Advent has arrived and Christmas will be here before we know it.
As Catholics, Advent is not an early celebration of Christmas.
So many times, when we are asked if we’re ready for Christmas, what is really being asked is “are you done with your Christmas shopping?”
But instead, we should be thinking of a different aspect of our lives when asked if we are ready for Christmas. Are we ready spiritually?
There’s where Advent comes in.
What is Advent?
Advent is the liturgical season leading up to Christmas.
Much like Lent prepares us for Easter, we have a whole liturgical season that prepares us for Christmas.
The main difference though, Advent is a season of hope, while Lent is a penitential season of repentance.
Advent starts with four Sundays before Christmas.
How is Advent celebrated? Good question.
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 Savior’s first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for his second coming. – Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 524
Advent is a period of preparation so that we can more fully celebrate Christmas, which is the coming of the Messiah.
Why is Advent important?
The reason we celebrate Christmas is the birth of Jesus Christ. We celebrate the incarnation of God. God became man to save us from our sins. It is the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
During Advent, we not only are preparing for this first coming of Christ (His birth), but also are preparing our hearts for His second coming.
The world prepares for Christmas much differently, and many times we get pulled in this direction as well and forget about Advent.
We fill our time leading up to Christmas with lots of shopping, cleaning and decorating the house, the hustle and bustle, pre-Christmas celebrations and parties. Then when Christmas actually arrives, people have had their fill of Christmas and are ready to be done.
How many Christmas trees do you see put out on the tree lawn on December 26? You can almost start counting them.
The Christmas music on the radio turns off and goes back to regular programming (after all, it’s been on since before Thanksgiving).
When in reality, the Christmas season just began. The Christmas season lasts from December 25 until the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord in January.
So therefore, Advent in a sentence, is the season leading up to Christmas that we use to prepare ourselves spiritually for the coming of the Lord.
It is a time of “expectant waiting, hopeful anticipation, and joyful preparation” – Busted Halo (see this cool video here that they did on Advent).
If we do it right, it can be a special period of spiritual growth in our lives.
Here are 9 ways, in no particular order, to use Advent to be ready for Christmas – spiritually.
1. Use an Advent Wreath
An Advent wreath is one way to help prepare for Christmas through prayer.
It helps us stay vigilant throughout Advent by lighting a candle and praying each day. It helps remind us to keep focused on what we will be celebrating at Christmas.
If you don’t already have one, you can make one or buy one. Some Catholic parishes have a night to make your own Advent wreath.
Place your wreath in a prominent place in your home, such as on your table where you eat.
An Advent wreath traditionally consists of evergreen branches and four candles. Three of the candles are purple and one is pink.
During each of the four Sundays of Advent, one of the candles is lit so that by the fourth Sunday of Advent, all four candles are lit.
“The Advent wreath is up with nightly devotions as we gather and light the candle. It might seem weird, but I truly love the darkened house with nothing but a single flame lighting the room. The kids listen more intently, the mood becomes quiet and contemplative and there is a peace that sets in.” – Brooke Taylor, host of Good Things Radio Podcast
Each night while you light the candles, say some prayers related to Advent. There are lots of daily Advent prayer books to choose from.
You can download this “Little Blue Book” for Advent and Christmas right to your phone.
2. Wait in Silence
Advent is a season to do just this – to wait.
It helps us to slow down in our busy, daily lives. Not many of us have any silent time or stillness in our day.
We also tend not to be very patient in waiting for anything either. We live in a “now” culture, where we “need” everything immediately.
However, Advent challenges us to watch and to wait.
“The world does not like to wait, and we are not unlike the world in this matter. To many, waiting implies a passive state, in which we must act as observers or stand on the sidelines while the real action story happens around us. But Advent reminds us that we must slow down – watch and wait, be vigilant – instead of passively wait in a sleepy state of mind.” – Jeannie Ewing, author
Much like the Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13), we must be wise and ready for the bridegroom to arrive. We celebrate that first arrival at Christmas, and look forward to the second coming of Christ as well.
