“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.” (CCC 525)
Advent is preparation for the celebration of what St. Teresa of Calcutta spoke of as the most powerful force in the world, the humility of God. This time of gathering darkness, even a certain starkness, is also a time of hopeful expectation for the coming of the Light that has power to dispel the darkness of war, of injustice, the darkness in our own lives … “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5). The preparation for His First Coming is intended by Christ’s Mystical Body, the Church, to foreshadow His Second Coming.
What better way to prepare during Advent than through a more focused emphasis on prayer and the sacramental life, especially on Confession and on the Most Holy Eucharist, His real and substantial Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity concealed under the forms of bread and wine? Especially knowing that, 33 years later, He would institute the sacrament of His Body and Blood, God the Son arranged from all eternity to be born in a village named “Beth-Lehem”, which translates as “House of Bread.”
Please use the resources below as aides as we enter into these four weeks of Advent, and to prepare well for the great day and season of Christmas!
Wishing you, and your family, a blessed Advent, a merry Christmas, and a happy New Year!
Resources for a Fruitful Advent & Christmas Season
Advent begins Sunday, December 1, 2024. For a list of Advent and Christmas Notable Days, click here.
For Advent season resources from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), click here.
For Christmas season resources from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), click here.
Advent Calendars (from the USCCB)
Calendario De Adviento (Espanol)
Advent Calendars (from Loyola Press)
Calendario de Adviento (Espanol)
Advent Calendar for Kids (English)
Calendario de Adviento para niños (Espanol)
St. Andrew Christmas Prayer
The Saint Andrew’s Christmas Novena prayer below is traditionally prayed 15 times a day from November 30, the Feast of Saint Andrew, through Christmas Eve.
Hail, and blessed be the hour and moment at which the Son of God was born of a most pure Virgin at a stable at midnight in Bethlehem in the piercing cold. At that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, to hear my prayers and grant my desires.
(Mention your intentions here)
Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother.
Amen.
Source of content: mycatholic.life
A Reflection on Advent & The Eucharist: God Has Come to Seek Me Out
Advent Prayer
My hidden Lord Jesus, I love You and thank You with profound gratitude for uniting Yourself with fallen humanity. When You first entered into this world, You remained hidden for nine months in the immaculate womb of Your Blessed Mother. She carried You, body and blood, soul and divinity, within the sanctuary of her body. She also carried You within her heart as a result of her perfect love for You and her perfect obedience to the will of the Father.
Amen.
Source of content: mycatholic.life
Photo: USCCB.org
