What is Advent really all about?
 It is very easy to feel out of sync with Advent. Slow down? Don't set up and light the tree? Don't sing Christmas carols until Christmas? How can one avoid all the shopping and gift-buying? It seems totally unrealistic, even Grinch-like.
But the Church is right - Advent is about slowing down. It's about a world in darkness yearning for light and warmth. It's about stepping back from the frantic pace of our lives - even if it is just for a few minutes - to think of how the world is and how we dream it could be as
we prepare to celebrate Christ's birth, wait for his coming again in
glory, and, in between, remember all the ways we encounter him every
day.
If we lived in a monastery, we might be able to devote every
waking moment to prayer and ritual. But Advent is for busy people with
work and school schedules, too. There are many small ways to enter into
Advent and to let it grow in our hearts and enrich whatever else we do
in this season.
Advent is for you!
In this email series Catholic Digest
presents ideas to help you connect with Advent. You will receive four
emails over the next four weeks containing prayers, activities, and
ideas to celebrate any day during Advent with your family. However,
these emails are only suggestions to get you started. The important
thing is to catch a sense of how Advent can enrich your life, faith,
and spirituality, and then find ways to celebrate that work for you.
Advent, like all of Catholic life, is meant to slowly change and
transform us, so that, more and more, we not only recognize Christ, but
become the Body of Christ, living and active in our world.
Have a joyous Advent season!
-The staff of Catholic Digest
Make sure to check catholicdigest.com throughout the holiday season for more Advent and Christmas related features!
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