Advent

This week we began the celebration of the first week of Advent.

Here is a snippet from our liturgy.

The Advent wreath is a symbol of growth and of life. The circle of the candle reminds us that God’s love for us has no beginning and no end. The candles remind us of Jesus - the light of the world and a guide for us to follow. There are four candles, each representing the four Sundays of Advent - a candle for HOPE, PEACE, LOVE and JOY.

We light the first candle - the candle of HOPE - as a sign of our commitment to bring about a kingdom of hope, peace, love and joy.

We begin our prayer as we live our lives, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. During the first week of Advent, we focus on HOPE.

Are we hope-filled people - as Jesus was?

Do we look on the bright side of things - as Jesus did?

Do we look forward to tomorrow with hope - knowing that good things will happen - as Jesus did?

Shared prayers

We pray for all leaders and the keepers of hope in our world, that they may remain faithful to the Dream of Jesus by serving the poor, the powerless, the victimised and those who have lost hope. God of Hope, hear us.

We pray for God’s love and mercy for all people. May we bring to others, through our words and actions, the messages of hope, peace, love and joy. God of Hope, hear us.

We pray for ourselves and our families that we may be strengthened to use hopeful, peaceful, loving and joy-filled actions when making choices in our lives. God of Hope, hear us.