Preserving the Spirit of Advent & Christmas

In today’s age, the world and its children have confused the order of the seasons. It is not surprising to see some people begin Christmas at the end of November and take down the tree and end Christmas on December 26. Meanwhile Advent is mostly non-existent.

This is not the way the Church has ordained the season. She, in her maternal love and wisdom, has given us the Liturgical Calendar, prudently arranged for the good of our souls, and a time to joyfully prepare for the Feast of the Nativity. Instead of leaving the Holy Season of Advent aside, let us make full use of the time the Holy Church has provided us and prepare zealously for the coming of Christ our King.

Advent, a time of joyous expectation & penance

If we wish to preserve the spirit of Advent while the rest of the world begins its feasting, we must keep in mind that Advent is a time of fasting, abstinence and penance. In times past, the faithful would begin their Advent penances after Martinmas (the 11^th of November). As in Lent, fasting and abstaining during Advent used to be required, although today it is only recommended and so unfortunately, not much heed is paid to this today. The penances of Advent are undertaken in a spirit of joy, rather than sorrow, and it is this sacral joy that is the mark of the Season.

The four weeks of this season bring to mind the 4,000 years of anticipation of the Saints of the Old Covenant who were awaiting the arrival of the Messiah; in our four short weeks we should imitate them in their waiting, supplications and preparation.

Preparation includes contemplating the fall of man, the destruction brought about by sin in the world and in souls, and the incomprehensible mercy of God that deigned to rescue us. Considering this goodness of God, we should cheerfully prepare for the Coming of the Christ King into the world, but, more particularly, into our own souls when we will receive Him in Holy Communion on that Blessed Day.

May the season of Advent be one long and joyful preparation for that significant moment.

Devotion to Our Lady

We can never be prepared for the Nativity of Our Saviour if we lack in devotion to His Immaculate Mother. The prayers of all the Patriarchs and Prophets of old could not bring God down to us. It was the Blessed Virgin Mary, who was filled with grace, who won for mankind that long-awaited moment of the birth of the Messiah.

According to Ven. Maria de Ágreda, “By Her sanctity and merits God felt Himself as if He were obliged, and, according to our way of speaking, compelled, to hasten His steps and extend the arms of His Omnipotence to bring about the greatest of wonders conceivable in the world before or after: namely the Incarnation of the Only-Begotten of the Father in the virginal womb of this Lady.” (The Incarnation)

It was our Queen’s fiat that gave us salvation and union with God. Thus in this season it is very profitable to meditate upon Her in contemplation of her Son in her womb, and to ask her to make us worthy of her Son’s coming. Everything we can do to increase our union with Our Lady will increase our readiness to receive her Son.

Some suggestions would be to read the account of how Our Lady prepared for His birth in Ven. Maria of Agreda’s Mystical City of God; to make a great effort to imitate her virtues, to recite the Rosary and sing Advent hymns. All of this will not fail to make us pleasing to our Creator.

Advent is a very good time to make an effort to say our daily Rosary better, praying it well following the meditations of St. Louis de Montfort. For those who have not had fostered this most necessary devotion, it is a good time to start the practice. Let no one be discouraged, it is never too late to begin.

Finally, let us prepare the Manger for the Christ Child: Every good work performed and every virtue practiced can be offered to Our Lord as a piece of straw for His Manger. This was common practice for the whole family in years past when each member would add their pieces of straw to the Manger before evening prayers. By making these small penances and offering them to the Christ Child, we can have the certainty that Our Lady will prepare the manger of our heart for her Divine Son.

Celebrating Feasts during Advent

There are many Saints whose feasts grace the Advent season: e.g. St. Nicholas, St. Ambrose, St. Barbara and St. Lucy. The solemnity of The Immaculate Conception also brings the Church much gladness and hope in this penitential season.


Families wishing to live in accordance with the Church’s calendar can celebrate these and the other days as did the faithful of old: Laying out shoes for St. Nicholas to fill, with sweets and gifts, placing a cherry branch in a vase of water on the feast of St. Barbara, having a candle-lit procession for St. Lucy and baking special buns, etc. You will find many ideas in the Catholic Customs section on the TIA website.

Christmas

The glorious Feast of the Nativity should be a time for great spiritual rejoicing. More important than the feasting and gifting comes the celebration of the arrival of the Redeemer. It is lamentable to see the effects of a secular and materialistic world on souls:

The focus of this holiest of days has become the Christmas sweets and gifts. Certainly these are very good things, but they are secondary to the true joy of Christmas, which comes from welcoming the Infant God into our souls and giving Him thanks for His Coming as well as celebrating the divine Motherhood of the Blessed Virgin.

Let us not be like those of whom the Curé of Ars complained in a sermon about the abuse of Saint’s feast days:

“Alas! If the first Christians were to come back upon this earth, would they not tell us that our feasts are no different from those that the pagans kept?... What are we concerned about on the vigil of such feasts, and even for several days beforehand? Is it not just about spending foolish and unnecessary money? … Might it not be said that this day is one for pure self-indulgence and debauchery? Do parents and friends come, as in former times, to enjoy the happiness of participating in the graces which God bestows at the intercession of a patron saint? … Does anyone think God will not demand an account of even a penny wrongly spent? Does it not seem that we celebrate the feast only to insult our holy Patron and to increase our ingratitude?” (Sermons of the cure of Ars)

May the Curé of Ars’ words serve as a warning to us who are seeking only external pleasure during such a sacred time that is intended to prepare ourselves to be worthy for the coming of the Redeemer Christ.

The role of parents during this time

Instead of giving their children this false worldly notion of the holy season of Christmas, good Catholic parents can lead by example. It is they who set the tone in the home and will teach the true spirit of Christmas to their children. Parents should lead the prayers and penances of Advent and teach their little ones the significance the Feast Days of that season. It is their anticipation for Christmas that will spread among the family members so that, instead of only looking forward to treats and presents, their children will be longing to receive the Christ Child into their hearts on that Holy Night.

Parents can also show their children that when the rest of the world stops celebrating, the holy feasting and merriment only begin in a Catholic home on December 25, and continue for the 40 happy days after Christmas. For the season of Christmas traditionally ends with the Feast of the Presentation, that is, the 2^nd of February.

Therefore, Catholics should not be in such haste to put away their trees or wipe out the Christmas ambience in imitation of their worldly neighbors and friends. It is God’s will, given to us through His Church, that we should happily celebrate His Nativity for a whole 40 days, and so it is not wrong to do so!

Moreover, the Christmas and Epiphany seasons bring us other great Feast Days, such as the feasts of St. Stephen, St. John the Evangelist, the Holy Innocents, the Holy Family and the Circumcision of our Lord. These days serve to keep alive in us our Christmas joy and increase our gratitude to God and our devotion to His Saints.

To conclude, we must remember that we are Catholics first and, being children of the Church, we are to follow her laws and not those invented by a secular and godless world. May our Advent preparations of fasting and penance lead us into the full gladness of Christmas, when we present ourselves to the Infant Jesus, through the hands of His Most Holy Mother. There, at the foot of the Holy Virgin and her newborn Son, we pray for the hasty intervention of the Queen of Angels and the triumph of her Immaculate Heart.