Get into the Advent Spirit!

Advent is not what most people think it is. Advent is not the shopping season before Christmas. It is not a time to have Christmas parties. It is not a time to sing Christmas carols. What is it, then? It’s a joyful, yet penitential season of expectation for Jesus. The expectation is two-fold. We prepare for our Lord’s first coming, with is liturgically renewed each year at Christmas. We also prepare for our Lord’s second coming at the end of time. This would explain why Our Lord’s return in judgment was the subject of the Gospel for the First Sunday of Advent. The remaining Sundays will have St. John the Precursor calling us to penance. Yes, Advent is the time for us to get our spiritual house in order, so that we are prepared to meet God in the Flesh.

The Fisheaters site has a great “Advent Overview” for anyone who would like to get into the Advent spirit. We have some little offerings on this site, too:

Drop Your Dew, Ye Clouds of Heaven — by Sister Maria Philomena

Maria Walks Amid the Thorn — by Sister Maria Philomena

Our Lady of the Expectation, Lady of ‘O’ — by Sister Maria Philomena

Our Lady of the “O” — By Brother André Marie