For many, the Advent season can come and go in the blink of an eye. All of a sudden, it’s Christmas Mass, and one may be left wondering, “How did my time to prepare for Christ so easily slip through my fingers?”
It’s easy to promise that this Advent will be different, to have great intentions to make this Advent season stand out from the last. But the prayer books didn’t make it past page 2, and the Advent wreath is only half complete.
However, that doesn’t have to be the case. It’s not too late to make a conscious choice – right here, right now – to stop the busyness and embrace the season of Advent, and its purpose.
1. Prepare room at the Inn: One’s heart is where Christ wishes to dwell, and Advent is the perfect time to make room in it for His presence. A heart filled with unforgiveness has no room for Christ. Begin Advent by an Examination of Conscience and ask the Heavenly Father to reveal any unforgiveness that exists in the heart. Remember that as God has forgiven you, you are also asked to forgive others.
2. Clean out the cobwebs: After an Examination of Conscience, it is important to clean out the vestiges of cobwebs that may still be lurking in the dark corners of the heart. To do this, make a point of getting to confession during Advent. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is an important part of preparing one’s heart for Jesus. This is because the priest acts in the person of Christ in helping all people identify the cobwebs that they may not be seeing on their own—typically those that have been hanging on for so long they no longer garner attention.
3. Hang new curtains: The room of one’s heart is now ready: unforgiveness and cobwebs have been cleared out. Now it is time to hang new curtains! Throw out the old curtains of fear and despair and exhaustion, and hang new curtains of hope and joy and anticipation.
4. Set the table: Company is on its way! The faithful are certain in their belief of His arrival and every cell in the body joyfully shouts, “He’s on His way!” This is the time to get the fine china out of the cupboard – as one’s attitude is one of enthusiastic expectation. The heart pounds in anticipation of His presence.
5. Open the front door: After all the preparation is complete, it’s customary to open the front door and wait expectantly. This is a time of quiet – all the work is finished. So in preparing the heart for Christ this Advent, the last step is to simply “be.” In this state of “be-ing,” one doesn’t question how time slipped by; one doesn’t worry if there was more to have been done. Be a good and faithful servant and be ready for Christ.
at the bottom and then tap “Add to Home Screen”
