Stir up your power, O Lord,
and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our
sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through
Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and
glory, now and for ever. Amen.
Welcome
to the Third week of Advent. We’ve been looking at the Collects (prayers) for
each Sunday from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer.
This week, we consider
the power of God and what that means for us, and for Joseph of Nazareth. The
power of God changed his life in dramatic ways.
This Sunday is also "Rose Sunday", more properly called Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete is the Latin for 'Rejoice' and the readings today call us to Rejoice in the Lord (Philippinas 4:4-6). When there is seemingly much darkness in the world, we are called to rejoice and remember the 'great power' of our God! As a visible symbol of this, we light the one rose colored candle on our Advent wreaths, and many churches include pink roses in the altar flowers. Some priests wear rose colored vestments, too, instead of the normal Advent purple.
The chain for the first week and second week can also be downloaded.
