If you have an Advent Wreath at home, pray for peace this week as you light the first candle each day. If you don't have an Advent Wreath - light any candle and pray for peace. If you have no candle, simply pray for peace...
Pray for an end to war and its violence and bloodshed...
Pray for the safe return of those in the armed services
who are far away from family and friends...
Pray for those who have died in the war
and for those they left behind...
Pray for the poor who suffer war's hardships...
Pray for peace...
Pray for the peace the world cannot give or make for itself...
Pray for our enemies...
Pray, too, for an end to the little wars (and the bigger ones)
waged in our own lives, in our families, our neighborhoods,
at work and in the Church...
Pray for those who have been harmed by our belligerence...
Pray for those we make our personal enemies...
Pray for an end to the wars we fight within and with ourselves...
Pray for peace...
Pray for the peace we cannot give or make for ourselves...
Pray for the peace that only the Lord can give...
Pray for the peace the Lord came to make for us...
This really touched me because not only do we have to pray for peace for places far away, but for peace close to home, in our neighborhoods, in our homes, and in ourselves. Often I forget to ask for peace within myself. I believe that I am suppose to think of others not myself, but then there are certain times that it is mentioned in mass that Jesus wants us to be good to ourselves too. Maybe that will be what I will work on beginning this new church year.
ReplyDeletePeace to ALL.
I had read somewhere that the first week of advent you light one purple candle to symbolize Hope and that you are to pray for hope.
ReplyDeleteThe second week you light two purple candles, one for peace, and you are to pray for peace & hope.
The third week, you light two purple candles and a rose one, to symbolize Joy, and pray for joy, peace & hope.
The fourth week you light all four candles, the last purple candle for Love, and you pray for love, joy, peace & hope. I really liked learning about this, but after your post for a prayer of peace, I wondered if what I had read was the meaning of the candles of advent. After reading this post I wondered if this was tradition with the Catholic teachings.
Teacher asks about the meaning and tradition of the candles on the Advent wreath: good question!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, it might help to point out that the Advent wreath is not, nor has it ever been an official element in the liturgy of the Catholic Church. It is considered a devotional aide to prayer but it is not found in any of the liturgical books of the Church. It is, however, found in most Catholic parishes in this season.
I have seen articles which speak of the "meaning" of the four candles. This is a relatively recent development and, like the wreath itself, is part of popular piety and spirituality. The candles were originally understood as a way of marking the passage of the weeks of Advent in a prayerful fashion and not much more than that. While there's no problem with anyone naming "themes" for the weeks/candles, such designations are popular and not part of any longstanding tradition or teaching of the Church.
In my post, I made the suggestion that we pray for peace this week when lighting the Advent wreath: just a suggestion and certainly not meant to contravene any other outline of prayer someone may have or want to use.
I'm not sure yet what I might suggest for prayer for the second week!
The colors of the candles generally follow the color of the vestments worn at Mass on the four Sundays of Advent: violet or purple on the 1st, 2nd and 4th Sundays and rose on the third. The color of Advent and Lent is interrupted in both seasons by rose as a sign that we are half-way on our journey to the anticipted feast (Christmas/Easter).
Hope that helps!