Fourth Week of Advent
DECEMBER 21: Fourth Sunday of Advent
READ Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain. (Psalm 24:3-4)
REFLECT God created us so that we could ascend His mountain, so that we could share in His life forever. This purpose for which we were created means that we go through the process of detaching ourselves from the ambitions and opinions of the world, seeking after the will of God.
PRAY Jesus, Morning Star, You give us the strength and hope that we need to persevere. We thank You for the gift of this season of Advent and the time to prepare for Your coming. Amen.
DO Offer to God any anxieties and stresses, making an act of trust in Him.
DECEMBER 22: Monday, Fourth Week of Advent
READ “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For He has looked upon His lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is His Name.” (Luke 1:46-49)
REFLECT These words which Our Lady spoke at her meeting with her cousin Elizabeth are a beautiful prayer that we can adopt after receiving Holy Communion. God has worked great things for us in giving us the grace of Baptism and in having the opportunity to receive Him in the Eucharist. Let us never grow indifferent to the gift of the Eucharist.
PRAYJesus, Emmanuel, open my heart to rejoice always in You. Do not let me forget the importance of rejoicing in Your grace. Amen.
DO Take a moment today to just sit and be still. Allow calm and peace to dwell in you.
DECEMBER 23: Tuesday, Fourth Week of Advent
READ Yes, He is coming, says the LORD of hosts. But who will endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like the refiner’s fire, or like the fuller’s lye. He will sit refining and purifying silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi, refining them like gold or like silver that they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD. (Malachi 3:2-3)
REFLECT The prophet Malachi reminds us of the magnificence of Jesus’ arrival. Even though Jesus came to us as a helpless baby in poverty and obscurity, and in homelessness, it was precisely this helplessness and obscurity that reveals to us the value of Christ’s love. Let us not neglect Christ in the people we meet who suffer from material or emotional poverty. Christ comes to us in great magnificence in our soul, and will come again with power and glory at the Second Coming.
PRAY Jesus, Emmanuel, You humbled yourself in order to exalt us. As Sainty Athanasius said, “God became man so that man might become God.” You took on our nature so that we could participate in Your divine nature. If we did not receive Your life, we would not live forever, so You have now enabled us to share in Your very divine nature. You raise us up in glory, Lord, You bless us beyond our greatest hope. Amen.
DO Throughout today, just keep saying and praying: Come, Lord Jesus.
DECEMBER 24: WEDNESDAY, Fourth WEEK of Advent
READ In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace. (Luke 1:79)
REFLECT Even amid the lights of Christmas, there are still those who suffer in the shadows of poverty, illness, grief, and isolation. Let us not forget those for whom this Christmas is a difficult time. Let us share the light that Jesus brings to them through our prayer for them and kindness to them.
PRAY Lord, not everyone feels joyful at this season. So many have lost loved ones during the year, and in many places, the winter cold blows its bitter winds into lonely hearts. On this Christmas Eve, we pray for those who are grieving losses. Memories of happy times with loved ones in the past can send a rush of tears to those whose arms ache with emptiness. Lord, dry those tears with Your sweet words of comfort and cheer. Turn their sorrow into joy as only You can do. Amen.
DO Call, text, or visit with someone who is alone this Christmas. Let them know you are thinking of them.
A CHRISTMAS PRAYER
O sweet Child of Bethlehem, grant that we may share with all our hearts in this profound mystery of Christmas.
Put into the hearts of men and women this peace for which they sometimes seek so desperately and which you alone can give to them.
Help them to know one another better, and to live as brothers and sisters, children of the same Father. Reveal to them also Your beauty, holiness and purity.
Awaken in their hearts love and gratitude for Your infinite goodness. Join them all together in Your love. And give us Your heavenly peace. Amen.
Third Week of Advent
DECEMBER 14: Third Sunday of Advent
READ Those whom the LORD has ransomed will return and enter Zion singing, crowned with everlasting joy; they will meet with joy and gladness, sorrow and mourning will flee. (Isaiah 35:5-6,10)
REFLECT Jesus comes to bring us freedom and joy. He comes to give us healing and to allow us to live according to the truth. The Lord’s promises to us always bring us closer to the truth, to everything that is good and everything that is beautiful. Life with God is truly something to rejoice about.
