ADVENT

“Maranatha” – “Our Lord, come”

(1 Corinthians 16.22)

THE COLLECT FOR THE FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Almighty God,

give us grace to cast away the works of darkness

and to put on the armour of light,

now in the time of this mortal life,

in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility;

that on the last day,

when he shall come again in his glorious majesty

to judge the living and the dead,

we may rise to the life immortal;

through him who is alive and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever.

***

Monday, 30th November

The Advent wind begins to stir
With sea-like sounds in our Scotch fir,
It’s dark at breakfast, dark at tea,
And in between we only see
Clouds hurrying across the sky
And rain-wet roads the wind blows dry
And branches bending to the gale
Against great skies all silver-pale.
The world seems travelling into space,
And travelling at a faster pace
Than in the leisured summer weather
When we and it sit out together,
For now we feel the world spin round
On some momentous journey bound –
Journey to what? to whom? to where?
The Advent bells call out ‘Prepare,
Your world is journeying to the birth
Of God made Man for us on earth.’

from Advent (1955), by John Betjeman

Tuesday, 1st December

During Advent we become one with those who waited in darkness for the revealing of God’s light – and who dared to hope that god’s salvation could come in the birth of a child …

Waiting is essential to the spiritual life. But waiting as a Christian is not empty waiting. It is a waiting with a promise in our hearts that makes already present what we are waiting for!

Christians wait in Advent for the birth of Jesus. We wait after Easter for the coming of the Holy Spirit. We wait after the Ascension of Jesus for his coming again in glory – that Second Coming – which is a particular focus for us in Advent.

from In Joyful Hope, by Henri Nouwen

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Holy Communion for the The First Sunday of Advent, 2020, celebrated at St Mary’s, Steeple Ashton

Prayers of Intercession for Advent

… and some favourite hymns for this day …

Awake, awake: fling off the night

Come, thou long-expected Jesus

Hark! A herald voice is calling

Hills of the north, rejoice

Lo, he comes with clouds descending

O come, O come, Emmanuel

Sunday, 29th November – THE FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Monday, 30th November – ANDREW THE APOSTLE

Tuesday, 1st December – Charles de Foucauld, Hermit in the Sahara, 1916

Wednesday, 2nd December – Feria

Thursday, 3rd December – Francis Xavier, Missionary, Apostle of the Indies, 1552

Friday, 4th December – John of Damascus, Monk, Teacher, c.749; Nicholas Ferrar, Deacon, Founder of Little Gidding, 1637

Saturday, 5th December – Feria

***

www.excitingholiness.org/first-edition is an excellent online resource containing short biographies of the saints, as well as prayers and readings for their day.

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