Ave Maria Meditations
Penitential Prayer for Advent
Almighty and eternal God, You gave us seasons of penance so that we may recognize our weaknesses, and, having been purified by the medicine of prayers, fasting, and abstinence, we may approach Your Sacred Mysteries more worthily.
As we are waiting for Christmas, that great feast of Your humility and mercy, when You saw fit to sanctify our bodies by coming down to and becoming one of us, let us not forget that You became man ultimately to give Your life for us on the cross.
Was not the rough hay You were laid on as a newborn like Your crown of thorns? Your hard crib like the wood You would be nailed to? Lord, as You Yourself have given Yourself over to suffering to win for us eternal life, let us also now bear ills patiently and do penance, to prepare Your ways. Amen.
