Advent 2020: Reveal Your Presence Lord

Let’s Journal

In the past week… 

• Where did I see God?

• Where was I blind to God?

• Where do I need God in my life this upcoming week?

From the Gospel:

Jesus asked the blind men, ““Do you believe that I can do this?” “Yes, Lord” they said to him.

Then he touched their eyes and said, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.” And their eyes were opened.”

Trust. Blind faith. These are the words that come to me when I hear this scripture. These men have never “seen” Jesus, yet they believe in Him and His power to heal them. Their faith opens their eyes. Do I have that kind of faith? Do I believe that Jesus can open my eyes? In what areas of my life do I need my eyes opened?

Listen/watch these talks from FORMED:

Can You Trust God by Tim Gray

Trust in God by Brigid DeMoor

Trust in God by Tami Kasir - Pass It On: Video Series for Parents

From today’s Psalm:

“I believe that I shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord.”

2020 has been a year of losses.  From mid-March through August everything on my calendar slowly was taken away, postponed, or cancelled. I got to a point where I expected to have things taken away, loss became a way of thinking and perceiving. Yet, in the midst of those losses and feeling helpless, I also began to have my eyes opened more and more to “see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living.” There is bounty in our lives even in the midst of churches closing, pandemics, derechos, October snow squalls, and all the other bizarre events we have had this year. There are beautiful stories of what was all ‘found’ in the midst of loss this year – family meals, family time, quality social media time connecting us with each other, renewed prayer lives, and finding new ways of connecting. There is beauty, but it takes courage to open our eyes and see what God has placed right in front of us. With eyes open, wait for God, and He will show you bounty in your life.

Today is the Feast of St Francis Xavier - Here are two videos to get to know him better

Catholic Online or a kid friendly version from Christian Kids TV

Reminder - Thursday Evening Advent Reflection tonight! Register now!

Thursday, December 3, 6-8pm, via ZOOM with Emmaus House
Advent Evening Retreat: Hope in the Midst of the Imperfect
Register HERE
Cost: $15
Facilitator: Kevin O’Donnell

“The Word became flesh and lived among us” (John 1:14) Into a world that may, at times, seem confusing, divided, and broken, God enters. With a people who may experience struggle, loss, and illness, God resides. Whether 2,000 years ago or the year 2020, this hopeful truth remains: God enters, God resides.

During this holiday season, when our lives and celebrations may be not as we hoped, please join us for a quiet evening of prayer, as we listen for God's gentle voice reminding us of our true hope: God enters, God resides...even in these apparently imperfect moments of our lives.

Sit back, close your eyes and reflect on the last few days, or hours, with the Examen led by
Patty Mayer, Director of Adult Faith Formation | Coordinator of RCIA | Spiritual Director

Great reflection for all ages! Ignatian Imaginative Prayer for the first week of Advent

From our Faith Formation Team:

Open my eyes, Lord Scavenger Hunt - where do you see the signs of Advent? 

Both around your house and around your neighborhood how many of these do you see?

 ___  Advent wreath   ___candles ___ Christmas lights ___ Christmas tree

___ Nativity set ___ Jesus in manger ___ star ___ the word ‘JOY’

___ bells ___ angels ___presents ___candy canes

___Christmas wreath ___stocking ___Advent Calendar ___Christmas cookies

Open My Eyes by Mary Sankey, Associate Director of Faith Formation (PreK, K, and Special Needs)

This week we are reminded to open our eyes to the face of Jesus.  Genesis 1:31 says, “God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good.”  How many times are we blinded in life and don’t see things the way God sees them?  There are numerous stories in the bible of characters who could not see angels, God, the signs of our Lord, or the hardness of their own hearts.  “Seeing” requires more than an opening of the eyes.  It requires an opening of the heart.  “May the eyes of [your] hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones” (Ephesians 1:18 USCCB) Attached is a video of young boy singing “Open the Eyes of my Heart.”  May his prayer be an invitation for us all to see as God sees, fully appreciating the divine attributes in each other.  What are you “seeing” with?  “God does not see as a mortal, who sees the appearance.  The Lord looks into the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).  Click here to listen: Open the Eyes of My Heart

Fr James and the Saints:

