Reader It Is Time to Wake Up! We Must Be On

ADVENT LITURGY

(Music, Prepare the Way of the Lord – Godspell – fade in and play for two chorus. Fade Out.)

Reader It is time to wake up! We must be on

our guard! We must be ready – the Lord is

coming.

But are we ready? Are we willing to change and repent? Are we prepared to turn out lives back to God?

(Pause count 5)

We must prepare the way for the Lord so that he may come and save us

We must be ready for the Lord so that he may bring good news to the poor.

(Pause count 5)

We wait, now, with hope and with joy for the Lord to come into our hearts.

We wait for the light of God, Emmanuel, to come into our lives.

(Music, Prepare the Way of the Lord – Godspell – fade in and play for two sessions.)

Father Loving God, you call on us to prepare for the coming of Jesus. May we be ready to welcome Jesus and willing to take his message of love to the world.

Waiting for something important in our lives is both exciting and painful. Exciting because the coming event completes our dreams and hopes. Painful because the waiting takes time and allows us only to think and not experience the coming event. Advent means “coming”. The coming of Jesus for the first time and every time. Once again, we celebrate the waiting for this wonderful event in the story of our journey to the Lord.

The symbol of our waiting is an Advent wreath.

(The wreath is carefully carried to the altar on the stage)

(Music: Wait in Joyful Hope – Sing Spirit CD #4)

Reader The wreath is in the shape of a circle symbolizing eternity.

The evergreens are a sign of everlasting life.

The purple candles remind us of penance and the pink candle of joy.

The number of candles, four, stands for the four weeks in Advent and the thousands of years that the world waited for Jesus.

Father As we wait and prepare for the coming of Jesus, we welcome and bless our Advent Wreath which is a sign of our hope and longing for the Light of Christ.

(Sprinkle the wreath with holy water)

Oh God, we ask you to bless this wreath. May it be a sign of hope for us as we wait for Jesus, the Light of the World, to come. May we be prepared for the Lord who brings justice and may our trust and faith in you grow stronger. We ask this through Jesus our Lord.

ALL Amen

LIGHTING THE ADVENT CANDLES

(Light candles as the reader goes through each response. Wait until the people have responded before lighting the next.)

Reader God sends his bright dawn to light and to shine on the people who live in darkness.

ALL Please God make us strong in doing your will making Christ welcome this time when he comes

Reader Wake up. Wake up. The night is over. No time for sleeping hiding in the dark,

AllNo time for fighting, hurting, and grabbing. Lord teach us peace to follow your path

Reader Rain on a desert turns it to flowers. Look God is coming. Let’s open our hearts.

All Let us feel the joy his coming will bring. Lord change our lives to welcome this king.

Reader Let us pray now that Christ will truly come into our hearts

ALLMary trusted God. His plans changed her life. Let’s open our lives to the Spirit of God.

Reader We prepare for the coming of the Lord by reflecting on our lives to see how we can turn back to God. We pray that we will be ready.

When we are not ready to help those in need. Lord have mercy

ALLLord have mercy

Reader When we allow greed, jealousy and other obstacles to prevent us from letting the love of Jesus into our lives. Christ have mercy.

ALL Christ have mercy

Reader For the times when we don’t bring good news or happiness to the poor, the sick or the lonely. Lord have mercy.

ALL Lord have mercy

Reader When we don’t have enough faith and trust in God. Christ have mercy.

Father God of love, as we wait in joyful hope for your Son, we ask you to bless us and prepare us for the light of Jesus to come into our lives. We ask this through Christ our Lord

ALL Amen.

Reader A reading from the book of Isaiah

A voice is shouting in the wilderness:

Clear a path in the desert for the Lord.

Build a straight road for our God.

Fill in the valleys and flatten the mountains and hills.

Level the rough and rugged ground.

Then the glory of the Lord will appear for all to see.

The Lord has promised this!

This is the word of the Lord

All Thanks be to God

Father Loving God, you gave us your Son as our Saviour and Lord. May we have the faith to follow Jesus and may his light lead all people to you. We ask this through your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever.

All Amen

Father May God give you peace and joy and brighten your lives with the light of his love. And may God Bless you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

All Amen

As witnesses of God’s glory, go forth to love and serve the Lord.

All Thanks be to God.