I once visited the Episcopal Carmel of Saint Teresa for a personal silent retreat. Upon my arrival, Prioress Teresa Irene showed me a statue that she purchased during a trip overseas; the statue depicted a pregnant Mary or “Our Lady of Hope”. I had never thought about Mary’s journey to motherhood and her time of expectant and hopeful waiting and preparation; however, the image stayed with me as I contemplated what God was doing in my life and how I, like Mary, would forever be changed by my call to ministry and the new thing God was doing in my life that I was waiting for, preparing for, and was indeed already living. Advent is like that – a time of waiting and preparation for what is to come even as it is already here - and just as Mary was waiting and preparing for the day that Jesus would arrive, so do we wait during Advent for his coming. The late Trappist Monk & writer Thomas Merton wrote, “…everything that the Church gives you to sing, every prayer that you say in and with Christ in His Mystical Body is a cry of ardent desire for grace, for help, for the coming of the Messiah, the Redeemer” (Thomas Merton, Seven Storey Mountain). Advent, the beginning of the new liturgical year, is a time of prayer and of renewed desire and hope and of expectant waiting, filled with the church’s longing cry, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”. Mary responded to what God was doing in her life with a song – the Magnificat - and so this year during Advent, I invite you to pray Mary’s prayer at noon each day. For a moment stop what you are doing, join your voice with that of the rest of the congregation, and take a moment to listen to the new thing God is doing in your life and in the life of the church. What is your hope? I look forward to seeing you at our worship Advent & Christmas Services (see page 4). Have a blessed Advent and Christmas and may the Prince of Peace fill you with his love now and always. Yours in Christ, Pastor Suzanne Magnificat (or Canticle of Mary) |
Current Worship BulletinCopyright & Recording/Streaming NoticeMusic used in worship services that is not in public domain has been copied, recorded, podcasted, and/or streamed using the following licenses:
ONE LICENSE A-729543 CCLI Copyright License 20805891 CCLI Streaming License 20805884 ONLINE WORSHIPWorship is normally live streamed at https://www.facebook.com/TrinityUCCCollegeville
Worship BulletinAuthorPastor Suzanne Schwarz-Green is the pastor of Trinity Reformed Church, UCC, in Collegeville, PA. Archives
October 2022
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