© 2010 - Fox Hill Publications
Through the four weeks of Advent, which begins this year on Sunday 28 November, the Church waits and prepares itself for the coming of Christ at Christmas. As Christmas gets closer the events leading up to the birth of Jesus are recalled: the appearance of an angel to Mary with news that she would bear the Son of the Most High and to this she said ‘Yes’.
In Advent the Church is not just waiting to celebrate a historical event in time; it is also waiting for the end of time when Jesus will come to judge the living and the dead. This expectation colours the beginning of Advent for example in the Gospel of the First Sunday when Jesus charges his disciples to stay awake because they do not know the hour when the master is coming.
Poised in between an event that changed the course of history and when Christ will come again is the Advent of today. The Advent images of watching and waiting can seem difficult in the all-consuming rush to Christmas. The invitation of the season is to ‘prepare a way for the Lord’. In thoughts, words and actions, large and small, to prepare ourselves to receive Christ this Christmas and to the prepare the way for others.
At this time many Christians focus on renewal in their spiritual lives and may visit the sacrament of reconciliation, ‘confession’, before Christmas. Some excellent resources can be found in the Advent section of the US Bishops' Conference site - including an excellent downloadable book of scriptural reflections for Advent and Christmas featuring the words of Pope Benedict XVI from homilies, speeches and other addresses during his papacy.
Click on the links below to get around the Advent and Christmas sections:
Seeking Christ during Advent
Who is Jesus Christ?
Saints of the Season
Prayer
Scripture
Resources/Links
Advent and Christmas Reflections
