It is the First Sunday of Advent, which means Christmas is on the way. This is the time to prepare our minds and hearts for the Lord. This is the time to make more room for the Lord in our lives. This short penitential season which last four Sundays (this year it is four complete weeks since Christmas falls on a Sunday) is here to help us to be prepared for Christmas. Preparing for Christmas is what we are called to do. So what does that look like? One of the ways we prepare for Christmas is by making more time for prayer. Maybe we pray with the Advent Companion from Magnificat, maybe if we have kids we read the book “Celebrating Advent with the Jesse Tree,” or we could pray the Rosary, especially the Joyful mysteries, since they help to prepare for Christmas. Another thing to prepare for Christmas is to read the Gospels of Matthew and Luke since they are the ones that deal with the preparation for the birth of Jesus. We could read the Christmas book that we received last year, “The Real Story.” These are all really good things to do to help us be ready to celebrate December 25th, the birth of Jesus, with a bang. Also we should go to Confession during Advent to have our hearts be prepared and cleansed for Christmas.
There are also some things that we should avoid in our preparation for Christmas. We should not think that this will be the best Christmas ever since setting up high expectations is setting us up for a fall. This will not be the best Christmas for us unless God is placed at the center of our lives. We should avoid celebrating Christmas before Christmas so that when the day comes we are prepared to celebrate the best we can. We should avoid listening to Christmas music and putting up decorations (this can be done a day or two before Christmas). One final thing to avoid is focusing on gifts. Rather, let us focus on the One who gives us life and love. That is God; He is so good to us.
The best thing we can do for ourselves this Advent is to make room for Christ!
Fr. Thomas P. Galarneault