about my spiritual life during this time?
KEY ACTION WORDS.
O Emmanuel
Our King
Giver of the law.
Come
To save us
Lord our God.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Jesus come to us and save
us. You are Emmanuel which means God is
with us. Be with us today. Help me to
have a generous heart and to put other people’s needs before my own. Help me to
reach out to those in need who come across my path today. Come Lord Jesus and
be born in my heart again today.. Let my spirit leap for joy like John the
Baptist.
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