Sunday, December 14
Third Week of Advent
Joy

Come, thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free; from our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee.

In 1744, Charles Wesley was preaching the Gospel throughout England.
Between his engagements, he passed children in great need—orphans
doing what they had to do to survive on the streets or in menial labor. It’s
not hard to picture how they looked at Charles as he exited churches full of
well-dressed Christians. The awkward disharmony of preaching the Good
News and witnessing such poverty all around him sparked a longing in
Charles to see this upside-down world overturned, and he was inspired to
write the hymn we pray with today, “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus.”

Born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a King, we sing in the
second verse. In the hungry eyes looking at him, Charles saw the face of
Christ, who was also born into a poor family seeking shelter—a child who
was also a king. We join him to pray for our long-expected Lord to come
to reign in us forever, now thy gracious kingdom bring.

Prayer for Morning
Jesus, you are our strength and consolation, the joy of every longing heart. Help me to recognize you in your coming to me today, especially as you are present with those who suffer. Holy One, deliver me from evil.

Ponder Today
What conflict and disharmony do I notice in my corner of the world?

Prayer for Evening
Jesus, you are the hope of all the earth and the desire of every nation. Only
you can release me from fear and sin. Meet me in my longing for you and
free me. Holy One, I find my rest in you.

Saturday, December 13
Second Week of Advent

Dona nobis pacem.
Grant us peace.

Just before we receive Communion at Mass, we look upon the Lamb of
God, held high for us at the altar, and we ask the Lamb, Christ our Lord,
to grant us peace.

Together, by this prayer, we say aloud that we lack peace—that we
need it, that something in us is restless and unwhole and broken. We say
those words because we know that we’ve tried to find peace elsewhere
and failed. And we can’t fabricate peace for ourselves—we’ve tried that
as well. We find peace only in the one who came to reveal God’s love for
us, who shows us this way of love, who gives us this love, and who is love
itself—through him, with him, and in him. Only in Christ do we, and our
broken world, find peace.

Prayer for Morning
Lord Jesus, you know the needs of every human heart. Guide me with your truth, so that in conforming my life to yours I may find peace and purpose. Lamb of God, show me your way; teach me to live in your peace.

Ponder Today
What consistently disturbs my peace, and how can I turn it over to God?

Prayer for Evening
Lord Jesus, you are our only source of peace. Help me let go of the things I
cling to in search of this peace. Lamb of God, have mercy on me.

Friday, December 12
Second Week of Advent

Dona nobis pacem, pacem.
Dona nobis pacem.
Grant us peace, peace. Grant us peace.

This song carries us along with one simple phrase—“grant us peace,” per-
haps one of the most elemental prayers we hold in common. Because of this simplicity and the yearning flow of the melody, it’s been used in many contexts—both sacred and secular. The cast of the hit television series M*A*S*H famously sang it to close out the show’s 1978 Christmas episode. And many of those who gathered to commemorate the beginning of the end of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 joined in singing it. Traditionally attributed to Mozart, no one really knows where this hymn came from. It has endured because it works –  it gathers hearts and unites us in prayer. Singing in rounds, we join people from around the world and across centuries who also long for peace.

Prayer for Morning
God of Peace, you created each of us in your image, yet we damage that
inherent dignity with war and conflict. So many suffer from the pain we
inflict upon each other. God of Love, help me treat justly and with love all
whom I meet this day.

Ponder Today
How can I learn more about those who suffer because of war, and how can
I support them with prayer, advocacy, or material aid?

Prayer for Evening
God of Peace, your love unites all humanity. Stir peace within all hearts,
and grant us this night a peaceful rest.

Thursday, December 11
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Desde el cielo, una hermosa mañana,
La Guadalupana, bajó al Tepeyac.
From heaven on a beautiful morning,
the Guadalupan Lady came down to Tepeyac.

