Beginning this month, Jeanne Maloney (Faith Formation here at Saint Peter) will publish a Monthly Faith Focus in the Sunday Weekly and on the Saint Peter blog that you can easily reference to use at home when you meet as a family (perhaps at dinnertime?), when you meet with a group of faithful friends (perhaps at 3 Squares?) or when you meet with your Saint Peter ministry teams (perhaps before a volunteer event or at All Ministry Night?).
The monthly Faith Focus I’ll be preparing each month will have a few components:
A faith theme centered around scripture
A brief reflection
A faith conversation starter(s)
A prayer
The hope is that this will foster faith-filled reflection and conversation into your relationships.
For December, the focus is on Advent Awe & Wonder.
Scripture:
“For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.”
Reflection:
Too often we want to have an explanation for everything we see and hear, but God is utterly incomprehensible. As we enter into this Advent season and await the coming of Christ, the mystery of God’s love incarnated in the life of a poor baby is humbling for us all. Maybe we just need to make the time to be curious, be amazed and stand in awe before the mystery of God. Let wonder wash over us at this special time of year at the magnificent love that created the heavens and the earth and that sent a child to be our living example of love in this world.
Conversation Starters:
Where do you witness Awe & Wonder?
How does your Awe & Wonder connect to God’s incomprehensible Love?
How might you show your gratitude for God’s amazing blessings in your life?
Prayer:
Speak to God, using these words or your own.
Gracious loving creator,
Your beauty, power, goodness and love are the deepest mystery to me. Please give me eyes of wonder and a heart of awe to see what you have in front of me today. Thank you for blessing me with the gift of the world and letting me share in the joy of your beautiful creation. I am grateful for the love you have shown by sending your Son to be a part of our world and by being an example of love for us all. Please help me keep Christ at the center of my Advent journey. In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.