Honor the Season of Advent: 5 Days of Lessons and CarolsSample

Read aloud Luke 1: 26-35, 38

Dwell on the words of “Lo How a Rose E’re Blooming,” a magnificent Advent hymn about Mary. “Lo, How a Rose E’re Blooming” is rooted in sixteenth century Germany but has been popularized by contemporary artists like Linda Ronstadt, Sting, and Charlotte Church. Like the other hymns you’ve read, it connects stories from Genesis and Isaiah to the incredible sequence of events that leads to Jesus’ birth in a barn in Bethlehem.

Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming
From tender stem hath sprung!
Of Jesse’s lineage coming
As men of old have sung.
It came, a flower bright,
Amid the cold of winter
When half-spent was the night.

Contemplate together: Gabriel announces to Mary, a young virgin engaged to Joseph, that she will be bringing forth new life, specifically the son of God. It’s an astounding announcement, and, quite understandably, Mary asks Gabriel, “How can this be?” Have you ever thought about how Mary consents to a mystery she has no way of understanding? Ponder her bravery! To complete your contemplation of Mary, read aloud her Magnificat (song of praise) later in Luke 1, beginning at verse 46.