Announcements: 1st Sunday of Advent

Dear Holy Rosary parishioners, here are a few announcements and ideas for prayer during Thanksgiving and Advent:

Thanx: Thank you Kara for cutting out the pieces of the puzzle for the Chirstmas homily. It was a huge help to me.

Thanx: Thank you to Angie Venua for picking up the Holy Rosary Mail while I am having Thanksgiving with my family in Bend, Oregon.

Water Color Paintings: Matteo has been busy painting. He has let me post some of his beautiful work. Please check out our website, www.holyrosaryalaska.org.

Thanksgiving Day Prayer: If you do not have a prayer to say during Thanksgiving dinner, try one of these Thanksgiving prayers for Roman Catholics:

Prayer 1
Thank you God for all the wonderful blessings,
For our daily meals, for clean drinking water,
For sunlight and for the cool breeze.
I'm thankful for my family, my husband, my friends, and my health.
I'm thankful for my friends, to love and be loved and for freedom.
I'm thankful to be employed;
I'm thankful to be alive and praise you for all these wonders.
I'm thankful that you have been so gracious
To give your only Son to us
Who gave his life and bore the Unbearable
For us sinners.
On this Thanksgiving Day,I take the Opportunity to give thanks for countless other
things you provide us with on a daily basis.
Amen.

Prayer 2
Father in Heaven, Creator of all and source of all goodness and love, please look kindly upon us and receive our heartfelt gratitude in this time of giving thanks. Thank you for all the graces and blessings. You have bestowed upon us, spiritual and temporal: our faith and religious heritage. Our food and shelter, our health, the loves we have for one another, our family and friends. Dear Father, in Your infinite generosity, please grant us continued graces and blessing throughout the coming year. This we ask in the Name of Jesus, Your Son and our Brother. Amen.

Advent Wreath Prayers: Here is a way to pray during Advent in your home using a wreath.
The Advent Wreath Ceremony: The ceremony is simple. It starts at the evening meal on the Saturday before the first Sunday in Advent with the blessing of the wreath. (The head of the household is the one designated to say the prayers, following which various members of his family light the candles. If the group is not a family, then a leader may be selected to say the prayers and others appointed to light the candles)

FIRST WEEK OF ADVENT:
On the First Sunday of Advent, the father of the family blesses the wreath, praying: O God, by whose word all things are sanctified, pour forth Thy blessing upon this wreath, and grant that we who use it may prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ and may receive from Thee abundant graces. Who lives and reigns forever. Amen.”

Then the following prayer is said before the evening meal each night of the first week of Advent.

O Lord, stir up Thy might, we beg Thee, and come, that by Thy protection we may deserve to be rescued from the threatening dangers of our sins and saved by Thy deliverance. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

(Each night the first purple candle is lighted by the youngest child of the household and is left burning during the meal)

SECOND WEEK OF ADVENT
During the second week of Advent, the father prays: O Lord, stir up our hearts that we may prepare for Thy only begotten Son, that through His coming we may be made worthy to serve Thee with pure minds. Who lives and reigns forever. Amen.”

The oldest child then lights the purple candle from the first week plus another purple one.

THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT
During the third week of Advent, the father prays: O Lord, we beg Thee, incline Thy ear to our prayers and enlighten the darkness of our minds by the grace of Thy visitation. Who lives and reigns forever. Amen.”

(The joyful Sunday in Advent is represented by rose or white instead of the penitential purple color. Each night during the third week the mother of the family lights the rose or white, as well as the two previously burned purple candles, after the following prayer has been said)

FOURTH WEEK OF ADVENT
Finally, the father prays during the fourth week of Advent, O Lord, stir up Thy power, we pray Thee, and come; and with great might help us, that with the help of Thy grace, Thy merciful forgiveness may hasten what our sins impede. Who lives and reigns forever. Amen.”

The father then lights all of the candles of the wreath.

Advent is a time to stir-up our faith in the Lord. The wreath and its prayers provide the family to prepare for the birth of Jesus in a special way. This good tradition helps us to remain vigilant in our homes and not lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas. The Advent Wreath reminds us of the need for spiritual preparation to fully share in the great joy of the birth of Christ, the Son of God who gave His life for us so that we might have eternal life.

Have a very nice Thanksgiving Day. Fr. Scott