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What do you want from God?

First Sunday of Advent, 29 November 2020

In today’s reflection, Waiting in Joyful Hope author Michelle Francl-Donnay reflects on Isaiah 63:19b & 64:2, as well as the words of Jesuit martyr Alfred Delp, SJ.

In the comments section below, share your own response to today’s scripture, Francl-Donnay’s reflection, or the accompanying meditation prompt.

7 thoughts on “What do you want from God?”

  1. “ . . . awesome deeds we could not hope for.” I dare to ask God to heal those suffering from chronic illnesses. Yet, the real gift would be for me to be empowered to be the best caregiver I can be. I am grateful the need is not great at the moment. As I type, I realize the greatest gift would be for me to live fully in the moment and give to God my anxieties. Yes, Jesus has already come: Alleluia! Jesus, come again! Alleluia!

  2. For myself, I pray for humility. To always realize that all I have is God’s grace and as Father Mark use to say any good that I do is God working in me. For the world I pray for justice for all. In reality I want a lot: for everyone to realize that they are loved by God, for all sickness to be healed, to always see the presence of Christ in everyone I meet and to rejoice in it.

    1. To humbly work for God will eventually bring about the answer to your prayers. We may not see the harvest, but we must sow the seeds anyway!

  3. I pray to our Heavenly Father that He reunites His family, that He sends his Spirit to fill all human hearts with kindness, compassion, understanding, and forgiveness. I pray that the anticipation of this Advent season brings joy where there has been isolation and to some, despair, and peace to those who have been in turmoil.

    And, that in the not-too-distant future, I’ll be able to hug friends like Marge & Sherry for sharing their beautiful sentiments!

    1. I pray God answers your prayers so we can hug you back! Truth be told, Advent is my favorite time of year- so much hope, limitless possibilities.

  4. It’s hard for me to pray for stuff that exceeds the limits of my imagination. I can picture an effective vaccine. Such things exist, we’ve seen them, and I can pray for that with a lot of confidence. But I can’t picture world peace, or the end of poverty, or the elimination of abortion. These things depend so heavily on the cooperation of imperfect human will. So even though I want those things, they don’t enter my prayer as separate petitions; they’re all part of “thy kingdom come.”

    I pray for a broader imagination. I ask God to grant me bigger hopes.

    1. Jesus knew we can’t imagine God’s possibilities.
      I’m glad we can’t, because then they would have a limit. Won’t it be great to see eventually?!

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