Week 4: Love-filled Hearts Luke 1:39-45 If you’ve ever driven into the property at Disney World you think, “We’re almost there!” Then you keep driving and driving and driving and seeing sign after sign. Finally, the destination is in sight. Our persistence and faith have paid off and our hearts are filled with LOVE as we reach our destination. As we move through this last week of Advent, be it a short week, we know the small things we accomplished and the bigger things we’ve planned with LOVE for our future are possible. Let us pray that when we do finally see God face to face, we can repeat the words of Elizabeth heard in our Gospel account today, “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” Morning prayer during the fourth week of Advent Lord, let LOVE fill my life during these last few of days before Christmas. There is so much to do, and so little time left. Let me not ruin this Advent journey with busyness but allow me to realize every moment is an opportunity to share your LOVE. Let me focus on what I am truly celebrating, a gift from God, the birth of a Savior—our Savior. No paper or ribbon or bows are needed to tell me what a wonderful gift this will be. Thank you, Lord. Amen.

Week 3: Joy-filled Hearts Luke 3: 10-18 Whether you have or have had small children, remember the days when we heard, “I’m bored. What should we do ?” In today’s Gospel, we hear that phrase posed to John the Baptist three times, once from the crowd, once from the tax collectors and once from the soldiers. Our lives need meaning. There is no JOY in life without a purpose. No purpose leads to boredom. So how do we get purpose? How do we introduce JOY in our lives? We all know when we are doing things we love to do, we are happy, we have JOY. So, John says stop the things you’re doing that hurt others and yourself. Start appreciating where you are and where you’re going. That leads to a life of expectation and JOY. So, when the question arises, “What should we do,” have a JOY-filled answer of “Here’s what I did!” Morning prayer during the third week of Advent Good morning, Lord. My heart is filled with JOY today because despite the material world around me filled with negativity, conflict, greed, power and political correctness, I choose liberating JOY. I choose to look at the positive things in my life. Lord, let me, with your guidance, be able to pause, deeply breathe and say: My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit exalts in God, my Savior. For he has looked with mercy on my lowliness and my name will be forever exalted. For the mighty God has done great things for me and his mercy will reach from age to age. And holy, holy, holy is his name.

Week 2: Peace-filled Hearts Luke 3: 1-6 Again, the gospel calls us to the hard work of preparing ourselves and the world to receive God’s love and peace. We are reminded of the second coming of Christ and the need to be prepared. Yet, we must be reminded that God is love brings us PEACE and he wants nothing more than to share his PEACE with us, the children he loves. Luke tells us that God promises us PEACE when we travel with him. Vacation planning is always interesting. Should we go by plane or by car? How long should we stay? Do we have to see the relatives this time? And so on. One question, however, that always remains is we need to know the destination before we can plan the trip. Without a clear destination, we will never achieve our goal of being with the God of PEACE, the God who desires PEACE in our hearts and in the world and loves us beyond measure. Morning prayer during the second week of Advent Lord, thank you for another day, a day I put my trust in you. I know how you love and desire PEACE in my heart. You will see me through the remaining weeks until Christmas. Help me to keep focused on your PEACE as I stumble through the chores and the gift buying. Remind me this season is about sharing your PEACE and not about me. As I face times of “chaos,” I will turn to you. Your love will bring me PEACE.

This is a subtitle for your new post

Bringing Hope and Building Futures: The Impact of our Mission Trips to El Salvador

Launching Faith: A Journey to the Son

July 21, 2024

Faith's Tapestry: Weaving Unity with Faith and Light

Building Hope: The Transformative Power of St. Ann's Adult Mission Ministry