Good Evening Dear Beloved Community!
Happy Take Care Tuesday! Today's #AdventWord is #Watch. The Bible uses the word #Watch quite a few times. This can be seen during the season of Advent numerous times and on into Christmas. We see " Shepherds keeping watch" We keep watch in joyful expectation for our Lord's coming! We watch an wait to hear what God is saying to us daily. We keep watch for unexpected guests, and the bridegroom's arrival. We keep watch to be prepared with enough oil to keep our lamps lit. The list goes on and on! What does the word #Watch mean to you at your heart, mind, spirit, and physical levels? This is y/our poser for tonight's meditation. As is our custom let us look up the definition and see the synonyms for #Watch so that we may have a map for our prayers, vigil, and meditation.
watch
[wäCH, wôCH]
VERB
watches (third person present) · watched (past tense) · watched (past participle) · watching (present participle)
look at or observe attentively, typically over a period of time:
"Lucy watched him go" · "as she watched, two women came into the garden" · "everyone stopped to watch what was going on"
synonyms: observe · view · look at · eye · gaze at · stare at · gape at · peer at · contemplate · survey · keep an eye on · inspect · scrutinize · scan · examine · study · ogle · gawk at · regard · mark · check out · get a load of · eyeball · behold
antonyms: ignore
keep under careful, protective, or secret observation:
"there aren't enough staff to watch him properly" · "he told me my telephones were tapped and I was being watched"
synonyms: spy on · keep in sight · track · monitor · survey · follow · keep under surveillance · surveil · keep tabs on · stake out · look after · mind · keep an eye on · take care of · supervise · tend · attend to · guard · safeguard · protect · babysit · guard · protect · shield · defend · safeguard · cover · patrol · police
antonyms: neglect
(watch over)
observe and guard in a protective way:
"I guess I can rest a while, with you here to watch over me"
follow closely or maintain an interest in:
"the girls watched the development of this relationship with incredulity"
exercise care, caution, or restraint about:
"most women watch their diet during pregnancy" · "you should watch what you say!"
synonyms: be careful · mind · be aware of · pay attention to · consider · pay heed to
(watch for)
look out or be on the alert for:
"in spring and summer, watch for kingfishers" · "watch out for broken glass"
(watch out)
be careful:
"credit-card fraud is on the increase, so watch out"
synonyms: be careful · be watchful · be on your guard · beware · be wary · be cautious · look out · pay attention · take heed · take care · keep an eye open/out · keep one's eyes peeled · be vigilant
informal
(watch it/yourself)
be careful (used as a warning or threat):
"if anyone finds out, you're dead meat; so watch it"
synonyms: be careful · be watchful · be on your guard · beware · be wary · be cautious · look out · pay attention · take heed · take care · keep an eye open/out · keep one's eyes peeled · be vigilant
remain awake for the purpose of religious observance:
"she watched whole nights in the church"
NOUN
watches (plural noun)
a small timepiece worn typically on a strap on one's wrist.
synonyms: timepiece · chronometer · wristwatch · pocket watch · stopwatch
an act or instance of carefully observing someone or something over a period of time:
"the security forces have been keeping a close watch on our activities"
a period of vigil during which a person is stationed to look out for danger or trouble, typically during the night:
"Murray took the last watch before dawn"
a fixed period of duty on a ship, usually lasting four hours.
the officers and crew on duty during a watch.
historical
(the watch)
a watchman or group of watchmen who patrolled and guarded the streets of a town before the introduction of the police force.
a body of soldiers making up a guard.
ORIGIN
Old English wæcce ‘watchfulness,’ wæccende ‘remaining awake’; related to wake1. The sense ‘small timepiece’ probably developed by way of a sense ‘alarm device attached to a clock.’
Thesaurus : (Watch out this has quite a few listings for )#Watch
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Let us begin with this piece of music from Taize to open our time together in prayer,meditation on God's word, and while we make vigil.
Stay here
Watch , for you know not when the master of the house
will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or
in the morning; lest he come suddenly and find you asleep.
Mark 13:35, 36
O Gracious Light Phos hilaron
O gracious light,
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!
Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of Life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.
Prayer Over The Advent Candle
O God, as light comes from this candle,
May the blessing of Jesus Christ come to us,
Warming our hearts and brightening our way.
May Christ our Savior
Bring life into the darkness of this world,
And to us, as we wait for his coming.
Amen.
(www.catholicnewsagency.com)
Psalm 87
Antiphon 3: Behold, my beloved comes to me, springing across the mountains, leaping across the hills,
cherished by the Lord.
