“Lord, bless all who look upon this manger; may it remind us of the humble birth of Jesus.” The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has created a blessing for Nativity/manger scenes in the home.
On a prayer walk, you might hear children laughing and pray that God would show himself even to the young people of the area. You might hear a snowplow or a garbage truck going by and pray that God reveal to them the importance of their work. You may hear neighbors shoveling or snow blowing their driveway, and you pray that God bless their family. When you prayer walk try and be aware of all that is going on around you, and simply pray for it. I invite you to use the Advent reflection below written by Fr. Henri Nouwen as you do your prayer walk. It helps you to see the simplicity and hiddenness around us. Things we sometimes miss as we go through our busy days. Advent is that time to slow our pace, to look around, and to see the hope.
An Advent reflection by Henri Nouwen:
"A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him." (Isaiah11:1-2).
Our salvation comes from something small, tender, and vulnerable, something hardly noticeable. God, who is the Creator of the Universe, comes to us in smallness, weakness, and hiddenness. I find this a hopeful message. Somehow, I keep expecting loud and impressive events to convince me and others of God's saving power; but over and over again I am reminded that spectacles, power plays, and big events are the ways of the world. Our temptation is to be distracted by them and made blind to the "shoot that shall sprout from the stump." When I have no eyes for the small signs of God's presence - the smile of a baby, the carefree play of children, the words of encouragement and gestures of love offered by friends - I will always remain tempted to despair. The small child of Bethlehem, the unknown young man of Nazareth, the rejected preacher, the naked man on the cross, he asks for my full attention. The work of our salvation takes place in the midst of a world that continues to shout, scream, and overwhelm us with its claims and promises. But the promise is hidden in the shoot that sprouts from the stump, a shoot that hardly anyone notices.
The book Faithful Families has a variety of different ways to use the paper chain and variations on it.