Begin by making the sign of the cross.
+ In the Name of the Father and Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Lighting the Second Candle
We light a candle today, a small dim light against a world that often seems forbidding and dark. But we light it because we are a people of hope, a people whose faith is marked by an expectation that we should always be ready for the coming of the Master. The joy and anticipation of this season is captured beautifully in the antiphons of hope from the monastic liturgies:
See! The ruler of the earth shall come, the Lord who will take from us the heavy burden of our exile
The Lord will come soon, will not delay.
The Lord will make the darkest places bright.
We must capture that urgency today in the small flame of our candle. We light the candle because we know that the coming of Christ is tied to our building of the kingdom. Lighting the flame, feeding the hungry, comforting the sick, reconciling the divided, praying for the repentant, greeting the lonely and forgotten – doing all these works hastens His coming.
Amen.
The first and second candles (purple) are lighted. |
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Psalm 95: A Call to Praise God
Antiphon: Encourage each other while it is still today (Heb 3:13)
Come let us sing to the Lord,
and shout with joy to the Rock who saves us.
Let us approach him with praise and thanksgiving
and sing joyful songs to the Lord>
(Antiphon repeated)
The Lord is God, the mighty God,
the great king over all the gods.
He holds in his hands the depths of the earth
and the highest mountains as well.
He made the sea; it belongs to him,
the dry land, too, for it was formed by his hands.
(Antiphon repeated)
Come, then, let us bow down and worship,
bending our knee before the Lord, our maker.
For he is our God, and we are his people,
the flock he shepherds.
(Antiphon repeated)
Today, listen to the voice of the Lord:
Do not grow stubborn, as your fathers did
in the wilderness,
when at Meriba and Massah
they challenged me and provoked me,
Although they had seen all my works.
(Antiphon repeated)
Forty years
I endured that generation.
I said, "They are a people whose hearts go astray
and they do not know my wayas."
So I swore in my anger,
"They shall not enter my rest."
(Antiphon repeated)
Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit:
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.
+ Amen.
Ant.2
Have courage, all of you, lost and fearful; take heart sing for joy; see how humbly your king comes to save you.
Reading (Romans 13: 11-12)
It is now the hour for you to wake from sleep,
for our salvation is closer now than when we first accepted the faith.
The night is far spent; the day draws near.
Let us cast off deeds of darkness
and put on the armor of light.
Responsory
Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on us.
R. Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on us.
You are the one who is to come,
R. Have mercy on us.
Glory to the Father...
R. Christ, Son of...
Canticle of Zechariah
Ant. I am sending my angel before me to prepare the way for your coming.
Intercessions
To the Lord Jesus, who is the Christ, judge of the living and the dead, let us pray:
R. Come Lord Jesus!
Lord Jesus, you came to save sinners,
__ protect us in times of temptation.
You will one day come in glory and be our judge,
__ show in us your power to save.
Help us to keep the precepts of your law, infused with the strength of the spirit,
__ and to look forward
in love to your coming.
You are praised throughout the ages; in your mercy help us live devoutly and temperately in this life,
__ as we wait in joyful expectation for the revelation of your glory.
Our Father. . .
Prayer
Father in Heaven,the day draws near when the glory of your Son
will make radiant the night of a waiting world.
May the lure of earthly things not impede us from the joy
which moves the hearts of those who seek him.
May the darkness not blind us
to the vision of wisdom
which fills the minds of those who find him.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
+ Amen.
A suitable song may be sung;
Or: O Come, O Come Emmanuel
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