Advent and Christmas Prayers
Responsive Prayer – Preparing for Christmas
All: O God, in the fullness of time you sent your son Jesus in a manner that confounded kings yet moved shepherds and magi. Guide us now as we prepare to celebrate the coming of the Prince of Peace.One: As we make our family plans for Advent and Christmas,
All: We commit to hold central the one whose birth we celebrate.One: As we feel the pressure to buy and buy and buy,
All: We commit to resist our temptations to find you in material things.One: As we consider all of the waste generated in our celebrations,
All: We commit to set limits on what we will consume and throw away.One: As our plans do not include those who are hungry, sick, lonely and imprisoned,
All: We commit to seek you in the spirit of humility.One: As we make our Christmas lists for family and friends,
All: We commit to remember our reason to celebrate.All: O God, forgive us when we forget who you are and why you have come. As we prepare for the Prince of Peace to be born in our midst, help us to bring peace to a troubled world and people. As the shepherds and magi looked for you in a stable, let us look for you among those you came to serve. Amen.From the Buy Nothing Christmas information kit available at www.buynothingchristmas.org. Used by permission.Download the PDF version (click here).
Responsive Prayer
One: Holy Child of Bethlehem, whose parents found no room in the inn,
All: We pray for all who are homeless.One: Holy Child of Bethlehem, born in a stable,
All: We pray for all who live in poverty.One: Holy Child of Bethlehem, rejected stranger,
All: We pray for all who are lost, alone, all who cry for loved ones.One: Holy Child of Bethlehem, whom Herod sought to kill,
All: We pray for all who live with danger, all who are persecuted.One: Holy Child of Bethlehem, a refugee in Egypt,
All: We pray for all who are far from their homes.One: Holy Child of Bethlehem, in you God was pleased to dwell,
All: Help us, we pray, to see the divine image in people everywhere.From the Buy Nothing Christmas information kit available at www.buynothingchristmas.org. Used by permission.Download the PDF version (click here).