The Lord prefers the gates of Zion
to all Jacob's dwellings.
Of you are told glorious things,
O city of God!
Babylon and Egypt I will count
among those who know me;
Philistia, Tyre, Ethiopia,
these will be her children
and Zion shall be called Mother
for all shall be her children."
It is he, the Lord Most High,
who gives each his place.
In his register of peoples he writes:
These are her children,
and while they dance they will sing:
In you all find their home. Glory..
Antiphon 3: Behold, my beloved comes to me, springing across the mountains, leaping across the hills,
Blessed are those who hear the word of God.
- And cherish it in their hearts.
From the book of the prophet Isaiah 52:7,9-10:54:10-15, 55:3b, 12b-13
Peace will be proclaimed over the mountains
How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of the one bringing good news,
Announcing peace, bearing good news,
announcing salvation, saying to Zion,
“Your God is King!”
Break out together in song,
O ruins of Jerusalem!
For the Lord has comforted his people,
has redeemed Jerusalem.
The Lord has bared his holy arm
in the sight of all the nations;
All the ends of the earth can see
the salvation of our God.
Though the mountains fall away
and the hills be shaken,
My love shall never fall away from you
nor my covenant of peace be shaken,
says the Lord, who has mercy on you.
O afflicted one, storm-battered and unconsoled,
I lay your pavements in carnelians,
your foundations in sapphires;
I will make your battlements of rubies,
your gates of jewels,
and all your walls of precious stones.
All your children shall be taught by the Lord;
great shall be the peace of your children.
In justice shall you be established,
far from oppression, you shall not fear,
from destruction, it cannot come near.
If there be an attack, it is not my doing;
whoever attacks shall fall before you.
I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
the steadfast loyalty promised to David.
Mountains and hills shall break out in song before you,
all trees of the field shall clap their hands.
In place of the thornbush, the cypress shall grow,
instead of nettles, the myrtle.
This shall be to the Lord’s renown,
as an everlasting sign that shall not fail.
CANTICLE TE DEUM
You are God: we praise you;
You are the Lord; we acclaim you;
You are the eternal Father:
All creation worships you.
To you all angels, all the powers of heaven,
Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
The glorious company of apostles praise you.
The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.
The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.
Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you;
Father, of majesty unbounded,
your true and only Son, worthy of all worship,
and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.
You, Christ, are the king of glory,
the eternal Son of the Father.
When you became man to set us free
you did not shun the Virgin's womb.
You overcame the sting of death
and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
You are seated at God's right hand in glory.
We believe that you will come and be our judge.
Come then, Lord, and help your people,
bought with the price of your own blood,
and bring us with your saints
to glory everlasting.
Matthew 22:34-46
34 When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, 35and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’37He said to him, ‘ “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” 38This is the greatest and first commandment. 39And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” 40On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’
41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: 42‘What do you think of the Messiah?* Whose son is he?’ They said to him, ‘The son of David.’ 43He said to them, ‘How is it then that David by the Spirit* calls him Lord, saying,
44 “The Lord said to my Lord,
‘Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet’ ”?
45If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?’ 46No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.
44 “The Lord said to my Lord,
‘Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet’ ”?
45If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?’ 46No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.
The Song of Mary Magnificat
Luke 1:46-55
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; *
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: *
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him *
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm, *
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, *
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel, *
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Luke 1:46-55
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; *
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: *
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him *
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm, *
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, *
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel, *
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Matthew 18:12-14
12What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14So it is not the will of your* Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.
O Virgin of Guadalupe,
Mother of the Americas,
grant to our homes the grace of loving
and respecting life in its beginnings,
with the same love with which
you conceived in your womb
the life of the Son of God.
Blessed Virgin Mary,
Mother of Fair Love,
protect our families so that
they may always be united
and bless the upbringing of our children.
Our hope, look upon us with pity,
teach is to go continually to Jesus,
and if we fall
help us to rise again and return to Him
through the confession of our faults
and our sins in the Sacrament of penance,
which gives peace to the soul.
We beg you to grant us a great love
of all the holy Sacraments,
which are, as it were,
the signs that your Son left us on earth.
Thus, Most Holy Mother,
with the peace of God in our consciences,
with our hearts free from evil and hatred,
we will be able to bring to all others
true joy and peace,
which come to us from your Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ,
who with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen.
- (Pope John Paul II.)
COLLECT
O God, Father of mercies,
who placed your people under the singular protection
of your Son's most holy Mother,
grant that all who invoke the Blessed Virgin of Guadalupe,
may seek with ever more lively faith
the progress of peoples in the ways of justice and of peace.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
For the Human Family
O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us
through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole
human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which
infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us;
unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and
confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in
your good time, all nations and races may serve you in
harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen.
