COLLECT SERIES.
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The Mass: Collect Series Icon. |
COLLECT PRAYER
The Collect for the Solemnity of Epiphany Year B
reads as follows:
May the splendour of Your Majesty,
O Lord, we pray,
Shed its light upon our hearts,
That we may pass through the
shadows of this world
And reach the brightness of our eternal
home.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You in the
unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
In making this prayer tangible, the
following reflection questions emerged:
- What is my attitude towards God as King of my heart and life?
- How will God be King of my heart this coming week?
- What light do I need shed on my heart?
- What are the shadows of my world?
- How can I reach the brightness of Heaven this coming week?
- What steps will I take to start the process/start again?
GOSPEL REFLECTION
Today’s Gospel is from Mt 2:1-12. In
this Gospel we hear a distinct contrast in the way the 3 Wise men from the East and Herod reacted
to the news of the birth of Jesus. The Wise
men did homage and then opened their gifts, whilst Herod, fearful of losing power and status was insincere in
his intention of doing homage but wanted to kill the baby. He perceived the birth of Jesus as a threat
to his power whereas the Wise men accepted the prophecies from Scripture and wanted to genuinely find this new born
King.
We may wish to ask ourselves as we ponder this Gospel which
character do we identify most in our lives. Are we fearful and territorial at
work fearing that someone else may be promoted and not us? Do we know how to give Jesus homage and worship
Him? Do we spend any time in our prayer
adoring the Lord or are our prayers focused on our needs or needs of
others? Intercessory prayer is good but are
we only asking God for our needs – in a sense using Him rather than being in
relationship with Him. I am sure we have
all had relationships where we have felt used rather than appreciated, loved
and respected. What about God- do we
adore and give Him full attention at Mass and in our prayer time?
Many parishes still have adoration of the Blessed
Sacrament. It is a wonderful opportunity
to spend time worshiping and praising Jesus in this way. Even if your parish is
closed due to covid 19 restrictions, do not let that stop you from incorporating
adoration of the Blessed Sacrament into our prayer and spiritual lives. We can still gain the benefit of it if we
approach it with faith. Nothing is impossible with God. Jesus will know our desire to spend time with
Him and will come to us via online adoration.
On the Solemnity of Epiphany, we can review our spiritual lives
and ask ourselves which star are we following?
Are we following Jesus, the light of the world who will shine in our
darkness/sin and help us or are we following the star of fame, fortune and
power like Herod?
If you have not made adoration of the Blessed Sacrament part of
your prayer life up to this point, why not review your prayer life and commitments
and make adoring the Lord a priority in your week either in person in your
parish or another parish or online.
You may wish to sing
today The First Nowell
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