Advent is a time of waiting, conversion and hope. During those days, the faithful prepare to celebrate the first and humble coming of the Savior of the world.
In the same way, Catholics are prepared to receive him into their hearts, to configure their lives according to the teachings of that Child who will be born in a grotto in Bethlehem on Christmas Day. Furthermore, it is a period of waiting-pleading for the last and glorious coming of Christ, Lord of history and universal Judge.
However, Advent can become a time marked by the superficial if the means are not put in place to fill it with a deep, Christian meaning.
This is why the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments offers a series of recommendations to properly live these days of preparation for Christmas.
These recommendations were published in 2002 in chapter IV of the Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy.
1. Meditate on the Faith and Humility of Mary
This directory recalls that during Advent the Virgin Mary is “celebrated frequently and in an exemplary manner”, especially on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, which is commemorated on 8 December, or on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the December 12th.
Therefore, it invites us to reflect on “the attitude of faith and humility with which Mary of Nazareth adhered, totally and immediately, to God’s saving project.” Hence the suggestion to pray the novena to the Immaculate Conception, which begins on 29 November and can be found here.
2. Avoid Falling into Consumerism
The document warns, on the other hand, that currently the values ​​of Advent are “threatened by the custom of turning the preparation for Christmas into a ‘commercial operation’, full of empty proposals, coming from a consumerist society.”
For this reason, he calls for prayer and meditation so as not to forget the meaning of Advent and thus celebrate the birth of Jesus “in a climate of sobriety and joyful simplicity, and with an attitude of solidarity with the poor and marginalized.”
3. Let the whole Family Assemble the Bethlehem Manger
Another proposal is that the whole family participate in assembling the manger, because it is an opportunity for them to “come into contact with the mystery of Christmas.”
Likewise, it invites family members to “recollect themselves in a moment of prayer or reading the biblical pages referring to the episode of the birth of Jesus.”
4. Pray the Christmas Novena
The Directory on Popular Piety and Liturgy similarly indicates that the Christmas novena is a valuable exercise of piety, which helps prepare the heart for the celebration of the birth of the Child Jesus.
He also highlights that it is an ancient practice that “was born to communicate to the faithful the riches of a Liturgy to which they did not have easy access.”
The Christmas Novena begins on December 16 and ends on December 24. You can find it here.
5. Biblical Readings that Invite Conversion
Another recommendation is to delve deeper into the biblical passages that will be read during Advent, because they invite conversion “through the voice of the prophets and especially John the Baptist.”
It should be taken into account that “God maintained, through prophecies, Israel’s hope in the coming of the Messiah” and that “the awareness of the long wait that preceded the coming of the Savior is solidly rooted in the Christian people.”
6. Pray the Advent Wreath and Prepare the Posadas
The prayer of the Advent wreath and the lighting of its four candles has become a symbol of this time of preparation in Christian homes.
In this sense, the document explains that in the lighting of each candle, corresponding to the four Sundays of Advent, “the various stages of the history of salvation before Christ” are remembered.
It also invites you to participate in the celebration of the “posadas” , a “Spanish and Latin American tradition” that represents “the path of Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem, and their search for a welcoming place for the birth of Jesus.”