In 1532, on Tepeyac Hill in northern Mexico, Our Lady of Guadalupe
approached Juan Diego with flowers and music, symbols of heaven in his culture. She dressed like him and spoke to him in Nahuatl, his first language. Our Lady came to Juan Diego in the same way Jesus comes to us—by moving toward us first, seeking us out in our ordinary experience. This is what love is: stepping beyond oneself to encounter and embrace another.

For today’s feast, we pray with a festive hymn that retells the story
of Juan Diego and Our Lady. In the retelling, we remember that she also
comes to us right where we are.

Prayer for Morning
Mary, our Mother, you came to invigorate faith in your Son here in the
Americas. Give me courage and use me as your messenger.

Ponder Today
How can I follow Mary’s model of encounter today by noticing a detail
or preference from someone and taking an active interest in their story?

Prayer for Evening
Mother Mary, you protect and hold us under your mantle. Help me to trust
in your care for me—that you are ready to receive me as I am and will bring
my concerns and worries to your son. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for me.

Wednesday, December 10
Second Week of Advent

The King shall come when morning dawns, and light and beauty brings; “Hail, Christ the Lord!” Thy people pray, come quickly, King of kings!

To proclaim that Christ is our king says something about him and about
us. We wait for the coming of the King of kings as part of a community
seeking to live in God’s ways.

This song proclaims our confidence that the Lord will come and will triumph over our lives as the sun conquers the darkness of night. Our confident waiting makes us distinctive as a people: we know the folly of seeking fulfillment in the things of this world, and we long to find our fulfillment in Christ. Advent is a time for us to go about the work of preparing a way for the Lord to conquer us.

Prayer for Morning
Lord Jesus Christ, you came to establish your reign among us, a reign that brings us light and beauty. Transform my desires so that I can let go of the things that distract and impede your way in me. Christ our king, conquer my heart.

Ponder Today
In what ways—even if they are small—will God’s kingdom break into my
experience today?

Prayer for Evening
Lord Jesus Christ, you are always calling us to a deeper union with you.
Grant me the courage and honesty to see how I settle for less. Help me to
follow you to the Father’s love. Christ our king, deepen my desire for you.

Tuesday, December 9
Second Week of Advent

The King shall come when morning dawns and light triumphant breaks, when beauty gilds the eastern hills and life to joy awakes.

John the Baptist speaks to us in this second week of Advent, calling us
to prepare the way for Christ’s coming. It’s time to remove the obstacles
within our hearts and in our life circumstances that stand in the way of
Jesus coming to us. He is always reaching for us, ready to conquer whatever diminishes us. John urges us to receive Jesus as a king—to clear space for him right now so that Christ reigns at the center of our lives.

Our hymn for today invites us to stand with others watching for our
king to come, people who know that “light triumphant breaks” upon us
in the person of Jesus. By setting aside our egos and placing him at the
center, “life to joy awakes.”

Prayer for Morning
Lord of Light, you reveal to us the fullness of God’s love, which is as beautiful and inevitable as the dawn. Break over me in the same way the sun gilds the landscape in these long winter mornings. Help me prepare for your coming so I can greet you with joy. Jesus our king, triumph in me today.

Ponder Today
How can I prepare a way and straighten a path for the Lord today?

Prayer for Evening
Lord of Light, your love and truth illuminate our lives. Prepare your way
in my heart—build in me the desire to receive you so that my life reflects
your light. Jesus our king, make straight my path.

Monday, December 8
Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus.
Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.

Ave Maria or Hail Mary is one of the most Catholic expressions we have. It
was first uttered by the angel Gabriel when he greeted Mary to announce
the news that she was to bear Jesus. But we take on his greeting ourselves
and also “hail” her, laud her, and raise her up. She is one of us, but she has
been elevated as Mother of God, an elevation that began the moment she
was conceived in her own mother’s womb. With today’s feast, we celebrate
this moment of God’s abundant grace.
God gave Mary the capacity to accomplish what he asked of her, and he does the same for us. When we struggle, when we face darkness or uncertainty, God calls us to rely on him and is ever ready to give us what we need.

