December/Nollaig
First Week of Advent Theme : HOPE
Keep Awake in HOPE
As the earth turns away from the sun and enters the season of darkness, a darkness which is necessary for the bulbs and seeds to ready themselves for the burst of growth in Spring, so do we enter the time of waiting that is Advent. We pray that we may use this time as wisely as the earth does, preparing our hearts and spirits for the celebration of the wonder that is the incarnation, God becoming flesh and living among us. We light this candle for hope.
Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord…
1st December/Nollaig
World AIDS Day https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-aids-day/2019
There were 37.9 million people living with HIV at the end of 2018.It is a global emergency claiming approximately 5,000 lives every day in some of the poorest countries.
Trócaire is helping people get access to care and treatment.
Action: Pray for all those struggling with AIDS/HIV Support Trócaire’s work for our brothers and sisters living with HIV/AIDS.
2nd December/ Nollaig
Today, we remember the Churchwomen of El Salvador—Sr. Dorothy Kazel, Sr. Ita Ford, Sr. Maura Clarke, and Jean Donovan—who were martyred on December 2, 1980, killed because they were committed to standing in solidarity with the economically poor and marginalized in the country.
Action: Pray for all missionaries who like Dorothy, Ita, Maura and Jean continue to stand in solidarity with the those on the margins of our societies.
6th December/Nollaig
Feast of St. Nicholas: a beloved and wonderful Bishop of Myra (in modern-day Turkey). He was born in Asia Minor in A.D. 260 and orphaned at an early age.
“One action can change the world”. “When you buy a Trócaire Gift you’re not just giving. You’re joining the fight for justice”. Trócaire
Action: Choose a Trócaire Global Gift and change someone’s world this Christmas. Call 1850 408 408
7th December/Nollaig
2nd Sunday of Advent…LOVE
As we light this second candle, we pray for the protection of what remains of the wilder parts of our world.
Action: Let us be brave and active, our best gift to the world in this troubled Advent time.
8th December/Nollaig
Feast of the Immaculate Conception
“prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight”. Luke 3:4
Action: Take a little quiet time to reflect and pray so that you can be aware of both your own needs and the needs of the people around you.
10th December/Nollaig
International Human Rights Day (77th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948) A reminder of the persistence of violations of human rights throughout the world.
This year’s theme, Human Rights: Our Everyday Essentials, underscores three simple truths—human rights are positive, human rights are essential, and human rights are attainable.
Action: Read the Declaration and consider one small action.
14th December/Nollaig
3rd Sunday of Advent…..JOY
A prayer as you light the third candle on your wreath: O God, source of light and darkness, let the lighting of this third candle be a sign of our willingness to speak for the light; to be, like John the Baptist, a witness to the light. It is to John we turn for inspiration today as one who found in the wilderness the grace of seeing clearly. May we find in our time a voice to protect our wild places for ‘in wilderness is the preservation of the world’ (Henry David Thoreau). We pray that the Holy Spirit fill our hearts with the light of joy and thanksgiving so that we may live as children of the light blessing one another and the sacred earth by what we say and do. We make this prayer in the name of Jesus, the Light of the world. Amen.
14th to 22 Dec/Nollaig
Hannukah (Jewish) begins…
Festival of Lights, eight days and nights, is celebrated with blessings, games and festive foods. Hanukkah marks the restoration of the temple by the Maccabees in 164 BCE.
Action: Remember that young Jewish girl called Mary who said “yes” to new life and brought such light into our world over 2000 years ago and be a blessing for those you meet today.
Pray especially for the Jewish community in Ireland
18th December/Nollaig
International Day of Solidarity with Migrants.
Remembering that Mary and Josph were migrants once! Officially proclaimed in 2000 to commemorate the adoption of by the UN of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.
Action: Be vigilant about the rights of migrant workers and their families in your own local community. Be sure to extend the “Céad Míle Fáilte” to them.Find out more
21st December/Nollaig
4th Sunday of Advent…PEACE.
By your becoming one with creation… renew the earth. Come to our divided world, come to our fragmented lives; come to heal and save.
Action: Take time to read and reflect on this Sunday’s gospel Matthew 1:18-24.
21st December/Nollaig
Winter Solstice
This Celtic festival of the Winter Solstice marks the shortest day of the year…the darkest time of the year but as we celebrate the return of the light today we know that the LIGHT of the WORLD will bring warmth and life back to our earth again…’Our Common Home’.
Action: Try to find a place near you where the setting sun casts a shadow.
25th December/Nollaig
Christmas Day/Lá Nollaig
‘In the countryside there were shepherds…Today a saviour has been born to you’ Luke 2, 8-11