During Advent, we prepare to celebrate the coming of Jesus at Christmas, an event which manifests God’s great love for us. His birth reminds us that the God-man really lived, loved and suffered as we do. Advent offers us a special opportunity
Assistant editor Ava Lalor shares how the season of Advent elevates our common experience of waiting and makes it sacred. And as Advent transitions into Christmas, the advent waiting for one season of her life is transitioning into the joy of another.
As she explores the readings for the Third Sunday of Advent to help you prepare for Mass, Catherine Cavadini offers a reminder that this Sunday is Gaudete Sunday. She writes: “The pure exuberance expressed in Scripture this Sunday is the joy of
In preparation for Christmas, Scott Warden focuses his column on how he and his family are preparing their hearts to welcome Christ: “As the holidays approach, one universal truth that we can all appreciate is that pop-in visits are never OK, especially
During the closing days of Advent, included in the Church’s Office of Readings, we pray the O Antiphons. Leonard DeLorenzo writes: “Each of these prayers draws us back into salvation history — principally through Old Testament names and images — so that
As we prepare for Mass on the Second Sunday of Advent, Father Joshua Whitfield writes that as we continue to journey through Advent together, we are called to remember that just as Christ came to us as the Word made flesh, we
If the Lord were coming, what would you do? Would you pray and prepare your heart? Would you examine your conscience and mend your ways? Would you seek out others to proclaim the good news? Would you shift your focus to those
In her latest column, assistant editor Ava Lalor writes about how Advent is the beginning of the new liturgical year in the Church calendar. But do we treat it that way, and should we? There is a lot that could be mistaken
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — With Advent coming during an ongoing pandemic, Christians are called to hold on to hope and foster a season of compassion and tenderness, Pope Francis said. During Advent this year, too, “its lights will be dimmed by the
The Our Sunday Visitor Editorial Board reflects on how to embrace Advent as a season of waiting: “Here we are again at Advent, a season that is defined by marking time, by counting the days until the Church celebrates the coming of