We Prepare with Prayer
O God of Light and Goodness, please bless our families and friends; bind us together by your love. Give us kindness and patience during this Advent time of active waiting and preparing. Let the gifts of your hope, peace, joy, and love come into our hearts and remain with us as we anticipate and recognize the presence of your son, Jesus, not just on Christmas and in the Second Coming, but EVERY day in ways big and small. With thankful hearts, we pray. Amen.
We Prepare with One Another
1. Celebration of the Immaculate Conception:
December 8 at 6:00
2. Theology by the Glass: December 8 at 7:00
Our question is: Describe a time when you waited with joy and excitement for something or someone
3. The Sacrament of Reconciliation:
December 14
4. Taize Prayer: December 15 at 7:00
We Prepare with Song
The Adult Faith Formation calendar is clear for the month so that we can take time to reflect, prepare, and celebrate during this special season. And as much as I hate to rush things, the New Year will be here in the blink of an eye, and I wanted everyone to know about two wonderful opportunities coming up in January:
Whether you’ve been married 1 year or 81 years, you will want to join Tim and Lyn Pajk for these 6 Tuesday evening sessions. Using Gary Thomas’s video based study, we will learn and PRACTICE how going out of our way to notice our spouses, appreciate them, honor them, encourage them, and hold them close to our hearts can bring hope, light, and life into our marriages. We begin January 4 at 7:00 at the Parish Center
You can find out all of the details and register by visiting the Parish Website:
https://www.blessed-midland.org/2021/12/03/cherish/
EVERYBODY ALWAYS
This program was loved so much last year, that we are bringing it back for those of you who may have missed it! Please join Jill Kreusch, Eline Morabito, and Laura Allington as they lead us through 5 sessions of uncovering and discovering how we are changed when “we stop avoiding difficult people and simply love everyone.”
Class begins January 6. For more information and to register, the parish website has all of the info:
https://www.blessed-midland.org/2021/12/03/everybody-always/
On Saturday, Sr. Janet Schaeffler OP led us through a wonderful morning where she took the idea of our Advent waiting and turned it upside down. Since God is already here, incarnate within each one of us, perhaps this season of waiting is also about God waiting for us. She asked us to think about what God might be waiting for us to do... to realize that we are made in his image, to pray with a heart like his, to worry less, to be the Body of Christ in action... Maybe God is waiting for you to do something, to take a step toward growing in holiness, into the amazing person he created you to be. It's a good thing to pray about this Advent. And if you are sorry you missed Sr. Janet, no worries, she is coming back for a Lenten retreat!! Of course there will be more details to come, but let's not rush all the way to Lent yet. There is so much to enjoy and celebrate right now!
With Advent Hope and Peace,
Lyn