A PRAYER FOR ADVENT
Lord Jesus, you are the light of the world whom the prophets promised to those living in the shadow of death. We place our hope in you as we pray.
Come, Lord Jesus.
Son of God, firstborn of the Father, you took our flesh and were born of Mary; rescue us from darkness, and center our lives in you.
Come, Lord Jesus.
You came to give life by undergoing death; preserve us from the terror of death, and bring us to glory.
Come, Lord Jesus.
Your abiding love revives our drooping spirits; look into our hearts, and sustain us in our need.
Come, Lord Jesus.
You wish to gather all people into your kingdom; find those who have strayed, and lead them gently home.
Come, Lord Jesus.
You have broken the gates of death forever; raise up those who have gone before us, and give them eternal rest.
Come, Lord Jesus.
Blessed are you, Lord Jesus, Holy Child of God, Sovereign of the universe; by your mercy bring us into your eternal inheritance.
Come, Lord Jesus.
Lord God, Lover of all creation, you bring the history of the world to its fulfillment. Grant that at the advent of this season we may be mindful of the last days, so that all our lives may be a longing for your reign, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Douglas R. Cullum
Adapted from Benedictine Daily Prayer: A Short Breviary. Second Edition.
Ed. Maxwell E. Johnson (Collegville: Liturgical Press, 2015).
Dr. Cullum is one of the founding faculty members of Northeastern Seminary at Roberts Wesleyan College. Areas of special interest include Wesley and the Methodist tradition, Reformation theology and history, liturgy and liturgical theology, 19th-century American religion, and 20th-century neo-orthodoxy. Professionally, Dr. Cullum participates in the North American Academy of Liturgy and the Wesley Studies Group of the American Academy of Religion.