It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Many of our Christmas trees are up, every store plays Christmas carols and the countdown to getting everything accomplished by December 25th has started. But what if I told you we were missing something?
The Catholic Church divides the year into different seasons. You may be familiar with the season of Lent, which many of our Protestant brothers and sisters also celebrate before the season of Easter. During Lent, people give up something or do something positive to prepare for the good news of Jesus’ resurrection. Just as Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness, we spend approximately that many days in a season of Penance before the greatest celebration of the year– Easter.
Less known is the season of Advent which takes place before Christmas, much in the same way as Lent- to help us prepare for a grand celebration. In Advent, we are particularly preparing for the celebration of Jesus’ arrival. Interestingly, we are preparing for his arrival as an infant as he entered into humanity in the Nativity, but we also are to prepare for His coming at the end of our time on this earth. Like Lent, we are to spend time in prayer–building our relationship with Him, almsgiving–showing our love of God physically to those around us, and fasting–making sacrifices out of love for Him.
Admittedly, fasting is quite difficult at this time of year, as Advent is not celebrated by most. And passing up the egg nog or cookies at the work Christmas party may be a bit hard. But the idea is that we spend this time of preparation getting ready to celebrate Christmas, which as a season of the Catholic Church, is not one day, but 12. Ever sing “The 12 Days of Christmas?” Those 12 days do not happen before Christmas, but after, between Christmas Day and the celebration of Epiphany, when the coming of the three kings is celebrated. So rejoice those of you who don’t get your Christmas tree down the day after Christmas— you are simply celebrating the true season of Christmas!
Three years ago, I was pregnant with my youngest son whose due date was December 29th. There were so many unknowns! When would he be born? Would I be in the hospital on Christmas? And like many beautiful things, this sense of surprise brought so much meaning to Advent. He in fact was born mid-December and at just three-days-old, he played the infant Jesus in our live Nativity at mass. It was one of the most spiritual moments of my life, as I laid him down in the manger right in front of the altar and looked up at the Crucifix where I saw the price that my sin made Him pay. How close I felt to the beautiful Virgin Mary, as I laid down my son, just as she did. While my son now runs all over the place and certainly is no longer an infant, this sense of surprise, sacrifice and expectation has stuck with me and I am grateful to God for this.
Jesus coming into the world was the greatest gift from God to mankind but we often fly through the season, barely scratching the surface of what this reality means. Join with me this Advent, which starts today, November 30th, and challenge yourself to make Christmas a gift of wonder. How can we sacrifice in these next 24 days, how can we love others sacrificially and how can we deepen our friendship with God so that when we celebrate his coming as an infant, we celebrate the coming of our dearest friend? And when we one day meet him at the end of our days, we will be ready to be with him in friendship forever.
Kasey Jordan is a religion columnist for The Covington News. She is a former missionary and lives in Monticello.
