FIRST FRIDAY HOLY HOUR FOR ADVENT
DECEMBER 5, 2014
I. OPENING SONG: If the Holy Hour is done before the Mass, an appropriate song may be chosen.
If the Holy Hour will be begin after the Post Communion Prayer, there is
no need for an Opening Hymn. The priest proceeds with the exposition of
the Blessed Sacrament while the assembly sings the O Salutaris…
II. INTRODUCTION –
PRIEST: Lord Jesus Christ, ever-present in the Most Blessed Sacrament, we come before your infinite majesty at this time of prayer and meditation. You have promised to come to us as the splendor of the Father, and now in this Advent experience, we await the revelation of you, the Word made flesh. We are here to listen to your life-giving Word, humbly imploring your divine grace to enlighten our minds and hearts, so that our deeds may become a manifestation of your love and compassion. For you will come again to deal with us as our deeds deserve, and it is here and now that we choose for ourselves our own destiny, in your kingdom, or away from it. As we say, “O come divine Messiah,” listen to our plea, come to us, Lord Jesus, “marana tha” come, and do not delay.
III.EXPOSITION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT
O salutaris Hostia,
Quae caeli pandis ostium:
Bella premunt hostilia,
Da robur, fer auxilium.
Uni trinoque Domino
Sit sempiterna Gloria,
Qui vitam sine termino
Nobis donet in patria. Amen.
IV.OPENING PRAYER
PRIEST:Father in heaven,
you have made us for yourself;
our hearts are restless until they rest in you.
Fulfill this longing through Jesus, the Bread of Life,
so that we may witness to him
who alone satisfies the hungers of the human family.
By the power of your Spirit
lead us to the heavenly table
where we may feast on the vision of your glory
for ever and ever.
ALL:Amen
COMMENTATOR: Let us pause for a moment for silent adoration. (3 minutes)
V.SCRIPTURE PASSAGE 1 Cor. 1:3-9
Lector:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind--just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you-- so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Word of the Lord
All:Thanks be to God
COMMENTATOR: Let’s be seated and silently meditate on the message of the Word of God.
(5 minutes)
VI.POINTS FOR REFLECTION
THE THREE COMINGS OF JESUS
While Considering One, We Prepare for Another
One way of really enriching our Advent journey is to keep in mind the three comings of Jesus, and how they relate to one another.
Jesus was born into our history - at a fixed point in time in the past. Jesus comes to us now, in a whole variety of ways. Jesus promised that he will come again in glory, at the end of time.
The Incarnation: Jesus has come. This is not the coming we await. The first coming of Jesus has already happened. Our preparation to celebrate his birth is the occasion for our deeper reflection. On the first level, it is so important that we really let ourselves experience the power of the Incarnation: God is with us. That God became one of us means that "human" is one of the ways God can be. The deeper we contemplate this mystery the more we enter into the grace of "God with us." The more we let ourselves be touched by this mystery, the more we see the connection between Christmas and Easter: all of this is "for me" - for my salvation - to free me from the power of sin and death.
My Life Now: Jesus comes to me
When we open our hearts and our mouths and plead, "Come, O Lord," we are most experiencing our desire for the Lord to come to us and touch us with the grace of salvation - that we might live it with greater freedom and peace. Jesus is present whenever we need him to be present: actually, whenever we turn to him - even with empty hands. Jesus is alive and active in us when we read God's Word and let it into our hearts. Jesus promised to present with us whenever two or three are gathered together in his name. And, we know Jesus comes to us whenever our sacrifices and our sufferings unite us with his own mission. Advent is a special time to experience our for the presence of Jesus with us now - in all the places we need most.
Our Future: Jesus comes again, in glory
One of the most transforming graces of Advent is given us as our longing deepens. The more grateful we become for how God saved us in Jesus, the more deeply we enter into the mystery of how Jesus is with us now. The closer we are to experiencing joy at how our Lord, Jesus Christ came into our world,faithful to God and faithful to our life journey in the flesh, the closer we come to experiencing the mystery of salvation in our everyday lives. And, as our longing is filled with the utter fullness of God's gift to us, we begin to long with the ultimate freedom: we long to be with him in God. We live more at home in this world because our God made a home in this world. But the whole story draws us to a complete picture of who we are and where we belong. Then our prayer begins to change, in our hearts and on our lips. We still are singing, "Come, Lord, Jesus!" but our song is transformed into the free and complete song of the lover: "Come, and take me with you."
“Now we watch for the day, hoping that the salvation promised us will be ours when Christ will come again in his glory.”
(SILENT ADORATION – 15 minutes)
COMMENTATOR: Please all stand
VII.INTERCESSORY PRAYERS:
PRIEST:Let us pray dear brothers and sisters to our Loving Father who invites us to a sincere preparation for the coming of His Only Begotten Son. For every petition, we say:
Response:Lord, graciously hear us.
LECTOR:For the holy Church, through the guidance of Pope Francis, that she may lead God’s people in solemnly preparing for the coming of Christ. Let us pray to the Lord.
For the leaders of nations, that they may remain sober and alert for the coming of the Lord, and be prepared with an accounting of their deeds before him. Let us pray to the Lord.
For all Christian people, that we may always keep a watchful eye for Christ’s return in glory, and thus find ourselves in his loving presence. Let us pray to the Lord.
For those who are burdened by sufferings of any kind, that God’s love may inspire in them a deeper sense of Advent hope. Let us pray to the Lord.
For those who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith, that they may finally enjoy eternal bliss in God’s heavenly kingdom. Let us pray to the Lord.
PRIEST: God our Father, we praise you for your wondrous gift of mercy shown to us through your Son, we ask you to bring into fulfillment what you have begun in us through Him, our Lord.
ALL:AMEN.
PRIEST: At the Savior’s command and formed by divine teaching, we dare to say:
Our Father…
COMMENTATOR: Let us all kneel for the Benediction
VIII.BENEDICTION
Tantum Ergo Sacramentum
Veneremur Cernui
Et Antiqum Documentum
Novo Cedat ritui,
Praestet fides supplementum
Sensuum defectui
Genitori, genitoque
Laus et jubilatio
Salus honor, virtus quoque
Sit et benediction
Procedenti ab utroque
Compar sit laudation,
Amen, amen!
PRIEST: You have given us the Bread from heaven
ALL:The Source of all happiness
PRIEST:Let us pray.
Lord Jesus Christ, you gave us the Eucharist as the memorial of your suffering and death. May our worship of this sacrament of your body and blood help us to experience the salvation you won for us and the peace of the kingdom where you live with the Holy spirit, one God, forever and ever.
ALL:Amen
IX. DIVINE PRAISES AND REPOSITION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENTThe Blessed Sacrament will be reposed towards the end of the Divine Praises
Blessed be God.
Blessed be His Holy Name.
Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true Man.
Blessed be the Name of Jesus.
Blessed be His Most Sacred Heart.
Blessed be His Most Precious Blood.
Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete.
Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most holy.
Blessed be her holy and Immaculate Conception.
Blessed be the name of Mary, Virgin and Mother.
Blessed be St. Joseph, her most chaste Spouse.
Blessed be God in his angels and in his saints.
REPOSITION
FINAL SONG: O SACRAMENT MOST HOLY, O SACRAMENT DIVINE
O Sacrament Most Holy,
O Sacrament Divine.
All praise and all thanksgiving
Be every moment thine.
Be every moment thine.
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