Celebrating Advent

               I was deprived as a child: the Advent calendars that my mom bought me had no chocolate in them. Only kidding. They still held sweet things. I loved finding and peeling open their numbered, perforated flaps to discover the hidden picture or scripture verse of the day. Every flap was like a little window on the season. It might have revealed a candle, a wreath, a lamb or a star.  It might have quoted from Matthew or Luke, or even Isaiah: “…the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and call him Immanuel” (Is 7:14).

               It strikes me now that each verse from the Bible can be a window through which we can see some reminder of how God unfolded His loving plan for humanity. The symbols we use to decorate our homes can remind us of those verses, too.

               One of my favorite things about Christmas is the lights -- colored and clear, twinkling, cascading, chasing lights, not to mention lighted ornaments, snow globes, garland, and Nativity scenes. During our first Christmas in San Antonio, we took the boat tour at night on the River Walk, and floated under long strands of lights dangling from the trees and reflected in the water. For me, it was almost like a trip through a fairyland.

               But the lights that warm my heart the most are the battery-operated candles that I set in our windows on the first Sunday of each Advent. They are on a sensor, and as the sun sets, they begin to flicker, growing brighter and brighter as the day fades. Their glow reminds me of the One who is our Light shining in the darkness, and that the “darkness has not overcome it” (from Jn. 1:5) Then I have moments of peace amid what can turn into a Christmas frenzy. For example, sending cards is always a challenge, even though I start early. We mail about 100 cards just in the U.S., plus another 30 or so to Europe. Instead of the time crunch, I try to focus on how blessed we are to have so many relatives and friends. I also try to remember to pray for each recipient.

               Another help to finding peaceful moments is taking a few minutes each day to read from a collection of Advent reflections in books, booklets (maybe provided by our parish) or online. Some reflections might even get delivered to our in-boxes if we sign up on a website. Gathering around an Advent wreath in our home to pray as a family can create a beautiful tradition. Other families may enjoy setting up and decorating a Jesse Tree, which is a journey through the season using stories from Jesus’ family tree.

               Whatever practice or tradition you embrace this Advent, may it enrich your celebration of the Christmas season.

"A God who became so small could only be mercy and love." -- St. Therese of Lisieux (quote from The Society of the Little Flower in 2017)

"…The Creator, who holds the whole world in his hands, on whom we all depend, became a little child in need of human love..." -- Dom Jean-Charles Nault, O.S.B. (from Magnificat, Dec. 2017)