The Institute for Christian Formation
Friday of the First Week of Advent
December 2, 2016
It is fitting then that the readings assigned to Friday in this First Week of Advent deal with blindness and seeing; darkness and light. Our First Reading at Mass today is from Isaiah 29:17-24. We are told that out of the darkness and gloom, the blind shall see. In our Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14), we sing that the Lord is our light and our salvation. And then we hear the Gospel proclamation about Jesus healing two blind men. You can access today's readings here.
If there are children in your family, spend some time today talking about all the various sources of natural light, i.e., the sun and moon and stars. Turn all the lights off after dark, and spend a few moments in total quiet and darkness before lighting one violet candle on your Advent Wreath. There is a beautiful Advent hymn, “Creator of the Stars of Night.” The original Latin text dates to the 9th
At this time of the year in the northern hemisphere we are very aware of the darkness. It gets dark so early, and we long for a bit more time of daylight so as to see more clearly. And yet, it is wonderful to walk outside on a cold, dark night and look up and see all the stars shining!
In your reflection this Friday of the First Week of Advent, spend some time quietly thinking about times in your life when you felt as though you were “in the dark.” How did you once again come to see the light? What one thing in your life this Advent might still be “in the shadows”? Thank the Lord for being your Light and Salvation. Ask the Lord to heal any “dark” areas of your life, trusting that Jesus will heal you, just as the two blind men believed Jesus would heal them.
century. You can find the words to this hymn here. Sing the hymn, or at least pray the words, during your Advent Wreath prayer this evening. A lovely icon for the Advent Season is the “Creation of the Stars,” which can be purchased from Skete.com. Just type "creation of the stars" into their search engine.
Healing of the Two Blind Men
Gather together with family and friends this evening, and invite any children to join you. Spend some time baking cookies in the shape of stars, and the moon, and the sun! Let the children be creative in decorating the cookies. Enjoy some of your fresh baked cookies around a warm fire with some hot chocolate, and carefully seal your other cookies in an air-tight tin. (We’ll revisit these in about ten days!) And before going to bed, go outside and look up at the sky. Hopefully you will have a clear night and can see the stars, giving thanks to the Lord who created them all – and us, too!
