# Attention Day 2 > Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God. ### Opening Prayer: *Lord, I ask for the grace to let go of my own concerns and be open to what you are asking of me, to let myself be guided and formed by my loving Creator. (Sacred Space: the Prayer Book 2010 by Jesuit Communication Centre)* #### Psalm for the Week: Psalm 130 #### My Soul Waits for the Lord #### A Song of Ascents. *130 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord! 2 O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy! 3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? 4 But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; 6 my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.7 O Israel, hope in the Lord! --- *For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. 8 And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.* --- #### Scripture for the Day: Isaiah 35:1-10 #### The Ransomed Shall Return *35 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;2 it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God. 3 Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. 4 Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance,with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”* *5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,and the ears of the deaf unstopped;6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer,and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness,and streams in the desert;7 the burning sand shall become a pool,and the thirsty ground springs of water;in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down,the grass shall become reeds and rushes.* *8 And a highway shall be there,and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way;* *even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.[a]* *9 No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;* *they shall not be found there,but the redeemed shall walk there.* *10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing;everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.* #### Reading for Reflection: *Advent is a season of waiting, yes, but it is waiting with a very deep kind of intentionality and openness to receive. There is something for us to do in our waiting; we are to do those things that prepare our souls to welcome Christ deeper into the recesses of our life and being. (Advent: The Courage to Wait by Ruth Haley Barton)* *At the beginning of her course the Church looks out towards Eternity, and realizes her own poverty and imperfection and her utter dependence on this perpetual coming of God.* ​ *Advent is, of course, first of all a preparation for Christmas; which commemorates God’s saving entrance into history in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. was in the midst of her swift course: thine Almighty* ​ *Word leapt down from heaven out of thy royal throne.* ​ *Alleluia.* *A tremendous spiritual event then took place; something which disclosed the very nature of God and his relation to His universe. But there was little to show for it on the surface of life. All men saw was a poor girl unconditionally submitted to God’s Will, and a baby born in difficult circumstances. And this contrast between the outward appearance and the inner reality is true of all the comings of God to us. We must be very loving and very alert if we want to recognize them in their earthly disguise. Again and again He comes and the revelation is not a bit what we expect. (The Fruits of the Spirit by Evelyn Underhill)* #### Reflection and Listening: silent and written #### Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself #### Song for the Week: O Come, O Come, Emanuel *O come, O come, Emmanuel,* *And ransom captive Israel,* *That mourns in lonely exile here,* *Until the Son of God appear.* *Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel* *Shall come to thee, O Israel.* *O come, thou Rod of Jesse, free* *Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;* *From depths of hell thy people save,* *And give them vict’ry o’er the grave.* *Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel* *Shall come to thee, O Israel.* *O come, thou Dayspring come and cheer* *Our spirits by thy justice here.* *Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,* *And death’s dark shadows put to flight.* *Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel* *Shall come to thee, O Israel.* *O come, thou Key of David, come* *And open wide our heav’nly home;* *Make safe the way that leads on high,* *And close the path to misery.* *Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel* *Shall come to thee, O Israel* ### Closing Prayer *My God, since You are with me, and since it is Your will that I should apply my mind to these outward things, I pray that You will give me the grace to remain with You and keep company with You. But so that my work may be better, Lord, work with me; receive my work and possess all my affections. (The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence)*