FOUR CANDLES: The Story of Advent

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Saturday, December 1 (sundown) - Monday, De-cember 24 (sundown)

Advent, which means ‘com-ing’, is a liturgical season, at the beginning of each Church year. For four weeks, we await the Feast of Christmas!

Advent was established in 590 as a time of preparation, pen-ance and renewal. Basically it is the liturgical equivalent of New Years!

The Catechism teaches that, “When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the Sav-ior’s first coming, the faith-ful renew their ardent desire for his second coming” (CCC 524).

The most well known Ad-vent tradition, is the lighting of the four candles within an evergreen wreath. Although wreaths have become much

more simple over the centu-ries, original symbols includ-edlaurel which signifies vic-tory over persecution and suffering; pine, holly, and yew, which signify immortality; and cedar which represents strength and healing.

The circle symbolizes God’s eternity, and immortality of the soul. The four candles, three purple and one rose, represent the four weeks of Advent. The purple candles symbolize hope, preparation, and love while the rose can-dle, lit on the third Sunday, represents joy. The flame sig-nifies Christ, the Light of the world.

This Advent, prepare for the Christmas season by ready-ing your heart to receive Je-sus, both in the manger and at the Last Judgment.

by John & Liz Boring

•Make a New Year’s resolutionForget January 1st, the first Sunday of Advent marks the start of a new liturgical year. Since the Church’s year begins with a season of penitential expectation, pop-ping the cork on a bottle of champagne on Sunday, December 2 won’t be the best way to celebrate.

Instead, take time to set a goal that will help you grow in holiness over the next year, identify a virtue that you need to cultivate or select a saint to study and model throughout the year. Whatever your “resolution” may be, commit to stretching yourself spiritually.

•Create a sense of anticipationDespite what the mainstream media might have us believe, the Christmas season doesn’t actually start until sundown on December 24th. While it may be challenging, strive to save Christmas joys and treats until the liturgical season of Christmas begins so that you can fully take advantage of Advent. Hold off on decorating (or at least lighting) your Christmas tree; leave your crèche/nativity empty, making the fig-ures in your Nativity scene “travel” around your home until it’s the appropriate time for them to make an entrance; and de-lay playing your favorite Christmas music. By reserving these traditions until dusk on the 24th, you’ll find that your excitement for the Christmas season will build.

•Light candles on an Advent Wreath One of the most popular symbols of the season, a simple Advent wreath consists of fresh evergreen boughs encircling four candles, three violet and one rose, sym-bolizing the four weeks of Advent. On the first Sunday of Advent, the first candle is lit, with an additional candle being lit each Sunday thereafter; the rose candle is saved for the third Sunday of Advent, also known as Gaudete Sunday. Regard-less of whether you purchase or make your own Advent wreath, set a ritual for lighting the candles each night. You might consider reading the daily Gospel, praying the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary, or singing an Advent carol.

•Pray or chant the O AntiphonsBeginning on December 1st through De-cember 23, the Evening Prayer of the Divine Office includes an antiphon highlighting a prophetic title for Christ. You’ll recog-nize these titles from the popular hymn “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”: O Sapien-tia (O Wisdom), O Adonai (O Lord of Is-rael), O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse), O Clavis David (O Key of David), O Oriens (O Dayspring), O Rex Gentium (O King of all Nations), and O Emmanuel (O God with us). By reciting the O Antiphons and read-ing the relevant scripture passages from which the titles come, you’ll be incor-porating beautiful and ancient prayers of the Church into your Advent celebration.

•Observe Advent EmbertideOfficially prescribed for the Church by Pope Gregory VII in the 11th century, Em-ber Days were set aside as times to thank God for the gifts of His creation. A set of Ember Days occurred at the start of each of the four natural seasons and was marked by prayer, fasting and par-tial abstinence. In winter, the Ember Days fell on the Wednesday, Friday and Satur-day following the third Sunday of Advent. Since the Second Vatican Council, Cath-olics are no longer obliged to fast and abstain on Ember Days, but the voluntary practice serves as an appropriate way to observe the penitential aspect of Advent.

•Decorate a Jesse tree Named for Jesse, the father of the bibli-cal King David, the Jesse tree is an Advent tradition that brings the story of salva-tion history to life in the Christian home. The prophet Isaiah foretold the lineage of the Messiah saying, “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots” (Isaiah 11:1). To make your own Jesse tree, you’ll need to create ornaments – one for each day of Advent – depicting symbols of Jesus’ ancestry; for example, you could make a knife for Abraham, a harp for David, and carpenters’ tools for Jo-seph. Throughout Advent, as you hang your ornaments on a small tree, either real or symbolic, take time to read the scriptures and meditate on the foretelling of the Savior through the ages.

Wish List1. ornaments

STOCKING STUFFERS

3. gift cards

5. CDs

4. cookie cutters

2. playing cards & travel games

8. gloves & hats

6. one-of-a-kind coupons

7. socks

10. scarves9. ties 11. vintage or handmade tees

12. art supplies

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14. usb drive

13. film or memory card

15. mini tripod 16. tickets

17. hot cocoa/tea/coffee packets

18. harmonica

19. passport case & wallet

20. compass

21. travel guides & maps

22. journal

23. flower & vegetable seeds

25. polaroid pogo mini printer

24. vintage candy

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