Praying with the Church Through Advent

At the beginning of every Mass, the priest-celebrant says, “Let us pray” and then offers a prayer to God the Father, through Jesus Christ, in union with the Holy Spirit. This Opening Prayer is called the Collect. During Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter, this prayer is specific to the day; in the season of Ordinary Time, the Collect for each Sunday is repeated during the following weekday Masses.

In Praying with the Church through Advent, Fr. Edward Looney offers a short daily meditation and reflection questions on that day’s Collect to help you better appreciate the richness of these liturgical texts and apply them to your life. Journaling pages are included to aid you in your Advent journey so that you may more fruitfully contemplate the liturgy and incorporate the spiritual lessons it offers.

Fr. Looney invites you to spend a few minutes considering these meditations over a cup of coffee, or while resting in the Lord’s Presence, and praying with them before or after Mass. The reflections and questions may also be used for group discussions.b