Feast of Saint Andrew

St. Andrew the Apostle, whose feast we celebrate today, shows us how our sanctity, our closeness with Christ, is meant to go beyond our own salvation. St. Andrew, like his brother Simon (who we’d all come to know as St. Peter), was a Galilean fisherman; he was certainly not part of high society, but he wasn’t on the bottom rung either. In contrast to his brother Peter, however, Andrew seemed to have a bit more of a religious bent: according to John’s Gospel, when he wasn’t working, he was hanging around and following the prophetic figure, John the Baptist. One day, the Baptist points out Jesus, calling Him, “the Lamb of God,” and so Andrew and another tentatively tail Him to figure out who this Jesus is until He turns and invites them to “come and see.” In their subsequent encounter with Christ, their eyes are opened to God’s grace like someone turning on a light to “open the eyes” of someone blundering around in a dark room. Andrew did not want to keep this newfound vision for himself, and so went to his hard-working brother, told him that he had found the promised messiah, and lead him to Jesus. In Christ, Peter would too find his eyes opened to that same guiding light.

 One of the ways St. Augustine describes his encounter with God is, “You flashed, You shown, You dispelled my blindness.” Like him and like St. Andrew, our encounter and relationship with God can open our eyes to many things, such as His great love for us and our often all-too-weak love for Him, but like the light of a lighthouse, at least now we aren’t completely blind and have a light to steer by, light by which we can reach our destination. But God calls us to more than using the light He’s given us to only save ourselves. Rather, like Andrew for his brother and like Augustine for 60+ generations of Christians, we are called to use our newfound sight to help lead others to that same saving light of an encounter with Christ, so that together, we can reach that final destination: our heavenly home.

Romans 10:14-15           

• And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard

• And how can they hear without someone to preach? […]

• As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news!

For more on Saint Andrew click here

When I was a senior in college I went in for a physical before starting my first “real” job. The nurse had me do a simple eye exam.  When I finished she said, “now with your glasses on.” I looked at her blankly and said, “I don’t have glasses.” She responded, “Oh, honey, you need glasses.” I got glasses just in time for my finals.  My first day wearing them I went to a baseball game and I was mesmerized by how sitting on the sidelines I could see the numbers on the player’s uniforms, I saw blades of grass not just green space, and flowers in the distance were more than just blobs of color. I also found that reading was so much better – less eye strain meant I could read for hours without headaches or eye fatigue.  My glasses made clear things that I never before even realized I could not see.  Glasses gave me 20/20 vision.  When our vision is clear it is easier to watch and be vigilant. 

Although we see with our eyes, not all people are able to see clearly without assistance.  I wear glasses, others wear contacts, and others have surgery to assist them in seeing more clearly. Then there are those whose eyes are compromised in ways that they “see” the world through their other senses. 

In the gospels we hear stories of Jesus healing the blind, imagine these people as both physically blind and spiritually blind. Spiritual blindness prevents us from seeing what God wants us to see. When I read the scriptures it’s like putting on a new pair of glasses in order to look at my life more clearly.  Often we want to see things through our own perspective rather than looking through the lens of the Gospels challenging us to change our ways. I believe that we all have blind spots, Jesus helps us to eliminate those blind spots as we grow closer to Him.

In the words of that wonderful nurse years ago, we must all surrender to the fact that “oh honey, you need glasses” if we are going to see our lives, and 2020, with the eyes of God.

ACTION:

Pray: Bless, then light your Advent wreath.

Leader: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Leader: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
All: Who made heaven and earth.

Reader:

The people who walked in darkness
    have seen a great light;
Upon those who lived in a land of gloom
    a light has shone.
You have brought them abundant joy
    and great rejoicing;
They rejoice before you as people rejoice at harvest,
    as they exult when dividing the spoils. (Isaiah 9:1-2)

The Word of the Lord.

All: Thanks be to God.

Leader:

Lord our God,
we praise you for your Son, Jesus Christ:
he is Emmanuel, the hope of the peoples,
he is the wisdom that teaches and guides us,
he is the Savior of every nation.
Lord God,
let your blessing come upon us
as we light the candles of this wreath.
May the wreath and its light
be a sign of Christ’s promise to bring us salvation.
May he come quickly and not delay.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.

Light one violet candle of the Advent wreath

Reader: “And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed [Him], crying out, “Son of David, have pity on us!” When He entered the house, the blind men approached Him and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I can do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they said to him. Then he touched their eyes and said, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.” And their eyes were opened.” Matthew 9:27-30.

All: “Lord, open my eyes so that I can see You in the world around me.”

Song: “Open My Eyes, Lord”

Leader: May Almighty God Bless us and watch over us this Advent season.

All: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Connect: Take a picture of your Advent Wreath, or during your blessing and lighting of the wreath, then share it on our Facebook page!

Study: FORMED.org - see the image below for the “Pick of the Week.” Watch, Learn, and Listen your way through Advent!

