From Beliefnet.com:
Advent Prayer, Day 22: Keeping Watch for the LordSunday December 20, 2009
Categories: Advent, Advent Prayer, Bible, Jesus, Prayer
By Claudia Mair Burney
The fourth Sunday of Advent
"And what I am saying to you I say to all: Stay awake! Mark 13:37 (NJB)
This fourth Sunday of Advent finds us only days away from the celebration of Jesus' arrival on earth. Unfortunately, by now many of us are worn ragged: we've shopped, partied, gone to pageants, baked dozens of holiday treats, and visited the needy bearing alms. Rest sounds like the perfect antidote to so much activity, but scriptures exhort us: stay awake! At the end of every Advent prayer we've prayed, "Come, Lord Jesus." But these words aren't found in any of the birth narratives. They're the parting words, just before the blessing, at the end of the book of Revelation. We must never lose sight of the fact that our Advent waiting occurs on two levels. Yes, we are waiting for the child who is God to be born in Bethlehem, but we are always to stay alert and prepared, watching for the risen Christ to come again.
Risen Savior,
You promised you would return in the clouds with power and great glory. Have I lost sight of the urgency of your second coming? Lord, have mercy on me, and give me the wisdom actively watch and wait for all the ways that you will come. By active, I don't mean make me busier, Lord, but rather, help me to be present, in the moment, assured that now is the accepted time; today is the day of my salvation. In this very instant, make me ready to say "yes, and amen," to every way you wish to present yourself to me.
"Come, Lord Jesus."
Read more: http://blog.beliefnet.com/prayerplainandsimple/2009/12/advent-prayer-day-22-keeping-watch-for-the-lord.html#ixzz18cc2dSJL
Day Twenty-Two:
Creatures of Our God and King
O great mystery
that animals should see
the newborn Lord
lying in their manger.
-Magnum Mysterium
Tradition says that not only humans shared in the glory of Christ's birth; animals, too, were present. Many Christian churches honor animals as part of God's creation.
Merry Christmas, My Friend
An elderly man gives his beloved dog the best Christmas present he can--a new home.
BY: Christa Holder Ocker
EmailShare"I will never forget you," the old man said. A tear rolled down his leathery cheek. "I'm getting old. I can't take care of you anymore."
With his head tilted to one side, Monsieur DuPree watched his master. "Woof, woof! Woof, woof!" He wagged his tail back and forth, wondering, What's he talking about?
"I can't take care of myself anymore, let alone take care of you." The old man cleared his throat. He pulled a hankie from his pocket and blew his nose with a mighty blast.
"Soon, I'll move to an old-age home, and, I'm sorry to say, you can't come along. They don't allow dogs there, you know." Bent over from age, the old man limped over to Monsieur DuPree and stroked the dog's head.
"Don't worry, my friend. We'll find a home. We'll find a nice new home for you." As an afterthought he added, "Why, with your good looks, we'll have no trouble at all. Anyone would be proud to own such a fine dog."
Monsieur DuPree wagged his tail really hard and strutted up and down the kitchen floor. For a moment, the familiar musky scent of the old man mingling with the odor of greasy food gave the dog a feeling of well-being. But then a sense of dread took hold again. His tail hung between his legs and he stood very still.
"Come here." With great difficulty, the old man knelt down on the floor and lovingly pulled Monsieur DuPree close to him. He tied a ribbon around the dog's neck with a huge red bow, and then he attached a note to it. What does it say? Monsieur DuPree wondered.
"It says," the old man read aloud, "Merry Christmas! My name is Monsieur DuPree. For breakfast, I like bacon and eggs - even cornflakes will do. For dinner, I prefer mashed potatoes and some meat. That's all. I eat just two meals a day. In return, I will be your most loyal friend."
"Woof, woof! Woof, woof!" Monsieur DuPree was confused, and his eyes begged, What's going on?