PRAY Jesus, Emmanuel, You are always with me. Help me to receive Your Body and Blood in the Eucharist so that I may be filled with Your joy and hope. Help me to bring Your joy to my brothers and sisters. Amen.
DO In what ways can I grow in kindness to my family and friends during this Christmas season? How can I grow in receiving their kindness with more gratitude?
DECEMBER 15: Monday of the Third Week of Advent
READ Good and upright is the LORD; thus He shows sinners the way. He guides the humble to justice, He teaches the humble His way. (Psalm 25:8-9)
REFLECT Humility is the foundation of the spiritual life. Recognizing our complete dependence on God is absolutely crucial for growing in holiness. Humility is what makes us resemble Christ in a special way, because Christ was perfectly humble and obedient to the Father.
PRAY Jesus, Emmanuel, help me to live out the virtue of humility so that I may experience it as the foundation of my trust in You and in my conduct toward my family and friends. Amen.
DO Take a moment of silence in the middle of the day to recollect yourself in God’s presence.
DECEMBER 16: Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent
READ The LORD is close to the brokenhearted. Those who are crushed in spirit He saves. (Psalm 34:19,23)
REFLECTJesus is with us even when it feels like we are alone and abandoned. When our hearts break, the Lord makes our wounds like His own on the cross: sources of life and grace for ourselves and for the people in our life.
PRAY Jesus, Emmanuel, in You is the source of all knowledge, power and order. Open my eyes so that I may see Your presence in my life and in creation. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.
DO Read and reflect on the birth of Jesus as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew chapters one and two.
DECEMBER 17: Wednesday of Third Week of Advent
READJustice shall flower in His days, and profound peace, till the moon be no more. (Psalm 72:3-4)
REFLECT Jesus has perfect mercy and perfect justice. This is why we can, as Christians, place our hope in God because he will remedy every act of injustice that we have suffered. Jesus’ justice brings us peace.
PRAYJesus, Emmanuel, rescue me from my sin and increase in me Your grace so that I can love You more and serve my brothers and sisters with joy. Amen.
DO Offer an Our Father and Hail Mary for those whom God is calling to the priesthood and religious life.
DECEMBER 18: Thursday of the Third Week of Advent
READ“Joseph, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20-21)
REFLECTThrough Saint Joseph’s obedience to God, Mary and Jesus were kept safe and had a home.
PRAYJesus, I ask through the intercession of Saint Joseph for the grace to be prepared to receive You this Christmas with an open heart. Amen.
DO Pray for the family members and friends you will see over the Christmas holiday.
DECEMBER 19: Friday of the Third Week of Advent
READ For you are my hope, O LORD; my trust, O God, from my youth. On you I depend from birth; from my mother’s womb you are my strength. (Psalm 71:5-6)
REFLECT Heaven is our home. God has called each one of us to holiness and to bring as many people as we can with us to heaven. Christian hope is not hope for a successful career or an easy life, but for a life that is lived faithfully in accord with God’s will.
PRAY Jesus, Emmanuel, You are the source and fulfillment of all our desires. Help us to rejoice in Your love so that we may live in true hope.
DOT ake a moment during the day to remember the presence of God and thank Him for His goodness.
DECEMBER 20: Saturday of the Third Week of Advent
READ “You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.” (Luke 1:31-33)
REFLECTWhen Mary heard the words spoken to her by the angel Gabriel, there were likely many different questions in her heart. Let us imitate Our Lady’s trust in God’s plan, even when His plan surprises us.
PRAY Jesus, Good Shepherd, increase our gratitude for your care for us, especially when we do not immediately understand. Amen.
DO Don’t let the Christmas panic get to you. There is a lot to do. Do it with grace and trust.
