Entry Five: A Baby Priest’s Advent Prayer
O good and gracious God, you are the King of the Universe; you are the Creator of my life and of all creation. Thank you for creating me. Thank you so much for everything you have given me. I am beyond grateful for all that you have done for me. Thank you for calling me to this vocation to be your priest—a vocation that I am incredibly unworthy of, a vocation I cannot live without your love. Lord, this vocation,
through which you pour out your grace into the world and into the hearts of your people, is a gift and a sign of your supreme goodness and faithfulness. God, I know that I do not deserve to ask anything of you, for you have already blessed me far more than I am worthy of; yet I ask you now, during this holy season of Advent, to increase my capacity to love.
Lord, I want to love your people as you love them. I want to be merciful as you are merciful; I want to see others as you see them. I want to be used as your instrument in any way you see fit, so that your will may always be done instead of my own. The only way I can act in accordance with your will, O Lord, is if you increase your love in me. Help my heart to be more receptive to receiving your love. Increase my capacity to love, so that I may respond in the same manner as your Blessed Mother did.
Lord, I will wait in silence for you. I will continue to wait for your glorious second coming because you have blessed me and saved me. You have given me new life through your Son’s miraculous first coming and through the outpouring of your divine love, the Holy Spirit, into my heart. Help me, Lord, to remain faithful to you. Help me to wait. Help me to remain alert and to watch for your coming.
Heavenly Father, you know your servant better than I know myself. You know how impatient I can be, and how difficult waiting is for me. When even the smallest thing arises in my day, it is easy for me to become impatient because it did not happen the way I wanted it to. Come to your servant’s aid with your divine grace, so that I may become more patient. I want to await your glorious second coming eagerly, with joy in my heart. Lord, I will wait for you as long as it takes, but the only way I can wait in silence is if you give me the strength to do so. I cannot be your faithful disciple unless you provide the grace to make it possible. You are the source of all goodness, and every good action I perform for your glory, I know, is inspired by you, for it is only through you that I am able to do anything good.
Lord, increase your love in me; this is my desire for the Christmas season. When your love is poured into my heart, I know who I am in your eyes. I know what I am destined for. I know I can do whatever you ask of me because your love fills me and motivates me. Your love is the catalyst that propels me into the world to share it with others. All I ask is for more of your love. How I wish everyone could experience your divine love as you have shared it with me. Please, Lord, keep me faithful to you; keep my will full of hope and my heart full of your love, so that I may continue your work.