Advent calls us to be vigilant during this wait. And while we silently wait in expectant hope and joy, we pray and prepare.
3. Pray
One way that we can wait and watch vigilantly is to pray. If you don’t already pray each day, this is a good time to start.
Choose a time each day that is set aside for prayer. It doesn’t have to be an hour, although it could be. If you don’t pray right now, try for at least 10 minutes.
Set your phone down, turn it off, etc. so that you don’t have any distractions. Clear your thoughts and mind so you can spend undistracted time with God in prayer.
Praying is talking to God and listening to what God has to say to you. It’s a conversation. So remember, we must also listen, and not just do all the talking.
Prayer is essential in our life. We can’t build a relationship with someone we don’t even talk to or don’t know.
Prayer helps us to know God and to love Him more.
When Jesus arrives, will we know Him, and will He know us?
When I meet Jesus face to face, I want to see my best friend – not someone I don’t know.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’ – Matthew 7: 21-23
Use Advent to build your prayer life.
“One thing I always do every Advent is pray the Christmas Novena that starts on the Feast of St. Andrews. My mom has prayed that novena since she was a little girl, and my mom, sisters and I pray it every December during Advent. It’s a beautiful novena that helps to keep the focus on Christ during this busy season.” – Liz, LoveBeingCatholic.com
If you need help with praying and don’t know where to start, download our ebook, The Ultimate Collection of Catholic Prayers. It has prayers for all times of the day, and for many different occasions, depending on what’s going on in your life.
4. Read Daily Readings/Meditations
Along with praying, use a few minutes each day to read a daily meditation. There are lots of Advent meditation booklets that have something for each day of Advent.
You can use the meditations to start your prayer time, too, if you have trouble knowing what to pray about.
Advent meditations can help you focus and reflect on an aspect of Advent each day.
We can look at the scriptures and the story leading up to the birth of Jesus. Don’t just read them. Reflect on the story and how it can apply in your own life.
“The season of Advent is not about preparing for the “perfect” Christmas where Mary and Joseph get a room at the inn. Rather, Advent is about preparing for the birth of Jesus Christ. His birth took place in the messiness of the stable, his Passion and Death took place on the messiness of the Cross. While not everything in my life will be neatly fit in my control, after this incarnational and infectious start to Advent, I had the privilege to be graced with the gift of perspective and opportunity to serve my children as Christ served the world!” – Matt Chicoine, The Simple Catholic
Usually daily meditation booklets also have the daily scripture readings for mass as part of the daily reading and meditation. In this liturgical season of Advent, the daily mass readings prepare us as they slowly lead up to Christmas.
Reflecting on the scriptures will definitely help you think about what we are truly celebrating at Christmas.
This is also a great way to unite ourselves with the rest of the Church as we prepare together for Christmas.
There are a few great resources that you can sign up for daily Advent reflections sent straight to your email, including:
- Best Advent Ever by Dynamic Catholic
- Pray Advent by the Prodigal Father
- Advent Gospel Reflections by Bishop Barron and Word on Fire
Just sign up for free and you get a daily email with the reflections each morning.
5. Go to Confession
Although the main focus for Advent is not penance like Lent, it is still a good idea to go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
This will help us prepare for Christmas in several ways. Confession can help “clean” us up. Once we acknowledge our wrongdoings, it can help us to re-focus and get us back on the right track.
Since at Christmas, we celebrate the coming of Jesus, we want to be ready when he does come. That means having a clean heart.
“Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.” – Matthew 5: 8
Confession does that for us. When we go to confession, Jesus meets us with His mercy in the confessional and forgives our sins.
Like the parable of the servants who are waiting for their master’s return, we want to be found doing the master’s will:
“Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” – Luke 12: 35-40
Many parishes add extra confession times in during Advent. Take advantage of these extra times and act on the invitation of Jesus, who is calling us to himself in that confessional.
[Related Content: How to Make a Good Confession]
6. Listen to Advent Music
God made us as physical beings with senses. As part of that, music is one way that we can use our bodies and lift them back up to God in praise.
