Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Advent
Christmas Eve: 24-12-14
Gospel: Luke 1: 79
By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death
Reflection: In the shadow of death
Millions live literally in the shadow of death in war-torn countries.
In a free world we sometimes realise how great it is
to be able to walk the streets without fear of explosions,
to vote freely in elections, and
to live with control over our lives.
We appreciate that our children are not enrolled as child-soldiers and can complete their education.
Jesus’ first weeks were lived in this shadow, as Herod wanted to kill him.
He shares the worst of life that he might show us the best.
The first message of his life is ‘Peace on earth’.
It is good always to hope for this and to pray for it,
and co-operate in whatever way we can in the work of peace.
Peacemakers are the privileged ones of God’s family.
Prayer:
Lead us
from despair to hope,
from hate to love,
from war to peace
Please offer a prayer today
for those who work :
for/with the poorest of the poor ,
for world peace/justice,
for human dignity/rights
for missionaries sharing the faith
And don’t forget this is the Holy Night
May all the blessings of this night and season be upon you and remain with you forever. Amen, Alleluia
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Catholicireland.net
The site finishes tonight but, for your continued devotion it will remain in place
until the Christmas season itself in nearly ended.
We hope that you found this Advent site helpful and uplifting.
Thank you for visiting with us.
Our thanks go especially to Donal Neary SJ
for the use/adaptation of the text of his booklet,
‘Praying in Advent’.
Columba Press
Our thanks is also due to all those who helped, were quoted, or whose pictures
we used in the developement of this site
and particularly to Oliver Tormay, our operations manager.
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