Not signed up for FORMED yet? It’s easy to do - click on “sign in,” then “Sign up as a Parishioner,” and then type out Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart.

Read OLIH’s very own: Reveal Your Presence, Lord - available in print and online blog format

AND - Reveal Your Presence, Lord: Family Activity & Prayer Journal for Advent (pick up at OLIH, or print at home)

Little Blue Book - limited amount available at OLIH, or go online and purchase in ebook ($4) or download the app and for $10/year you have access to all their seasonal devotionals.

The Word Among Us - limited amount available at OLIH, or download the app and have The Word Among Us at your fingertips for just $1.99/month

Dynamic Catholic is again offering the Best Advent Ever: Let Your Soul Shine - Sign up for free daily emails!

FORMED.org - Not signed up for FORMED yet? It’s easy to do - click on “sign in,” then “Sign up as a Parishioner,” and then type out Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart.

Local AND Online - join one, or all three!

Advent Evening Retreat: Hope in the Midst of the Imperfect
Thursday, December 3, 6-8pm, via ZOOM
with Emmaus House
Register: For ZOOM link
Cost: $15
Facilitator: Kevin O’Donnell

“The Word became flesh and lived among us” (John 1:14) Into a world that may, at times, seem confusing, divided, and broken, God enters. With a people who may experience struggle, loss, and illness, God resides. Whether 2,000 years ago or the year 2020, this hopeful truth remains: God enters, God resides.

During this holiday season, when our lives and celebrations may be not as we hoped, please join us for a quiet evening of prayer, as we listen for God's gentle voice reminding us of our true hope: God enters, God resides...even in these apparently imperfect moments of our lives.

Contemplative Music Service: Creating Sacred Space
Thursday, December 10, 7-8pm, via ZOOM
with Emmaus House
Register: For ZOOM link
Cost: $10
Musician: Steve Dressel

We transition from the busier autumn months into the Advent Season, please join us for an hour of contemplative music to still our minds and create the inner sacred space so we can receive the graces God desires for us.

In addition to the featured musical prayer, this service will include moments of silence, short readings, visuals to engage our senses, and an opportunity for those of us gathered to offer prayers of gratitude & petition for all that we hold in our hearts this Advent.

Praying with Scripture: “May it be done to me”
Thursday, December 17, 7-8pm, on ZOOM
Register: For ZOOM link
Leader: Patty Mayer and Randy Henderson

Our lives are changed when we open our hearts to the will of God. In the Gospel this Sunday Mary says yes to God’s will in her life. We all know that saying yes to God can create challenges in our lives. We see this in the Scriptures as Joseph learns about Mary plans to quietly divorce her, until his heart is opened as he listens to the words of the angel in his sleep.

Tonight we will sit with Mary and Gabriel as we quietly contemplate the joy and struggle of saying yes to God’s will in our lives.   

Online - Advent Retreats

Rejoice! Advent Meditation with the Holy Family
Sunday, November 29 through Christmas
From Ascension Press:
Purchase book in parish office $5.00
Find Videos Here

We are Not Alone : Online Ignatian Advent Retreat:
Sunday, November 29 through Sunday, December 27
From the author of Busy Lives, Restless Souls – our 2019 Christmas book:
Register online: Here
Cost online: $39.95
Facilitator: Becky Eldredge & team

Are you ready? These last few weeks we have been hearing that we need to be ready, to be prepared. If Jesus were to appear today and separate the goats and the sheep which side would you be on? How have you cared for others this past year? How have you tended to your relationship with God?

2020 has been a tough year, one that many want to put behind us. Some people ask if 2020 is the apocalypse, the end of life as we know it. An apocalypse is an event of great destruction; it is also the Greek word for Revelation.  A revelation is an unveiling, a making known something that was hidden before.  After the derecho in August a friend posted a picture of a sunset from her home, she had never seen the sunset from her house before because of so many trees. The sunset had always been there it was just blocked from her view. Sometimes these events of great destruction are clearing a path, revealing something that was hidden before. Through all the bizarre events of 2020 we may be experiencing an apocalypse, the end of life as we knew it, as calendars were cleared and people were sent into isolation with their family unit. 2020 has challenged us to experience life differently, to have our eyes, ears, hearts, and lives opened in new ways. Although many are tired of hearing “new normal” we can see that 2020 has changed our lives in ways we may never have wanted, nor expected, and that every day brings with it a “new normal” way of living.

This Advent, may we spend time looking back over this year with 20/20 hindsight while we open our eyes, ears, hearts, and lives to allow God to reveal Himself to us.