FEAST OF STS JAMES INTERCISUS AND VIRGILIUS OF SALZBURG – 27th NOVEMBER
November 27, 2022
FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT
November 27, 2022
27 November, 2022
A voice of one calling in the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. – Isaiah 40:3
God of Salvation, Whose mercies are endless and ever new and Whose Holy Word accomplishes the plans for the establishment of your everlasting reign on earth, as in heaven, and the dispensation of justice and judgment, according to truth and holiness, you are a Righteous God. You exhorted your people over the ages, through warnings by the prophets to walk on clear paths through prayer and repentance, so that your peace will prevail till the end of time.
We have, in our mortal weakness, been straying from the true path and the true purpose of our life here on earth, several times, and need constant guidance, grace, counseling and leading, to return to the way of truth and eternal life. You delivered our ancestors out of the grip of the Egyptians and brought them into deliverance by constantly abiding with them and paving and lighting their path to freedom. Similarly, John the Baptist, as the precursor or forerunner of Jesus, announced Jesus’ coming, preparing the people for Jesus’ ministry.
Lord God, Jesus has destroyed the malignancy of sin and death. He has prepared us for eternity, by revealing the gospel truth, infusing us with a deep ingrained faith through the Power of the Holy Spirit, redeeming us by the victory of the destruction of evil and the restoration of your glory. His Spirit so disposes our hearts, and his providence so orders the empires and affairs of the world, as to help clear the way for accomplishing your promise of eternal salvation, for all who, by their faith, live in your grace, in Jesus’ Name. Amen
