Be Thoughtful

We Sing

Gather your people, O God, here in this time and this place.
As we wait, as we hope, as we long for your coming, O God.

© 2006, Monica Brown. Published by Emmaus Productions
All rights reserved. Used with permission.

We Gather

Loving God, let us hear you today when you ask us to reach out to the forgotten ones among us: the people we don’t talk to, the people we don’t invite to come along, the people we barely notice as we pass them in the corridors. Use our voices to speak peace to your people – to speak peace to all your people. Amen.

We Listen

2 Corinthians 9: 6 – 7

Remember: A stingy planter gets a stingy crop; a lavish planter gets a lavish crop. I want each of you to take plenty of time to think it over, and make up your own mind what you will give. That will protect you against sob stories and arm-twisting. God loves it when the giver delights in the giving.

We Reflect

It is very easy for present-giving to become like a transaction – I give to you because you’ve given to me. True generosity, the kind that God models for us throughout the scriptures, gives expecting nothing in return. This kind of generosity expresses love of the deepest kind and can, in an odd way, bring joy not just to the recipient but to the one giving as well.

We Pray

… for a generous and uncalculating heart.

We Act

Think of someone you wouldn’t usually buy a present for (and who may not buy you one), then give them something you think they would really like.

We Bless

We sign ourselves with the sign of our faith as we pray:

May God, Creator, bless us.
May God, Redeemer, heal us.
May the Holy Spirit enlighten us and give us all we need.
Amen.

We Go

Ready the way, ready the way, ready the way of the Lord.
Ready the way, ready the way, ready the way of the Lord.

© 2004, Curtis Stephan. Published by Oregon Catholic Press.
All rights reserved. Used with permission.