Introductory stories and prayers:
Christ May Be Closer
Than You Know
EXPECTATION - Illustrations
Stephen Hawking is an astrophysicist at Cambridge University and perhaps the most intelligent man on earth. He has advanced the general theory of relativity farther than any person since Albert Einstein. Unfortunately, Hawking is afflicted with ALS Syndrome (Lou Gehrig's disease). It will eventually take his life. He has been confined to a wheelchair for years, where he can do little more than sit and think. Hawking has lost the ability even to speak, and now he communicates by means of a computer that is operated from the tiniest movement of his fingertips.
Quoting from an Omni magazine article: He is too weak to write, feed himself, comb his hair, fix his classes--all this must be done for him. Yet this most dependent of all men has escaped invalid status. His personality shines through the messy details of his existence.
Hawking said that before he became ill, he had very little interest in life. He called it a "pointless existence" resulting from sheer boredom. He drank too much and did very little work. Then he learned he had ALS Syndrome and was not expected to live more than two years. The ultimate effect of that diagnosis, beyond its initial shock, was extremely positive. He claimed to have been happier after he was afflicted than before. How can that be understood? Hawking provided the answer.
"When one's expectations are reduced to zero," he said, "one really appreciates everything that one does have." Stated another way: contentment in life is determined in part by what a person anticipates from it. To a man like Hawking who thought he would soon die quickly, everything takes on meaning--a sunrise or a walk in a park or the laughter of children. Suddenly, each small pleasure becomes precious. By contrast, those who believe life owes them a free ride are often discontent with its finest gifts.
James Dobson, New Man, October, 1994, p. 36.
Quoting from an Omni magazine article: He is too weak to write, feed himself, comb his hair, fix his classes--all this must be done for him. Yet this most dependent of all men has escaped invalid status. His personality shines through the messy details of his existence.
Hawking said that before he became ill, he had very little interest in life. He called it a "pointless existence" resulting from sheer boredom. He drank too much and did very little work. Then he learned he had ALS Syndrome and was not expected to live more than two years. The ultimate effect of that diagnosis, beyond its initial shock, was extremely positive. He claimed to have been happier after he was afflicted than before. How can that be understood? Hawking provided the answer.
"When one's expectations are reduced to zero," he said, "one really appreciates everything that one does have." Stated another way: contentment in life is determined in part by what a person anticipates from it. To a man like Hawking who thought he would soon die quickly, everything takes on meaning--a sunrise or a walk in a park or the laughter of children. Suddenly, each small pleasure becomes precious. By contrast, those who believe life owes them a free ride are often discontent with its finest gifts.
James Dobson, New Man, October, 1994, p. 36.
Advent - First Week
Creighton University's Online Ministries
First Sunday of Advent
Daily Advent Prayer
“Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise.”
First Sunday of AdventDaily Advent Prayer
“Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise.”
Entrance Antiphon:
To you, my God, I lift my soul,
I trust in you; let me never come to shame.
Do not let my enemies laugh at me.
Collect:
Grant your faithful, we pray, almighty God,
the resolve to run forth to meet your Christ
with righteous deeds at his coming, so that, gathered at his right hand,
they may be worthy to possess the heavenly kingdom.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever .
Daily Meditation:
Let's begin this week with a deeply felt prayer.
Even if we don't know exactly what we need or long for,
today, let's try to express our desire for God's help and assistance.The readings invite us to be prepared and to be hopeful.
This week I could ask for the grace to grow in anticipation
of what the Lord is offering me and to ready my heart
to receive it gratefully.What renewal, what end of 'hostilities' is our Lord offering me?They shall beat their swords into plowshare
and their spears into pruning hooks;
one nation shall not raise the sword against another,
nor shall they train for war again.
Isaiah 2Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Psalm 122
Christ the King - 34 Sunday C
Thomas O’Loughlin
Introduction to the Celebration
Way back in January we
began the year by celebrating the Baptism of Jesus when a voice was heard
calling him ‘the beloved Son’. During the year we have greeted Jesus under all
the views of him we find in the gospels. Now today, at the end of the year, we
greet him with the all-embracing title: Jesus Christ, Universal King.
The Christ is the one
who will gather us all together at the end of time, the one who will judge the
living and the dead, and then present his kingdom to the Father. In our
pilgrimage of faith that kingdom of justice, truth, and peace is to be our
beacon, and Christ our guide. But before we join Christ in his banquet, we must
ask pardon for the times when we followed other paths and other ways, when we
listened to false prophets of greed and materialism, and for when we have
failed to work for the coming of the kingdom.
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