Living the Word at Ascension January 2010
Ascension mark
Ascension Parish Living the Word
Dear Friends,
 

As the Christmas season draws to a close, we are called to be open each day to the continual gift of Christ's presence in our life.  An awareness of Christ's presence within us can be an ongoing invitation to transformation:  Christmas is about this great gift of Christ's presence that is ours to receive.  While so much of Christmas is about giving, the ultimate reality is that the entire world received a great gift on that first Christmas some 200 years ago.

 

Epiphany is a reminder that we are called to share that ultimate gift with the world.

 

The Baptism of the Lord that we celebrate this Sunday reminds us of our Baptismal call to be light and peace in the world. As this feast of Jesus' baptism brings the Christmas season to a close, we remember this event as another epiphany or manifestation of the Lord. Jesus stands revealed as beloved Son of the Father as the Holy spirit descends, and Jesus goes forth led by the Spirit. We, too, are sent forth into Ordinary Time to continue our mission in the world as beloved children of the Father.

  

On January 1, over 800 people gathered at Ascension Church to pray for peace in the spirit of Taizé.  This gathering was marked by the presence of so many different people of various ages and religious traditions, all coming together, sharing a common Baptism to pray for peace and reconciliation in our world.

 

What follows is the closing prayer from that service. Feel free to adapt it to your needs, possibly as a daily prayer for your family!

 
 

A Prayer for the New Year

 

Faithful and loving God,

You have given us a brand new year --

365 days of grace.

May it be "a year of your favor" for all.

 

As we begin this year, we pray:

to live deeply, with purpose,

to live freely, with detachment,

to live wisely, with humility,

to live justly, with compassion,

to live lovingly, with fidelity,

to live mindfully, with awareness,

to live gratefully, with generosity,

to live fully, with enthusiasm.

 

Help us to hold this vision

and to daily renew it in our hearts

becoming ever more one with you.

 

We ask this through Jesus Christ,

your Word made flesh,

yesterday, today, and forever. 

Amen

 

 

Prayer by Nancy Hoel inspired by Joyce Rupp, Out of the Ordinary.

 
     

The future

enters into us,
in order to
transform itself
in us,
long before it happens.
 

Rainer Maria Rilke

 (1875-1926)
About Living the Word
 
Living the Word
 
LIVING THE WORD...opportunity, challenge, commitment
 
Opportunity: Living the Word is an opportunity for us to grow in our knowledge and love of God through the prayerful reading and study of the scriptures.
 
Challenge: Living the Word is a challenge to make more time for God in our daily lives. We challenge ourselves to come to Mass each week ready to hear God's Word proclaimed and to take that Word to the world!
 
Commitment: Living the Word invites us to commit ourselves to spending time with God's Word several times each week. As we read and reread these scriptures, think about the words we read, and bring these words to prayer, we encounter Christ, God's Living Word.