E15: Making the Most of Advent & Christmas

What are the biggest themes of Advent and how can we best prepare for the coming of Christ? Why are the readings at Mass talking about the ‘end times’ as we anticipate the celebration of Christmas? When does the Christmas season actually end, and why?

Tune in to this month’s episode of Catholicism 101 to not only learn more about the seasons of Advent & Christmas themselves, but also how to celebrate accordingly!

Resources:
The Meaning of the Four Advent Candles | Dynamic Catholic
Advent: What Are We Preparing For? | Catholic Answers
Three Dimensions of Advent - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon
Face to Face: Advent with Fr. Mike Schmitz 

Transcript

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Hi friends, welcome back to another episode of Catholicism 101, Forever Learning and Living the Faith. Today, at the time this is being released, we are in the second week of Advent, but we are going to talk about making the most of your Advent and your Christmas seasons. So I, as always, am really excited about this one. So let's let's just get right into it. So the first Sunday of Advent always marks the beginning of the church's liturgical year. So it's a new year in the church on the first Sunday of Advent. And the Sunday before this, we always celebrate as the last, um, the last Sunday of the liturgical year is the feast of Christ the King, that no matter what happens at the end of the day, Christ is king and Christ reigns on the throne forever and ever. Amen. So Advent begins the church's liturgical year. So Advent comes from a Latin word advenir, which means to come to. So it is the season that encompasses the four Sundays and weekdays leading up to the celebration of Christmas. And this to come to, this coming, um, this Christ is coming, it looks at the first coming of Christ at Christmas, and it also looks at the second coming of Christ at the end of times, also known as the Eschaton, the last judgment, uh, the marriage of the Lamb, all of the above. So Advent is not just about preparing for the Lord's first coming at Christmas, but it is also about preparing for that second coming, the marriage of the Lamb at our last judgment, the end of times. So, from the earliest days of the church, people have been fascinated by Jesus' promise to come back. Um, but whenever you listen to the scripture readings that we read at Mass during the seasons of ad or the season of Advent, the first two Sundays especially, it is very apocalyptic. Um, it is very much, it talks about the end times, and it can be kind of frightening sometimes, but it's really not supposed to be. It's supposed, it's supposed to ignite um a discipline in us, an awakening in us, and also a hope. A hope, because we had just celebrated like a week or a week or two before the feast of Christ the King, that no matter what happens at the end of the day, Christ reigns victorious and everything he does is for our good. So if we need to be woken up, then Advent is the time when we are woken up by these apocalyptic readings. But the scriptures do tell us that Advent is not about speculation, though it talks a lot about the end times and when Christ will come again, um, it tells us not to waste our time with speculations and predictions. It tells us to be alert and to be ready, but not to be weighed down and distracted by the cares of this world. So for example, in Luke chapter 21, verses 34 through 36, it says, Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from the carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day will catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times, and pray that you may have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man. So it says it doesn't say, like, try and figure out when it'll happen so you can be ready on like by that day, but no, it says stay vigilant always. Always stay vigilant and always be prepared. So the liturgical color for Advent, just like Lent, it's purple because both are seasons that prepare us for great feast days. The two greatest feast days in the church, um, we we have this time of preparation, and that is symbolized by the color purple. Um, Advent, just like Lent, also does include an element of penance. And I feel like we don't really talk about that as much, um, but that's kind of what I want to touch on more today, because we have that element of penance so that we can prepare quiet and discipline our hearts for the full joy of Christmas. So I kind of liken Advent to a mini Lent. It's very, very similar. Um, we do, we are called to prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ, both at his first coming at Christmas and at his second coming at the end of time, by those practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Though special attention is given to quiet prayer and discerning the state of your own heart as you try to make room for the Lord to enter in more fully. So these seasons of preparation, this season of Advent, uh, it is all about stretching our hearts so that there is more room for Christ to enter in. The joy of Christmas and the coming of Christ will fill your heart to the degree you allow it to and to the degree you make room for him to do that. And so um this involves a stretching of our hearts, a stretching of our hearts in a spiritual sense. And so things like prayer and fasting and almsgiving, uh, especially during this very chaotic season where the world around us is celebrating Christmas already, um we we spend time in quiet prayer to remind ourselves what what is really at the heart of this season, you know. Um, and it's it's not just the fact that Christ comes at Christmas, though