Prayer for the week
Praying Advent for Parents
It is a special privilege and a tremendous challenge being a parent and Advent is a wonderful season to reflect upon this mystery. Because it is a season of hope, we can bring our children into our Advent prayer, holding them up to the Lord in love and in trust - in the loving hope that only faith can give.
One powerful Advent exercise which we can enter into as parents is to reflect, with our Lord, what it is we hope for in our deep love for our children. Sometimes, it helps to get out a piece of paper and put words down on paper which express our hopes and desires. What is it legitimate to hope for? If we do it before the Lord, and with the Lord, we'll hope for the right things. We won't be expressing a hope that our children win the lottery. Before the Lord we'll get in touch with our deep desire that our children be well and be protected from harm. We will look upon each child, there in the presence of the Lord, and wish that they grow spiritually, having a relationship with God that sustains them.
One powerful Advent exercise which we can enter into as parents is to reflect, with our Lord, what it is we hope for in our deep love for our children. Sometimes, it helps to get out a piece of paper and put words down on paper which express our hopes and desires. What is it legitimate to hope for? If we do it before the Lord, and with the Lord, we'll hope for the right things. We won't be expressing a hope that our children win the lottery. Before the Lord we'll get in touch with our deep desire that our children be well and be protected from harm. We will look upon each child, there in the presence of the Lord, and wish that they grow spiritually, having a relationship with God that sustains them.