Whether it is through our voices in singing praises to Him, or through our sense of hearing, listening to music can help us pray and focus on God.
There are lots of Advent songs that help us to do this. Here are a couple of my favorites.
I know for me, music can help me quiet my thoughts and mind, so that I can be more attentive during prayer. It offers points of reflection.
Music is also a form of prayer in itself. Saint Augustine said singing is like praying twice.
In this case, Advent music can help us specifically focus on this season and guide our thoughts and prayers on the coming of Jesus.
When you turn on the music, don’t just have it on in the background. Go deeper. Listen to the words and reflect on them.
7. Decorate
Much like music can guide us in our sense of hearing, decorating can guide us in our sense of sight.
Advent and Christmas decorations are physical reminders that we are able to see of the season. They help steer our thoughts and attention to what we are to be mindful of during Advent.
Whether it’s a Christmas tree, lights, a nativity set, evergreen garlands, an Advent wreath, an Advent calendar, or other similar decorations, they can all focus our awareness on Jesus and His coming.
A good one to use is an Advent calendar. It is a little something each day while we count the days towards Christmas. Busted Halo has a neat digital Advent calendar, with a daily quote and a challenge for each day.
Seeing decorations each day helps us to stay vigilant.
Decorations can help us in conjunction with some of the other things in this list, too.
One of my favorite things to do during Advent at the end of the day is to turn off all of the lights in the room, so that only the Christmas tree lights are on.
I sit in silence on the couch, or listen to some music. I just sit and reflect. It’s nice to calm down after a busy day and sit in stillness.
8. Try a Spiritual Discipline or Exercise
During Lent, it is customary to pick up an extra spiritual discipline or exercise. This can help aid in our spiritual growth.
It helps us to grow closer to God by removing something in our life that keeps us from Him.
Spiritual disciplines and exercises can help strengthen us to focus on God in our lives and how we need Him.
Choosing to do this during Advent is also a good way to help prepare our hearts for Christmas. It helps set our mind on Jesus and not on all of the distractions around us.
“Advent might be my favorite liturgical season. I like to take on some kind of spiritual discipline – like in Lent – to prepare myself. It might be something as simple as reading a particular book or adding a new practice of prayer.
I love the quiet waiting that we have in Advent. Above all, I try to take time to be quiet and sit with the Lord – meditating on the amazing mystery of the Incarnation.” – Fr. Mike Gossett, Vocations Director of Steubenville Diocese
9. Limit the shopping
We see everywhere all of the Christmas shopping advertising and sales.
Before Advent even starts, we have the busiest shopping day and weekend during Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.
In a way, that can actually help us. If we get a majority of our shopping out of the way before Advent begins, then we can use the time during Advent to pray and prepare for Christmas spiritually.
Another thing to keep in mind is to limit how much we buy for Christmas in general.
Again, the focus on Christmas is to fully celebrate the incarnation of God, not opening presents and material items.
In fact, Christmas reminds us that we need God in our lives. That’s why He came to us. So instead of looking to material purchases, let us look to God. We need to rely on Him.
One way our family limits all the presents is to do a “Secret Santa” gift exchange. Instead of everyone buying gifts for everyone in the family, we choose names out of a hat and buy something for that person only.
It helps to take the focus off of presents and “getting stuff” at Christmas.
“For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” – Luke 12: 34
Conclusion
By taking time this Advent to get yourself ready spiritually, by the time Christmas arrives, you will we be able to celebrate Christmas more fully.
Only when Christ is formed in us will the mystery of Christmas be fulfilled in us. Christmas is the mystery of this “marvelous exchange”:
O marvelous exchange! Man’s Creator has become man, born of the Virgin. We have been made sharers in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share our humanity. – CCC 526
I hope you enjoyed these 9 ways to help prepare for Christmas during Advent.
Which is your favorite to do? Do you do anything else during Advent to get ready to celebrate the coming of the Lord?