The old man blew his nose into his hankie once more. Then, hanging on to a chair, he pulled himself up from the floor. He buttoned his overcoat, reached for the dog's leash and softly said, "Come here, my friend." He opened the door against a gust of cold air and stepped outside, pulling the dog behind. Dusk was beginning to fall. Monsieur DuPree pulled back. He didn't want to go.
"Don't make this any harder for me. I promise you, you'll be much better off with someone else."
The street was deserted. Leaning into the wintry air, the old man and his dog pushed on. It began to snow.
After a very long time, they came upon an old Victorian house surrounded by tall trees, which were swaying and humming in the wind. Shivering in the cold, they appraised the house. Glimmering lights adorned every window, and the muffled sound of a Christmas song was carried on the wind.
"This will be a nice home for you," the old man said, choking on his words. He bent down and unleashed his dog, then opened the gate slowly, so that it wouldn't creak. "Go on now. Go up the steps and scratch on the door."
Monsieur DuPree looked from the house to his master and back again to the house. He did not understand. "Woof, woof! Woof, woof!"
"Go on." The old man gave the dog a shove. "I have no use for you anymore," he said in a gruff voice. "Get going now!"
Monsieur DuPree was hurt. He thought his master didn't love him anymore. He didn't understand that, indeed, the old man loved him very much but could no longer care for him. Slowly, the dog straggled toward the house and up the steps. He scratched with one paw at the front door. "Woof, woof! Woof, woof!"
Looking back, he saw his master step behind a tree just as someone from inside turned the doorknob. A little boy appeared, framed in the doorway by the warm light coming from within. When he saw Monsieur DuPree, the little boy threw both arms into the air and shouted with delight, "Oh boy! Mom and Dad, come see what Santa brought!"
Through teary eyes, the old man watched from behind the tree as the boy's mother read the note. Then she tenderly pulled Monsieur DuPree inside. Smiling, the old man wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his cold, damp coat. Then he disappeared into the night, whispering, "Merry Christmas, my friend."
Christmas Come Alive
St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, is credited with popularizing Nativity reenactments.
BY: Mary Bonaccorsi Herzel
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Excerpted with permission of the Creche Herald.
Although not the first to create a creche at Christmas, St. Francis of Assisi's charisma did much to spread the joy of depicting the birth of Jesus. The narrative below of Francis' creche is drawn from the writings of his first biographer, Thomas of Celano.
It was mid-December of the year 1223. Christmas was coming, and Francis wanted all people to share in the miracle of the birth of Christ. He sent a message to his friend, a nobleman from the nearby town of Greccio: "If you want us to celebrate the present feast of our Lord at Greccio, go with haste and diligently prepare what I tell you. For I wish to do something that will recall to memory the little Child who was born in Bethlehem and set before our bodily eyes in some way the inconveniences of his infant needs, how he lay in a manger, how, with an ox and an ass standing by, he lay upon the hay where he had been placed."
On Christmas eve, people from all over the countryside came to Greccio to see and hear Brother Francis assist in the mass. They came dressed in their holiday best, walking, riding on donkeys, or crowding into little carts drawn by oxen. As the winter darkness fell, the light of the candles and torches lit the way, and their singing warmed the frosty air.
When the faithful arrived at the appointed place, they saw that in a natural cave, Francis had prepared a manger filled with hay. Alongside were an ox and an ass. As the service began, the brothers sang songs of praise. Then Francis spoke about the Nativity and the Child of Bethlehem. At the end of the "solemn night of celebration," the people left and "each one returned to his home with holy joy."
It was claimed that many wonderful things happened that night. One of the onlookers said he saw a little child lying in the manger lifeless, and then Francis went up to it and "roused the child as if from a deep sleep." In other parts of the region, people and animals that had been sick got well, women in difficult childbirth were delivered safely.
Reenactment of the Christmas story spread and grew into a great tradition. In the place where the manger had stood, a church was later erected
Read more: http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Christianity/2000/12/Christmas-Come-Alive.aspx#ixzz18ccuysmr
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