A Prayer attributed to St. Francis
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is
hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where
there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where
there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where
there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to
be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is
in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we
are born to eternal life. Amen.
V. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.
R. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.
Hail Mary, full of grace,
The Lord is with Thee;
Blessed art thou among women,
And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Pray for us sinners,
Now and at the hour of our death. AmenV. Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
R. Be it done unto me according to thy word.
Hail Mary, etc.V. And the Word was made Flesh.
R. And dwelt among us.
Hail Mary, etc.V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
LET US PRAY
Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we to whom the Incarnation of Christ Thy Son was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection. Through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.
The Beatitudes
5 When Jesus[a] saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely[b] on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Second Sunday of Advent
Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to
preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation:
Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins,
that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our
Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation:
Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins,
that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our
Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Prayers with today's #AdventWord: #Watch and its synonyms.
God keep watch over all of us who are preparing for bed time and arising.
God help us to keep our eyes open and our vision clear to what is required of us daily as we do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with you.
God give us strength and keep awake with you so that we may serve you when you call us out into your kindom.
God help us to attend to the needs of our family members who are in need and who find themselves without food, clothing, and shelter.
God help us to be on guard and listen for the Bridegroom's coming.
God help us to watch and wait in joyful expectation this Advent season.
Give us grace to stay and be in your presence, even when our spirits are weak.
God help us to care and tend for our ill and grieving family members remembering especially.
God help us to remember to practice our daily mindfulness exercises as we now engage in "The Be Stills"
Be still and know that I am God.
Be still and know that I am.
Be still and know.
Be still.
Be.
Be still and know that I am God.
Be still and know that I am.
Be still and know.
Be still.
Be.
Be still and know that I am God.
Be still and know that I am.
Be still and know.
Be still.
Be.
God help us to see you in all of our family members of your Beloved Community.
God help us to heed your commandments Love you, our neighbors, our enemies, and ourselves.
God, help us to be beacons of your light, love, joy, and hope tot this fragile and broken world.
God help us to be advocates for the voiceless and those who are on the margins of society.
God we pray for sound governance in this and every land that universal human rights and the respect for every human being may be made sacred and the law of the land.
God we pray that we may keep watch over your precious environment that it may be protected, renewed, and kept from needless exploitation.
God we pray for an end to all forms of violence, bigotry, and hatred and that we all may keep watch to speak out against it.
God we pray for all who are in discernment of any kind. Give us strength to heed your Call and respond with enthusiastic joy.
God we lift up these our prayers to you, your Son, and the Holy Spirit who keeps watch over us in us and through us now and always.Amen.
A Collect for Aid against Perils
Be our light in the darkness, O Lord, and in your great mercy
defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the love
of your only Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Be our light in the darkness, O Lord, and in your great mercy
defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the love
of your only Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or
weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who
sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless
the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the
joyous; and all for your love's sake. Amen.
weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who
sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless
the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the
joyous; and all for your love's sake. Amen.
O God our shield and armor of light, whom we adore with all the
angelic host: defend us from evil; watch over any who are in
danger this night and give your angels charge over them; and
grant that we may always rejoice in your heavenly protection and
serve you bravely in the world; through Jesus Christ our Savior.
Amen.
Loving Jesus: Protect and sustain us with your hand. Open the
door of your love that, sealed with your wisdom, we may be free
to serve you with joy. Amen.
(a prayer of St. Gertrude)
Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world.
St. Teresa of Avila
The Song of Simeon Nunc Dimittis
Luke 2:29-32
Lord, you now have set your servant free *
to go in peace as you have promised;
For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, *
whom you have prepared for all the world to see:
A Light to enlighten the nations, *
and the glory of your people Israel.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
The Wisdom of God
the Love of God
and the Grace of God
strengthen you
to be Christ’s hands and heart in this world,
in the name of the Holy Trinity. Amen.
(source: Celtic)
Contemplation is life itself, fully awake, fully active, and fully aware that it is alive. It is spiritual wonder. It is spontaneous awe at the sacredness of life, of being. It is gratitude for life, for awareness, and for being. It is a vivid realization of the fact that life and being in us proceed from an invisible, transcendent, and infinitely abundant Source.
Thomas Merton
O God, you manifest in your servants the signs of your
presence: Send forth upon us the spirit of love, that in
companionship with one another your abounding grace may
increase among us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more
than we can ask or imagine: Glory to God from generation to
generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever.
Amen. Ephesians 3:20,21
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