Second Week of Advent
DECEMBER 7: Second Sunday of Advent
READ John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand! Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths.” (Matthew 3: 1-3)
REFLECT These words were proclaimed by John the Baptist to announce the coming of Jesus. We might wonder where God is in the craziness and complexities of life. He is there. In fact, God can even write straight with crooked lines.
PRAY Jesus, Emmanuel, You are always with me. Help me stay the course toward You even when the path might be rough and winding. Amen.
DO Before every journey today, no matter where it is to (church, store, mailbox, backyard, etc.), say a prayer asking God to protect you on the path.
DECEMBER 8: Immaculate Conception of the BVM
READHail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women. (Luke 1:28)
REFLECTJesus’ mother was conceived free from Original Sin. She is “full of grace” and is a model to us of how God desires us to live and to act. Jesus gave us His mother as our mother, too, so she may protect and intercede for us.
PRAYJesus, I entrust myself to Your mother, Mary. Thank You for giving Your mother to me. Amen.
DO Whenever you feel stressed out or frustrated during the day, pray the Hail Mary.
DECEMBER 9: Tuesday, Second Week of Advent
READ Like a shepherd, He feeds His flock; in His arms He gathers the lambs, Carrying them in His bosom, and leading the ewes with care. (Isaiah 40:10-11)
REFLECT Jesus is truly the Good Shepherd Who feeds us with His body and blood, and sustains us with His grace. We are totally dependent upon God. Without Him we are unable to do anything. Everything good in our lives comes from God Who is our Good Shepherd.
PRAYJesus, Good Shepherd, You protect us and listen to our cries for help. Help us to trust in You and Your protection. Give us the grace to always seek after You when happy and when sorrowful. Amen.
DO What specific ways can I prepare the way of the Lord, of announcing the good news of Jesus’ reign?
DECEMBER 10: Wednesday, Second Week of Advent
READ Come to Me, all who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For My yoke is easy, and My burden light. (Matthew 11:28-30)
REFLECT When we place our hope in God, we are strengthened. The more we give ourselves to God and the more that we place our trust in Him, the more we are transformed in God’s grace.
PRAY Jesus, Good Shepherd, increase my hope in You. You desire my happiness. Your plan is better than my own. Help me to choose Your will over my own. Amen.
DO Be extra aware of the people in your life who may be struggling with hope this season.
DECEMBER 11: Thursday, Second Week of Advent
READ I am the LORD, your God, Who grasp your right hand; Fear not, I will help you.” (Isaiah 41:13)
REFLECT God has the strength to pull us through any trial. He does not always remove our trials. He does not test us beyond our strength. God allows us to experience suffering as a share in His passion and cross, so that we can share in His resurrection.
PRAYJesus, Morning Star, You are the source of all my hope. Do not let me give in to a spirit of fear, but let me always rest in Your love and strength. Amen.
DO Pray a decade of the Rosary today, meditating on Mary’s meeting with Elizabeth.
DECEMBER 12: Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
READSing! Rejoice! O daughter Zion! I am coming to dwell among you, says the LORD. (Zechariah 2:14-15)
REFLECT After Our Lady’s apparition to Saint Juan Diego at the hill of Tepeyac, millions came to believe in Jesus the Son of Mary and Son of God. The prophet Zechariah reminds us that God truly dwells with us. Just as Mary prepared for Jesus’ coming, she continues to help us receive Jesus each day of our life.
PRAYJesus, Emmanuel, You are my light and my life. I invite You into my relationships, my conversations, and my work. I entrust them to You. Sanctify them. Amen.
DO Smile, even when you don’t feel like it.
DECEMBER 13: Memorial of Saint Lucy
READ The Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps. (Matthew 25: 25:1-4)
REFLECT Saint Lucy was a young woman who was martyred in the fourth century because of her desire to dedicate herself entirely to the Lord. She is the patron saint of the blind and her name means “light.” Do I make Jesus the most important person in my life? Do I invite Jesus into each one of my relationships?
PRAYJesus, let me have Your love and Your grace. They are sufficient for me. Amen.
