ADVENT STATION 2:
The Covenants Begin
Old Testament Reading: Genesis 18:9-11; 21:1-3
“WHERE IS YOUR WIFE SARAH?” they asked him. “There in the tent,” he replied. One of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah will then have a son.” Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, just behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years, and Sarah had stopped having her womanly periods. The LORD took note of Sarah as he had said he would; he did for her as he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time that God had stated. Abraham gave the name Isaac to this son of his whom Sarah bore him.
Meditation
We all desire to have an effect on the world, to make it a better place, or to leave some mark by which we may be remembered. The desire of Abraham and Sarah for a child, for a son, was even more than that—it was a desire to cooperate with God’s creative order in the generation of a new human life, a person who would share their life and come to know and love God. When they had almost given up hope, the Lord surprised them, the Lord fulfilled this desire. In our own life, sin creates a barrenness of soul, it keeps our actions from being truly fruitful and meritorious in God’s eyes. However, God is not deterred, for he would not have permitted the Fall without a loving plan to draw good out of the ensuing brokenness and to give us the Savior, in whom we receive eternal life. In the second Advent station, we look to God as the source of all life. We place our trust in him, for we are children of his promise.
New Testament Reading: Romans 9:1-9
I SPEAK THE TRUTH IN CHRIST, I do not lie; my conscience joins with the holy Spirit in bearing me witness that I have great sorrow and constant anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and separated from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kin according to the flesh. They are Israelites; theirs the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship and the promises; theirs the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, is the Messiah. God who is over all be blessed forever. Amen. But it is not that the word of God has failed. For not all who are of Israel are Israel, nor are they all children of Abraham because they are his descendants; but “It is through Isaac that descendants shall bear your name.” This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as descendants. For this is the wording of the promise, “About this time I shall return and Sarah will have a son.”
Prayer
Almighty God, Lord of all life: you fulfilled the longing of Abraham and Sarah, blessing them with new life. You revealed your name to their descendants, making of them a people to be your own. By sending your own Son to become man, you gave us the One with the name above every other name, the great and powerful name that saves. May all people, by joining in the worship of your holy Church, come to know and revere the name of Jesus and receive all that you have promised. We ask this in union with the Word made flesh. Amen.
O come, O come, great Lord of might Who to thy tribes on Sinai’s height In ancient times did give the Law In cloud and majesty and awe. Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
Excerpts taken from Magnificat. 2023 Magnificat Advent Companion; Magnificat, Inc.
Saturday Mass Schedule:
4:00 PM-ST. CATHERINE SIENA MISSION PARISH (HUMANSVILLE)
6:30 PM-SACRED HEART (BOLIVAR)
Sunday Mass Schedule
8:00 AM-SACRED HEART (BOLIVAR)
10:30 AM-SACRED HEART (BOLIVAR)
Sacred Heart Catholic Church: 1405 W Fair Play St, Bolivar, MO, 65613
Office Hours:
8:00 AM-4:00PM (Closed for Lunch from 12:00PM-1:00PM and on Holy Days)
Phone Number: 417-326-5596