R Shepherd of Israel, Hosannah!
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Psalm 80
V Blessed is our God who inhabits the highest heavens, blessed is he, and blessed is the kingdom of our father David which is coming.
R Amen. Thanks be to God.
my Advent wreath
11 comments:
Lookin' good!
This year our Advent Candles are a lovely purple colour, to go with the vestments. They look really good, and being tall are well away from flammable wreaths! ;)
beautiful :)
i think this was my first year seeing the advent candle lit and it was the perfect way to open worship. these little rituals have a way of focusing a person.
I am so happy Advent is here. I am doing special Advent devotions, and I am trying to avoid the consumerism and busy-ness that so many people succumb to. I don't have my own wreath though.
P.S. Your candles are the wrong colour. ;-)
Ding: It's fun doing this at home, too. I am practicing chanting the Psalter, so this gives me an added reason to do so.
Anon: Welcome! Actually white, blue or purple are all acceptable Advent candle colors...and, if one chooses, pink for Gaudete Sunday, when the quiet and introspective mood of the first two weeks begins to lighten up a bit, as the Nativity approaches.
Here's an interesting twist, literally, on the Advent candleholder . I think, theologically speaking, it would make more sense to start lighting the candles from the top, to indicate that (Kelly Fryer fans all chant in unison) God always comes DOWN.
Also, according to the Lutheran liturgical guidelines for such stuff (and Advent wreaths are a bit of a ritual innovation, so "your mileage may vary" depending on your tradition and local custom), the Advent wreath should be round...I'd put the spiral candleholder in the middle of a wreath.
My own foray into neo-orthodoxy in the realm of advent candles is not only to mess with the colors, but also to switch the angel and shepherd candles. By switching them (so the angel candle comes first) one can read nicely thru Luke 1 & 2 in order (I'm, sadly, a very linear thinker).
Sadly, our Pentecostal (gasp!) church has no advent liturgy, no advent customs whatsoever. : ( We make up for it with our own family customs. One of which is to make cookies every Sunday to have with the advent wreath. We do light the candles and do the reading, prayers, and hymn after dinner. My oldest son is finally old enough to read the Scripture himself-- really precious. (The younger one being preoccupied with finding new ways to burn down the house with the advent candles).
Well lutheranchik, the liturgically-correct Anglican that I am insists that the candles should be violet, violet, rose, violet, in keeping with the colour of vestments during Advent. But who am I to lay down the law when I don't have an Advent wreath at all... Maybe next year. (Last year in the after-Christmas clearance sales I saw a wreath-shaped candle holder for sale at the Diocesan Book Store here in Montreal. I was tempted but I didn't buy it, and now I am kicking myself.)
P.S. verdugo, I think actually Advent wreaths are more suitable for family devotions than for church services.
oh and thanks for the welcome lutheranchik! btw I am the same one who left a comment yesterday on your depression post.
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