First Sunday of Advent
~ Today we begin the joyful season of Advent! The growing lights of our Advent wreath remind us of the light that Christ brings to our dark world. The decorations and preparations remind us to prepare our hearts for Jesus Christ to enter. The gifts we give and receive remind us that Jesus is the greatest gift.
The “Universal Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar” teach us that “Advent has a two-fold character, for it is a time of preparation for the Solemnities of Christmas, in which the First Coming of the Son of God to humanity is remembered, and likewise a time when, by remembrance of this, minds and hearts are led to look forward to Christ’s Second Coming at the end of time. For these two reasons, Advent is a period of devout and expectant delight.”
A period of devout and expectant delight! I love that phrase, and I think we would all do well to reflect on those words:
DEVOUT: Advent is above all a holy time! We should approach it with great devotion, for Advent is meant to turn our hearts to think of Christ. All too often we make these days harried and busy, and they are anything but devout. We worry about schedules and parties and fitting everything in, and we are far from devout. We can get crabby and angry and eat and drink too much, and we forget that this is a time when we Christians are called to be devout, religious, serious, and sincere. How will you make your Advent more devout?
EXPECTANT: Our society forgets that most of December is not the main event, it is only the prelude. For Catholic Christians, Advent is a time of preparation for the main event, which is Christmas, and which doesn’t begin until the evening of December 24. If we do all our partying and gift-giving and celebrating before Christmas, is it any wonder that we’re ready to take down our tree and turn off our lights on December 26? No, Advent is a time to look forward to what we expect. Like a child anxiously anticipating Santa’s gifts, we wait for the best night to arrive, so let’s save some of the fun for Christmastime, shall we?
DELIGHT: Who but Ebenezer Scrooge or the Grinch does not enjoy these days? They are meant to be a delight! While it is true that Advent is not Christmas, it’s not Lent either. Advent is not meant to be an overly penitential season that is marked by penance and soul-searching. No, it is meant to be a joyful season, a delightful time! While most folks don’t go overboard on the penance during Advent, we can go overboard with all the stuff that fills these days and robs our joy. Bottom line: if you’re not happy with your Advent days, if you find yourself more depressed and stressed than delighted and happy, then you’re doing something wrong, for this is meant to be a time of delight!
So do some things these days that will help you to celebrate this Advent as a time of devout, expectant delight. These are not things that are meant to make your December days more harried and busier and full, but suggestions that will help you remember to make this Advent a period of devout and expectant delight:
- Have an Advent Wreath in your home and light the candles on Sunday nights or when your family gathers for a meal.
- Get an Advent Calendar and open the little doors each day to reflect and prepare.
- Come to our Advent Evening of Music and Compline (Night Prayer) next Sunday evening; it promises to be a devout, delightful, prayerful evening.
- Celebrate St. Nicholas Day this coming December 6 by giving a small gift of some fruit or candy.
- Remember Our Lady, the Immaculate Conception, by coming to Mass on her holy day of obligation on Monday, December 8.
- Celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12 by having a Mexican meal.
- Send a Christmas card to someone you love but don’t see often enough; better yet, make a phone call or a visit and talk.
- Help decorate our Church on Sunday, December 21.
Most of all, be devout, be expectant, take delight! The Lord is coming!