Prayer for Morning
Mary, you brought the Son of God into our broken world, humbly accepting this charge. Pray for me, that I might live the life God is calling me to. Blessed Mother, help me grow in faith, hope, and love.

Ponder Today
How can I rely on God today? What situation or relationship needs God’s
saving grace?

Prayer for Evening
Mary, God had a special role for you to play in the salvation of the world.
Pray for me, that I may find in the circumstances of my life right now the
role God is asking me to fill. Blessed Mother, help me to do the Father’s will.

Sunday, December 7
Second Week of Advent
Peace

Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.

For all the dramatic movements in this music, the words to the hymn “Ave Maria” simply repeat the lines of the well-known Hail Mary prayer. The melody soars with a sense of longing that builds and recedes—it feels full, like breathing deeply in front of a grand landscape. It makes us want to linger, as if there is too much to relish here. If we can slow down enough to let this hymn echo within us, we can touch a bit of the fullness that marked Mary’s life. God filled her with grace so that she would be ready to bear Jesus to the world, and wants to fill us with grace as well.

Prayer for Morning
Mary, you were practiced at receiving gifts from God. Help me follow your example: to let go of fear and create room where Jesus can dwell within me. Mother Mary, help me follow your receptive faithfulness.

Ponder Today
When will I encounter moments of fullness today—especially in the ordinary—and how can I lift my heart to God in response?

Prayer for Evening
Holy Mary, your life was built around prayer. You knew how to hear and respond to God’s voice, how to find peace in his will for your life. Pray for me, that I may cultivate that same intimacy with God. Mother Mary, help me follow your steady faithfulness.

Saturday, December 6
First Week of Advent

Bid all our sad divisions cease and be yourself our King of Peace.

We know division all too well—we are very good at drawing lines between
“them” and “us.” We’re so good at division that we live with it
subconsciously; we’ve built it into our cities and smartphones. Sometimes the divisions we create make possible violence and war; sometimes they make possible the stubborn ignorance of our neighbors living radically different lives than we do. As much as we long for peace, it will always elude us if we try to establish it on merely human terms. There is only one source of enduring unity: our shared dignity as children of God—a dignity that Jesus himself entered into. If we can find each other in him, then we will know peace.

Prayer for Morning
Jesus, our brother, you came to share our humanity so we could share
in your divinity. Open my heart to see that you are inviting everyone I
encounter today into communion with you and our heavenly Father. King
of Peace, bind our hearts as one.

Ponder Today
Where will I experience division today? How can I let Jesus help me over-
come it?

Prayer for Evening
Jesus, our Savior, you came to bring peace. Heal the divisions that cause so
much suffering in the world, and heal the division I experience in my own
heart. King of nations, make us whole.

Friday, December 5
First Week of Advent

O come, O Key of David, come and open wide our heavenly home.

A key opens a locked door that we can’t open on our own. We know Jesus
opens for us the gates of heaven, but he doesn’t just appear as a savior at
the end of our story—he’s acting in our lives to save us now. As Key of
David, Jesus is the most crucial key to our existence as God’s beloved sons
and daughters. He is the key that closes doors on sin and death and opens doors that lead us to freedom and new life. He’s ready to do that for each of us today. Jesus explains he was sent “to proclaim liberty to captives…and let the oppressed go free” (Lk 4:18). This is not only what he does; it’s who he is—he is the Key who unlocks the power sin is holding over us. He has the power to open any door in our lives—there’s nowhere he cannot go.

Prayer for Morning
Jesus, you are the key of our salvation and you open the shackles that bind
us. Come into my life today, especially to the rooms within that I don’t
know how to open to you. Key of David, bring me into freedom.

Ponder Today
How will Jesus approach me today? What doors of my life will he knock
on, and how can I welcome him?

Prayer for Evening
Jesus, Emmanuel, your love opens new horizons for us, and you lead us
into newness of life. Help me to step more deeply into your intimacy with
the Father. Key of David, let me rest in you.