"The Joy of Advent", by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB.
Info from this site:,
oblatesosbbelmont.org/2009/11/29/the-joy-of-advent/
"Advent is the time in which we recognize our need for a Savior. None of us could open the Gates of Heaven. In this time of Advent, we look at our lives. What have you "collected" of the world that dims the light of Christ? Recognize, too, the birth of Christ in one another. We as a community form the Body of Christ. We need to give witness to that. We must work together to bring Christ's light to the world.
The Church cries out. The Voice of Christ cries out through His Church: "Awake! Stay awake, be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come!" "Being awake for God and for other people, " says Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, "that is the kind of 'waking' that Advent has in mind, the wakefulness which discovers the light and brightens the world."
Do purge the world from your life. Do take the time to pray, saying, "O the Gift! What is to come!" Contemplate on how the Blessed Mother would have prayed during this time. How would she have prepared? Let us keep this in mind and have a spirit of preparing in the same way.
Finally, don't forget to greet the Christ in one another. Give a sense of presence with a smile. Make your work areas places of peace. Remember one another in charity, for where charity and love prevail, there is Christ. May your Advent be a joyful time in preparation for Christ. Pray for His coming. Come Lord Jesus!"
Info from this site:,
oblatesosbbelmont.org/2009/11/29/the-joy-of-advent/
"Advent is the time in which we recognize our need for a Savior. None of us could open the Gates of Heaven. In this time of Advent, we look at our lives. What have you "collected" of the world that dims the light of Christ? Recognize, too, the birth of Christ in one another. We as a community form the Body of Christ. We need to give witness to that. We must work together to bring Christ's light to the world.
The Church cries out. The Voice of Christ cries out through His Church: "Awake! Stay awake, be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come!" "Being awake for God and for other people, " says Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, "that is the kind of 'waking' that Advent has in mind, the wakefulness which discovers the light and brightens the world."
Do purge the world from your life. Do take the time to pray, saying, "O the Gift! What is to come!" Contemplate on how the Blessed Mother would have prayed during this time. How would she have prepared? Let us keep this in mind and have a spirit of preparing in the same way.
Finally, don't forget to greet the Christ in one another. Give a sense of presence with a smile. Make your work areas places of peace. Remember one another in charity, for where charity and love prevail, there is Christ. May your Advent be a joyful time in preparation for Christ. Pray for His coming. Come Lord Jesus!"
"Advent is the liturgical season that precedes and prepares for Christmas. It is a season of hope and of longing, of joyful expectation and of peaceful preparation. Many symbols and traditions are associated with Advent, especially the Advent Wreath with its four colored candles (three purple and one pink), but also Advent calendars, special Advent music, food, processions, and other traditions that may vary from one culture or region to the next. Here are a few interesting things to know about Advent:
- When and how long is Advent?
- For most Christians, the Advent Season always begins four Sundays before Christmas; so it is rarely four full weeks long, but only between three and four weeks, depending on what weekday Dec. 25 happens to be in a certain year. (click here for more specifics on the calendar)
- The First Sunday of Advent, which also marks the beginning of the new liturgical year for the Church, could be as early as Nov. 27 or as late as Dec. 3.
- The Third Sunday of Advent is traditionally called "Gaudete Sunday" (from Latin, meaning "Rejoice!), because the "Entrance Antiphon" of this Sunday's Mass is taken from Paul's letter to the Philippians:
- The Fourth Sunday of Advent could be as early as Dec. 18, a full week before Christmas (as in 2005 and 2011), or as late as Dec. 24, making it the same day as "Christmas Eve" (as in 2006 or 2017).
- Advent technically ends of the afternoon of Dec. 24, since that evening, Christmas Eve, begins the Christmas Season.
- Most Eastern Orthodox and other Eastern Christian Churches have a "Nativity Fast" (now often called "Advent Fast"), which usually lasts forty days before Christmas; it may begin on Nov. 15 (for those Churches that celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25), or in late November (for those Churches that celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7 or 8).
- What does the word "Advent" mean?
- When capitalized, "Advent" usually refers to "the coming of Christ into the world" or to "the liturgical period preceding Christmas"; it may also refer to the "Second Coming" of Christ (the "Advent of our Lord").
- In secular English, "advent" (not capitalized) may refer to any "coming" or "arrival," especially of something so important that it radically changed a whole culture (e.g., "The advent of electricity" or "The advent of the computer age").
- The word is derived from the Latin adventus ("arrival, approach"), made up of the preposition ad- ("to, towards"), the verbal root ven-(from venire, "to come"), and the suffix -tus (indicating verbal action).
- The word is very similar in many other European languages: Advent, Advento, Avent, Avvento, Adviento, etc.
- What are the traditional colors of Advent?
- In the Roman Catholic Church, the official liturgical color for most of the Season of Advent is violet. Only on the Third Sunday of Advent is a rose (pink) colored candle lit, as a symbol of joy; the priest may also wear rose vestments on this Sunday.
- Many Anglicans and some Protestant Churches use blue instead of violet throughout Advent, although they may also use rose/pink on the Third Sunday.
- Other church decorations (altar cloths, banners, etc.) will often have combinations of violet, pink, and blue throughout the season. Liturgically-minded churches will avoid greens and reds (the secular Christmas colors), and will wait until the Christmas season to use decorations with white, silver, and gold colors."
Info from this site:
catholic-resources.org/Lectionary/Seasons-Advent-Christmas.htm