I am an ‘Adventophile’, a person who loves the season of Advent. Some people complain that Advent has disappeared in the rush to replace Hallowe’en pumpkins with lighted trees and to play Christmas music on radio stations so early that ‘I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus’ can be heard from the first of November. You can keep the commercialism and hype that has become attached to Christmas! That’s not my Christmas anyway. I am very happy that Hallmark and all of the advertising agencies haven’t discovered Advent.

Advent is stillness and silence in a world clutter and noise. Advent is peaceful prayer and candlelight that blocks out the rush to consumerism illuminated by millions of glaring coloured bulbs. Advent is waiting in joyful hope.

The symbols of Advent are simple: a wreath with purple and pink candles, a calendar for children who count down the days to Jesus’ birthday, perhaps a Jesse Tree. It’s a simple time for simple Catholics like me. Yet it is rich with history and symbolism for the young and the not-so-young.

During Advent we celebrate the coming of Jesus, Our Saviour, in three ways. We celebrate his birth, the coming of the Messiah in Bethlehem long ago, we celebrate his coming into our hearts every day of our lives and we await his coming in glory at the end of time. Prayer, especially in Eucharist, brings Jesus into our hearts. The community of our Vincentian Family celebrates the coming of the love that is Christ. But most importantly, we see Jesus in the face of every person we encounter in our mission to serve Christ in His poor. This is the special blessing that being a Vincentian brings to each one of us.

Come Lord Jesus. Come and be born in our hearts.

Have a blessed Advent!
Denise