DO Ask the Lord to increase your love for Him.
First Week of Advent
November 30: First Sunday of Advent
READ It is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. (Romans 13: 11-12)
REFLECT As we prepare for the coming of Jesus this Advent, let us take a moment to identify the habits which Jesus wants us to grow in and which habits He wants us to move away from.
PRAY Jesus, Morning Star, prepare my heart to receive You this Christmas, so that my soul can be Your dwelling place. Amen.
DO Getting ready for Christmas can be a little stressful. What can you simplify that will help you keep focused on the meaning of the season?
DECEMBER 1: Monday of the First Week of Advent
READ Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. (Matthew 8:8)
REFLECT Advent is when we make ourselves ready to receive God in every way He comes to us. The first step of this preparation is repentance, acknowledging our sins and trusting in God’s mercy and forgiveness.
PRAY Jesus, Morning Star, give me the grace of repentance so I can turn away from my selfishness and open myself to receive Your mercy and peace. Amen.
DO As you decorate your home for Christmas, be sure to include a nativity set.
DECEMBER 2: Tuesday of the First Week of Advent
READ For the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD, as water covers the sea. (Isaiah 11:9)
REFLECT Isaiah tells us that Jesus the Messiah will give us the knowledge of God, so that we can love God more perfectly. We cannot love what we do not know. God revealed Himself perfectly through His Son Jesus to give us His own love which is eternal life.
PRAY Jesus, Emmanuel, grant to our world, our nation, our communities, and our families knowledge of You so that the whole world may come to know You and to love You perfectly. Amen.
DO Peace with others comes from peace with God. Make your plan today of where and when you will make peace with God through the Sacrament of Penance in preparation for Christmas.
DECEMBER 3: Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier
READ On this mountain God will destroy the veil that veils all peoples, He will destroy death forever. He will wipe away the tears from all faces. (Isaiah 25: 7-8)
REFLECT The mountain of the Lord is where God is present. God is most fully present to us in the person of Jesus, who will end all division in our relationships and whose grace allows us to live forever.
PRAY Jesus, Emanuel, increase in me a deeper love and devotion to Your perfect presence in the Most Holy Eucharist. May my reception of Holy Communion unite me closer to You and to Your people. Amen.
DO There’s two today. First, make a plan to donate something to a food bank this Advent. Second, the Blessed Sacrament is exposed for Adoration in the Good Shepherd Chapel from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Thursdays. Plan to make a visit tomorrow.
DECEMBER 4: Thursday of the First Week of Advent
READ Trust in the LORD forever! For the LORD is an eternal Rock. He humbles those in high places, and the lofty city He brings down. (Isaiah 26:4-5)
REFLECT Do I ever doubt God’s love for me? Do I place my trust in God in everything I do? Are there any areas in my life in which I think that God does not have the power to transform?
PRAY Jesus, I trust in You. I trust that You will take care of me. Amen.
DO Find a copy of the Morning Offering. This prayer is said at the start of the day. Place it by your bedside and pray it every morning before you get out of bed.
DECEMBER 5: Friday of the First Week of Advent
READ When Jesus entered the house, the blind men approached Him and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I can do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they said to him. Then He touched their eyes and said, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.” (Matthew 9:27-29)
REFLECT What blinds me? Who or what do I miss seeing? Who or what do I avoid seeing?
PRAY Jesus, Prince of Peace, You give me Your infinite mercy. Open my eyes so I can extend Your mercy to every person that I meet. Amen.
DO Contact someone you have not seen in a while.
DECEMBER 6: Memorial of Saint Nicholas
READ Jesus said, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” (Matthew 37-38)
REFLECT Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of children. Through his intercession for our children, may they open their hearts to listen to God’s voice and to respond to whatever vocation He is calling them to.
PRAY Jesus, Emanuel, You are calling forth priests and sisters from among us. May those chosen hear Your call and respond with courage and conviction. Amen.
DO Think about people you think might have a vocation to the priesthood or consecrated life. Pray for them by name asking God to make clear to them His plan for their lives.