Author Archives: Ronald Patrick Raab, C.S.C.

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About Ronald Patrick Raab, C.S.C.

Ronald Raab, C.S.C.,serves as religious superior at Holy Cross House, a medical and retirement home for the Congregation of Holy Cross, Notre Dame, Indiana

The Second Sunday of Advent, Cycle A, December 4, 2022, Prayers of the Faithful, Matthew 3:1-12

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Second Sunday of Advent

December 4, 2022

Let us pray the river of justice may overflow its banks so to wash away our fears. May we bathe in God’s desire for our common good. May our pains be eased and cleansed.

We pray to the Lord.

Let us pray to feel the warm breath of John the Baptist speaking out for those who live in silent desperation. May his words warm our cold declarations of hatred, illusions, and desolations.

We pray to the Lord.

Let us pray to listen to the stories our poor try to tell us. May our ears listen attentively to the lives of people who have lost their employment, their warm homes, and their mental stability.

We pray to the Lord.

Let us pray to stand firmly on earthly peace. May we not stumble as we ache for stable peace in Ukraine. May the sounds of gunfire in our nation challenge us to act for the benefit of our children.

We pray to the Lord.

Let us pray to cut through our apathy with a prophet’s sword. May the weak find home with the strong, the illiterate turn pages of hope with the learned, and our children know the wisdom of our elderly.

We pray to the Lord.

Let us pray to depend on love to heal our flimsy falsehoods. May we depend on the prophet’s presence to live with integrity. May Advent point us toward forgiveness and heavenly balm.

We pray to the Lord.

Let us pray our nightmares of self-hatred be transformed by God’s love. May we know God’s desire for us even when fear blankets us in the night.

We pray to the Lord.

Let us pray for our loved ones who have crossed the deserts of life. May the dead reach the eternal shore of God’s kingdom.

We pray to the Lord.