Our Sunday Supplication

Sunday, November 29, 2020

First Sunday of Advent

Holy Mass is at the very core of our worship as a Catholic community. Nothing can ever be substituted for the celebration of the Eucharist. But in this exceptional time of difficulty for our communities, our nation, and the whole world, this order of prayer can be offered by individuals and families and engages us in our Sunday celebration of the Word of God. We can pray this prayer in our homes—the “domestic churches” which help build up the Body of Christ on earth—and thus be connected to the entire Church at prayer.

During this time of prayer, we include the opportunity to make a Spiritual Communion. Making a Spiritual Communion is a worthy practice, recommended by innumerable saints throughout the ages, which unites our whole selves to God and his Church.

Order of Prayer

Taken from the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours

Introduction

Leader: God, ✠ come to my assistance.
Response: Lord, make haste to help me.

Leader: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
Response: as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Hymn

V. O Come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear. R.

R. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel.

V. O Come, O Wisdom from on high,
Who order all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go. R.

V. O Come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to your tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the Law,
In cloud and majesty and awe. R.

V. O come, O Key of David, come,
And open wide our heav’nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery. R.

Act of Contrition

Leader: Let us acknowledge our sins, and seek the Lord’s pardon and peace.

Together: I confess to almighty God
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have greatly sinned,
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done and in what I have failed to do,
through my fault, through my fault,
through my most grievous fault;
therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin,
all the Angels and Saints,
and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord our God.

Leader: Grant your faithful, we pray, almighty God,
the resolve to run forth to meet your Christ
with righteous deeds at his coming,
so that, gathered at his right hand,
they may be worthy to possess the heavenly Kingdom.
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.
Together: Amen.

The Sunday Readings

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 63:16b–17, 19b; 64:2–7)

You, LORD, are our father, our redeemer you are named forever. Why do you let us wander, O LORD, from your ways, and harden our hearts so that we fear you not? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your heritage. Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, with the mountains quaking before you, while you wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for, such as they had not heard of from of old. No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen, any God but you doing such deeds for those who wait for him. Would that you might meet us doing right, that we were mindful of you in our ways! Behold, you are angry, and we are sinful; all of us have become like unclean people, all our good deeds are like polluted rags; we have all withered like leaves, and our guilt carries us away like the wind. There is none who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to cling to you; for you have hidden your face from us and have delivered us up to our guilt. Yet, O LORD, you are our father; we are the clay and you the potter: we are all the work of your hands.

The Word of the Lord.
―Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm (Psalms 80:2–3, 15–16, 18–19)

Reader: Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
Together: Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

Reader: O shepherd of Israel, hearken,
from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power,
and come to save us.
Together: Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

Reader: Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
Together: Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

Reader: May your help be with the man of your right hand,
with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
Together: Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

A Reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 1:3–9)

Brothers and sisters: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God always on your account for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus, that in him you were enriched in every way, with all discourse and all knowledge, as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

The word of the Lord.
―Thanks be to God.

Gospel Verse (Psalm 85:8)

Reader: Show us Lord, your love;
Together: and grant us your salvation.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mark 13:33–37)

Jesus said to his disciples: “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his own work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. Watch, therefore; you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’”

The Gospel of the Lord.
―Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

For Reflection:

1. The final line of the First Reading says: “Yet, O LORD, you are our father; we are the clay and you the potter: we are all the work of your hands.” What does this image say to you about God’s action in our lives?
2. Jesus tells a parable about a man who goes on a journey, entrusting all of his belonging to the care of his servants. What has God entrusted to your care? What do you think he expects of you when he returns?
3. How will you live this Advent in a way that prepares you for the coming of Christ at Christmas?

Response to the Word

Leader: Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on us.
Response: Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on us.

Leader: You are the one who is to come,
Response: have mercy on us.

Leader: Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Response: Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on us.

Prayer of the Faithful

Leader: To God our Father, who has given us the grace to wait in joyful hope for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, let us make our prayer:
Response: Show us your mercy, Lord.

Leader: Sanctify us in mind and body, keep us without sin until the coming of your Son.
Response: Show us your mercy, Lord.

Leader: Make us walk this day in holiness, and live upright and devout lives in this world.
Response: Show us your mercy, Lord.

Leader: May we be clothed in our Lord Jesus Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit.
Response: Show us your mercy, Lord.

Leader: FLord, help us to stand watchful and ready, until your Son is revealed in all his glory.
Response: Show us your mercy, Lord.

Leader: In your mercy, continue to sanctify all who are afflicted from the present pandemic, and draw us all closer to you, and to one another, in this time of suffering.
Response: Show us your mercy, Lord.

The Lord's Prayer

Leader: Let us pray together as Jesus taught us:
Together: Our Father, who art in heaven …

Spiritual Communion

Leader: You have given us bread from heaven,
Response: Containing in itself all delight
Together: My Jesus,
I believe that you are present
in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
I love you above all things,
and I desire to receive you into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment receive you sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart.
I embrace you as if you were already there
and unite myself wholly to you.
Never permit me to be separated from you,
my Lord and my God!
Amen.

Canticle of Praise

Canticle of Zechariah (Luke 1:68-79)
Together: ✠ Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
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.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.

Conclusion

Leader: ✠ May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.
Together: Amen.