Advent Prayer Service Opening Hymn, Pause Dear Friends, We are midway in advent.

We live this period of watching and waiting with so many who live it every day. They are all hoping for a better life, a brighter future, a surer assurance. We begin to understand the mystery of the ongoing advent as we contemplate the stories of people around us who wait for a sign of life. Our psalm today will be the stories of people around us who sometimes wait in hope and sometimes without hope: She awaits the word from her physician on the results of the biopsy of the "growth" taken from her body, fearful "It" has come back He watches daily for the mail, looking for word from the college where he applied, wondering if he has been accepted They sit helpless next to their two-year-old's bed, wondering if and when the child will regain consciousness after his fall down the steps She watches the news on the hour for the latest word from Kashmir, apprehensive that sooner or later she will get the dreaded word that he has been killed in action, and scared to tell the kids This priest sits in the confessional Saturday after Saturday, wondering if any one will ever come and experience the renewal and mercy of the Sacrament of Reconciliation She has invited her husband to sit down and talk, realizing that their marriage is in peril, and she paces the floor asking herself if he will come back after he stormed out the door. He is exhausted from praying for a job, having begged God hour after hour, day after day, these past four months of unemployment, 1

as he replies to the most recent want ad, knowing his savings and benefits are almost gone, reluctant to admit failure again to his wife and kids She is at the end of a long line, all her belongings in two plastic garbage bags, and she is fearful that the beds will all be taken on this freezing night by the time she gets to the door of the shelter. It's now 3.00 am and he's been the only one in the Eucharistic chapel of Adoration since midnight, but he will not leave; he will wait until some one else shows up to pray before the Blessed Sacrament He wonders if he can make it through the evening. He wants a drink so bad. It's been three months since his last one, three months of sobriety, one step at a time, and he can sense himself falling Reading: 1Cor 1/7-9: You wait expectantly for our Lord Jesus
Christ to be revealed. He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be faultless on the Day of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is God himself who called you to share in the life of his Son Jesus Christ, our Lord. (Pause)

We sing Jesus, come. Pause Waiting, longing, hoping, watching, expecting seems that's what life is all about. Hoping to celebrate life better is an ongoing Advent. As we look at the imperfections and problems of our world and our lives, we also realize that Jesus promises something better: our Advent longing is for him to come again, bringing the Kingdom of God in its fullness. We look at our world, and see war and terrorism, destroying lives and creating fear. We see violence in our streets and homes. 2

We experience anger and hostility. We look for a better life in the world we pray. R/- Come Lord, Jesus, Come! We look at our world and see people hungry and thirsty, dying for lack of food and water. We see famines and droughts, disasters and disease taking lives. We experience selfishness and greed. We look for a better life in the world we pray. R/ We look at our world and see refugees and asylum seekers looking for safety and hope. We see homelessness on our streets. We experience anxiety for financial security for ourselves and our families. We believe in a better life in the world we pray. R/ We look at our world and see people persecuted for their beliefs and principles; we see human rights ignored, denied and trampled. We experience intolerance and bigotry. We believe in a better life in the world We look at our world and see unfairness and inequality, as human beings are demeaned and degraded. We see people used and abused. We experience unfair wages and working conditions. We believe in a better life in the world we pray. R/ We look at our world and see so much sadness and unhappiness, so many lives burdened by concerns and worries about the present and the future. We experience family breakdowns, betrayal and carelessness, creating misery in our lives. We believe in a better life in the world we pray. R/- Come Lord, Jesus, Come! We see so many situations in our world that could be changed for the better, but people are apathetic and indifferent. We see threats to our environment through selfishness and greed. We experience a lack of care and concern for the needs of others. We believe in a better life in the world we pray. R/- Come Lord, Jesus, Come! We see disease and sickness in our world and in our society. And we see death touch every human life, every human heart. We 3

experience the fears of ill health, the anxiety of death, the pain of mourning. We believe in a better life in the world we pray. R/We turn to the Lord who is coming and ask him to bring his light, to end this worlds dark night of longing. Come, Lord Jesus, break the chains of warfare and terrorism The night is almost over, it will be daylight soon. Thats the hope of Christmas.New Life! And so we sing with Mary, the Magnificat. Meditation Prayer: Let us pray . . . For the child found in the hearts of the elderly. For those who wait for human touch and for those who cry silent tears of loneliness. For those who hunger to hear your word and for those who must choose between going hungry or going to the pharmacy. For those who have separated themselves from their families and for those whose families have forgotten their elders. We pray for the elders who still dream the dream of a world where the city streets are filled with God's children playing God's world of peace. Let us pray for the child within ourselves the child who struggles to live out a calling to follow Christ. Let us pray for one another, naming one another in our hearts. Let us pray for our fathers here especially our guests that the child in them follows faithfully and generously the ministries entrusted to them. Concluding Prayer: Father in heaven, the day draws near when the glory of your Son will make radiant the night of the waiting world. May the lure of greed 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. Let us conclude with .