Mama was a bit late ordering the candles to be lit while 'O Come, O Come, Emmanuel' is sung. But they are winging their way to us, along with the Advent calendar!
The Advent and Christmas storybooks are ready to be read, while we are snuggled on the couch on chilly afternoons.
Advent music is ready to be played.
The nativity scene has been set out for the children to play with. (Yes, this does mean one child will meticulously set up a nativity scene, then another child will come along to set up his or her own scene, and fights will break out about just how long one's scene should be allowed to remain without being 'messed up.')
The barren Jesse tree awaits its ornaments.
This year we are adding a new aspect to earning straw to soften Jesus' crib for when he is born. In years, past, I kept a lookout and 'caught' the children being good: their little acts earned bits of straw to place in the empty manger so Baby Jesus would be 'soft and warm' when he is born on Christmas.
Now we are adding to that by taking an idea from a local mother of eight who has done this for years now: Chris and I drafted a list of sacrificial ideas for Advent, which we have printed on slips of paper. (See Holy Heroes for an excellent starter list: adapt and add ideas to fit your family!) Each morning--except Sundays, which are days of celebration, free of sacrifice, during Advent, just as during Lent--we will pull a slip of paper from a dish and our family will work on that task for the day. Maybe we will all be giving up television for the day. Maybe we will all be practicing kindness by offering compliments to family members. Maybe we will be going through our own belongings/toys to find what we can detach from and offer to a thrift store for those who are less financially fortunate and who would cherish such an item. Chris and I think this method will give the children (and us) a wide variety of sacrifices and charitable acts to try exercising during this season--which should be good for us all!
All of this requires a lot of planning on my part, which I begin about a month prior. I have an entire Advent Kit in a bin tucked in the attic, which comes down the week prior. Then the entire day before Advent is spent in pragmatic preparations. During Advent, I will slow down and reduce our academic school time in order to allow time for the various Advent activities--which is School for the Soul!
Why do we even celebrate Advent?!
The Catholic Church has an answer for that . . .
"When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present [the] ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the Savior's first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for His second coming." (Catechism 524).
Advent is not Christmas. Advent is a penitential season, although not as penitential as Lent. (I think of it as moderately penitential with an overlay of hope, instead of Lent which is heavily penitential with an overlay of sorrow.) This truth is so lost in our culture in its current state that some of us parents go to great lengths to counterbalance the world's messages of material greed and partying during Advent.
Advent is a time to grow in holiness: If you knew Jesus were coming to your home, live and in person, would you want to be as holy as possible? Would you make preparations, both spiritual (becoming more holy) and pragmatic (making the home clean and aesthetically beautiful)? Yes, you would! Well, we can prepare ourselves to commemorate his coming live and in person in the form of a babe more than two thousand years ago . . . and this practice helps us prepare for his true Second Coming, whenever that may be.
Three wonderful ways to grow in holiness during Advent are:
1. Make a voluntary amendment of life. This means giving up a bad habit, which you're hoping to give up anyway. The goal is not to resume this bad habit after Advent is over.
2. Make acts of penance. This means learning how to say 'no' to little things now so that one can say 'no' to big sins later. It's like spiritual exercise! Grow those muscles!
3. Do works of charity. This means doing good and holy actions, loving actions for other people. I note that for people in varying stations of life, this might look quite different. The way that a mother, father, and their many small children do charity might be well within the confines of the home (serving each other instead of fighting and being resentful) instead of serving the outside world at this time.
Click here to read a moving account of how Advent is kept in Bulgaria, an example of how the penitential season is typically kept in old European countries: the emphasis is on going to Confession, and Catholics fast from things like all meat, all eggs, all oil--all month! I find it helpful to keep that comparison in mind such that I remember our moderate penance here in America is quite lackadaisical compared to most other places.
I like your ideas. I like the daily sacrifice/works of charity bowl. Of course I'm a little late on the being ready, but I picked up our Advent candles today at church. I'm getting out the nativity scene; usually we don't let the children play with it (although its not breakable). I am giving them a children's wooden one for St. Nicholas day. I am using my nativity scene wooden Advent calender with the little doors this year for the girls daily chocolate (I'm using Hershey's Kisses). I went to Michaels today and bought these gorgeous deep purple poinsettias bushes to make a purple wreath for the mantle, along with purple ribbon. We are a little slow but I am excited about the Advent preparations. I'm fighting the uphill battle though. Gabriela is pressuring to decorate. Its hard fighting the machine!
ReplyDeletePriscilla: You're fighting the good fight! I know it's really hard to fight against the machine. Even just introducing Advent amidst it all is so meaningful. Three cheers for you!
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