that it is the big thing, it is also if today were my last day, you know, um, how how would I how would I prioritize prayer? How would I prioritize my faith? What do I need to do? Where are my weak points and what do I need to work on? And so in prayer is where you discover what those weak points are. And typically, whenever we're trying to strengthen something in ourselves, make a make a good habit, um, fasting is one of the greatest ways to do that. We we dec we deny ourselves of um some goods so that we may have our longing for them stretched. So that whenever we do partake um in that food again, whether it be meat or um just honestly food in general, whenever we do partake of it again, there's a new appreciation for it. And we our hearts have been stretched, and we we are just more thankful and grateful for the gifts we have received, especially when it comes to food, when we deny ourselves of that most basic necessity for a period of time. You find that you have a more grateful heart the next time you're able to partake in it. And then almsgiving also falls into these categories, and it's kind of similar to fasting, where you deny yourself of those extra finances, or you even you you make a sacrifice um to give according to your reasonable ability to. And again, all of this is discerned in that quiet prayer of Lord, what is the state of my heart? What is it that you want me to focus on this advent? What do you want, how do you want me to grow this advent? How do you want to dwell in me? Where do I need to make room in my heart for you? And so prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Um well, really, fasting and almsgiving are the fruit of prayer. And then they they bear even more fruit. So I can't emphasize enough the importance of um spending that time in quiet prayer. You know, Christ tells us to go into your inner room and lock the door and just kind of pour your heart out to him, like give your heart to him so that he can give it back to you and show it to yourself. One of St. John Paul II's favorite quotes was Christ fully reveals man to himself. So the only way we can really know what is in our hearts and where Christ wants to dwell and needs to dwell in us is by giving him our heart as it is. You know, not trying to dress it up, but just being like, Lord, this is me, this is the hot mess I am, help. And then he'll he gives it back to you and is like, this is where this is a special area of your life where you need me and I want you to focus on for these four weeks of Advent. So again, if if you haven't already, it's the second week of Advent, maybe it's the third or even fourth week of Advent when you're listening to this. Um, but do if you haven't, you know, sometime before Christmas, spend that time in quiet prayer. The sooner the better, spend that time in quiet prayer and listen for where the Lord wants to stretch your heart to enter in more fully. Some of the ways um the church has given us to help us kind of do this and discover where maybe um do we need to grow it? Where do we need to grow in virtue? Where do we need our have to have our heart stretched? And one of those things is actually the Advent wreath. And so we look at it, we're like, oh, three purple candles and a pink candle, and it's there's greenery around it. Awesome. And it's like, what does that mean? Well, we light a new candle each week of Advent to symbolize that Christ is the light and the darkness and that his coming is drawing ever nearer. So that's part of it. But also each of the candles have a different, um, have a different like virtue and gift associated with them. So the first week of Advent, the candle, the purple candle, represents hope. So we are called to pray for an increase in the virtue, the theological virtue of hope in our hearts. And it's a theological virtue, meaning that it is not gained by our own grit, our own human effort, but that it is given to us as a pure gift. And honestly, that really applies to all of these, even though peace and joy aren't considered theological virtues. They are still pure gifts that are given to us by Christ, just as everything is. So the second week of Advent is also a purple candle, and we are called to pray for the gift of peace, the gift of peace in our hearts. The third week is the pink candle or rose, is technically the liturgical color, and it symbolizes joy. So that rose candle lit on the third Sunday, it's called Godet Sunday. So the priest will also wear rose-colored vestments at Mass, and it is the Sunday of rejoicing because we have arrived at the midpoint of Advent and our preparation is now half over, and we are very near to Christmas. You know, keep running the race, and we're we're we're joyful about this, that this time of stretching, this time of this time of anticipation and just stretching our hearts. And it it the stretching kind of hurts. You know, if if if Advent kind of hurts, that means you're doing it right, honestly. Um so that time is coming to a close. We are so close. So that is that is joy, and we pray for the gift of joy in our hearts during the third week of Advent. And then that fourth week of Advent, the last purple candle represents love, the theological virtue of charity, that gift. We pray for an increase in love in our hearts. Now, back to the scripture readings that you will hear at Mass and in the liturgy of the hours and just everything liturgical about the Advent season, there are three prevalent themes that we will see as we wait patiently for this coming of Christ. The first one is that we are longing for the Messiah. We are longing for the Messiah. The second one is that we are urged to be alert for Jesus' second coming at the end of time, the last judgment, the what the marriage feast of the Lamb. And then the third one is that we are actually called to meditate on Christ's presence in our lives here and now. So that first theme, we long for the Messiah. You know, we're all anticipating his coming at Christmas. The second one is we are urged to be alert for the second coming. So we're we're thinking ahead to when he comes at the end of time. And then that third, that third theme, we meditate on Christ's presence in our lives here and now. This one is really interesting and really fun to me. I've recently learned more about it. So we typically talk about the two comings of Christ, the first one at Christmas and the second one at the end of time. But there is such a thing as the Adventus Medius, which means middle coming. Medius meaning middle, adventus meaning coming. So middle coming. And that is so cool because in between the numbers one and two, there are an infinite amount of numbers. Between one and two, there are an infinite amount of numbers. And so Christ in this Adventus Medius, this middle coming, he comes to us every single time we celebrate Mass, as we are in the point of history between the first coming of Christ at Christmas in Bethlehem in the manger, and the second coming, which has yet to happen at the end of time. So all of this, all of these things happen at a point in history, and we live in this Adventus Medius where Christ comes to us an infinite amount of times every time we celebrate Mass. And so Mass is being perpetually celebrated on earth. Um, someone once told me, and I've every time I've asked someone else, like I've asked a priest, and I've asked someone else, I'm like, do you guys think this is true? They're like, yeah, it rings true. Um, there is never a point in time currently, you know, where the mass is not being celebrated. And that is just absolutely wild to me. It's like, oh my gosh, how many times like the middle coming, it happens infinite amount of times. It is, you we can't count it. So there are technically three comings we celebrate, but the the the second one, the middle coming, is perpetually I can't even say second, the middle one, the middle coming is perpetually happening. Now, let's kind of link all of this with Christmas, the celebration of Christmas, the great feast of the incarnation, the birth of the Lord. So Christmas is one of the most important days of the church year. It is actually second only to Easter itself. So Easter is the greatest feast of the liturgical year. Christmas is right behind it. So we celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's the culmination of the mystery of the incarnation, the feast of God becoming flesh, the divine choosing to become one of us. So because of this belief, we believe and we know it is true that God is not only transcendent, but he is also completely imminent. He is Emmanuel, he is God with us. So while he remains transcendent, meaning that we must be brought above our present condition to reach him, that we can't reach him as we are. Um, we have to be brought above from above to be brought above, transcendent. Um, he is at the same time imminent, he is Emmanuel, he is with us, and he is the one who comes to get us and bring us towards him. So, knowing this, um, knowing that we are celebrating the feast of the incarnation at Christmas, every time we celebrate Mass and we receive the Eucharist and Christ is made present, body, blood, soul, and divinity, through the species of bread and wine on the altar. Um every Eucharist is like a mini Christmas. He is born anew on the altar. So if every Eucharist is like a mini Christmas, then every time we prepare for Mass and we go to Mass, we should have a mini Advent, meaning that we should take some time of quiet reflection on the state of our hearts as we prepare to unite it with Christ through the Eucharist and to receive Him into ourselves. You know, if if you want receiving the Eucharist at Mass to make a difference in your heart, then make room for him. Make room for him before you go to Mass. So spend that time in quiet prayer. Because as I said, as JP2 said, Christ reveals man to himself. I'm gonna say that one more time because that is just so important. Um, yes, Advent is the time when we really emphasize this. And so this is the time when we renew our hearts and we renew our minds to remember what is the purpose of all of this. You know, the the seasons, the different seasons of the church call us to live like a new life, breathe a new life into our everyday. And so these special seasons point to this. And Advent reminds us that every Eucharist should be, since it's a mini Christmas, our time of preparation should be a mini Advent where we stretch our hearts and allow the Lord to fully fill it, just fulfill like overabundance, completely fill our hearts with his presence in the Eucharist when we receive him. Now, when December 25th rolls around and it is the feast, you know, really Christmas Eve, um, 4 p.m. on Christmas Eve, whenever we celebrate Christmas and it is time and the Lord is born anew in our hearts. Christmas does not end on December 26th. Okay, I know everything goes on sale at the Hobby Lobby, but Christmas does not end on December 26th. We continue into January to the feast of the baptism of the Lord, because we have just spent the past four weeks in preparation and just like this honestly kind of painful stretching of our hearts so that he can come and fulfill our hearts to like just a full satisfaction. And this is that time where we celebrate that Christ has made good on his promise to come to us. This is worth that extra time rejoicing. And it is so much so worth that extra time rejoicing that we celebrate the octave of Christmas. So an octave in um liturgical terms, an octave extends the celebration of a feast or a solemnity for eight days. So we have eight days of just full-on feasting, okay? Uh so during the octave of Christmas, um, all of these readings and prayers during the liturgies are related to the birth of Christ. And the octave day, which is the eighth day of Christmas, is January 1st, which is the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, and that is a holy day of obligation. Now it's funny because in popular tradition we have the 12 days of Christmas, but really for Catholics, it's the eight days of Christmas, even though the season does go beyond eight days. And actually the exact number of days that the Christmas season lasts depends on the year, because the um sometimes it is 12 days, most of the time it's not. So the Christmas season ends on the feast of the baptism of the Lord, which is the first Sunday following um the Epiphany. So this let me let me this will make more sense. So this is the order of feast in the Christmas season. So it begins with the Nativity of the Lord, the Feast of Christmas on December 25th. And then the first Sunday following Christmas, we celebrate the feast of the holy family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Then that's that's between um the that's typically in the middle of the octave. So then on the octave day, the eighth day, we celebrate the solemnity of Mary, the holy mother of God. Then after that, that Sunday following the solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, we celebrate the epiphany of the Lord. And then a week later, that next Sunday, we conclude the Christmas season with the feast of the baptism of the Lord. And we know that uh the baptism of the Lord is what kicks off his public ministry. He begins his public ministry. Well, actually, he goes, he goes and is baptized, then he goes and spends 40 days in the desert being tempted, and then he kicks off his public ministry. And so we move into ordinary time where we hear about um the public ministry of Jesus. But back to Christmas. So other things that we have during the Christmas season, um, we have, you know, we have Christmas trees and we have the Nativity scene, and these are all popular symbols of the season. And they're a tradition in many Christian homes. Also, a tradition in the Christmas season is giving gifts to our family and friends to honor that God the Father gave us the gift of his only son. And so as we have received that gift of Christ naturally, we want to pass that gift along to our loved ones. And so we represent this by um giving gifts to one another. Now, I want to conclude by just kind of repeating what what is the whole point of Advent and Christmas? You know, um, what is the hope of this church that what will happen in our hearts if we really take Advent and Christmas seriously and what that interior disposition looks like. So the whole reason we celebrate and feast during this Christmas season, we celebrate and we feast and we have joy, hope, peace, and love to the degree that we have stretched our hearts and made room for the Lord to fill them during Advent. So the greater the stretching, the more fully we are able to receive the gift of Christ. And we celebrate that during the Christmas season. So if you have like gone hard during Advent and you have been like, Lord, like stretch my heart to its breaking point, you know, stretch my heart. I I want to feel the fullness of your joy, your peace, your hope, and your love, you're gonna be having a blast all of Christmas. You know, you are you're going to be feasting, and there is that beautiful rhythm of the liturgical life of fasting and feasting. And so Advent is a time where we deny ourselves so that when we receive the gift, it is a more profound, more beautiful, fully experienced gift of love. And we receive all the fruits of that. So, know of my prayers for you during this Advent season as you prepare for the coming of Christ into your hearts, and just as we prepare for this coming of Christ into our hearts and we allow the Lord to fully enter in, um, he bears fruit, he bears fruit, and he makes us ready for that second coming. So, again, the second coming, the whole apocalyptic readings, all of this part of Advent is not supposed to necessarily cause us fear and anxiety. It is, it is supposed to jolt us awake to realize, oh, I have been lazy with my heart, and I need the Lord to come and stretch it and make it anew so that I can receive the fullness of His of His gift, his joy, his love, His peace, and His hope. So I have um some more resources for you linked in the show notes or the description, whatever you want to call it. Um I never know what to call it, but they're in there. I've got uh the uh more about the meaning of the four Advent candles and a prayer you can pray each each week as you light those Advent candles. Um I've got more about the Adventus Medius from Bishop Barron, and then I've also got a face-to-face Advent with Father Mike Schmidt's program from Ascension linked in the down there with the resources. And it's it's never too late to begin your Advent preparations. You know, you don't have to be a perfectionist and start on the first Sunday. You know, as long as you do something, you know, it's preferable that you begin at the beginning. But the Lord is merciful with us and the Lord, um the Lord works with us in his time. So, until next time, I hope you have a beautiful Advent of Stretching Your Heart, a very merry, joyful, beautiful, loving Christmas, and I can't wait to be back with you again next year. But until then, have a blessed day.