- Ordinary Time ends with Christ the King Sunday and its following week. After this, our
minds are concentrated on Christmas because of the gifts. This materialist idea blinds us to the true meaning of Christmas, which begins with Advent. In order to understand Advent, we have to look at Christmas and the Early Church Teachings. First, “What is Christmas?”. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who came into the world through the Incarnation to free us from sin and as a promise of a Messiah for the Israelites. The Early Church, realizing this, established the season of Advent, a time of preparation focused on fasting and penance in anticipation of the birth of our Savior. This might seem familiar and sound like another Lent. The reason for this is that Lent and Advent revolve around the same word mentioned above: preparation. Advent is not a time to spend money because of deals or receive gifts for ourselves. Advent prepares ourselves for Christ. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines Advent as “The liturgical season of four weeks devoted to preparation for the coming of Christ at Christmas” (CCC 524). We prepare for Advent ourselves in many ways. One way is the Advent Wreath, where we light a candle each Sunday reflecting hope, peace, joy, and love. The color of these candles, purple and pink, also symbolizes repentance. So, during this time of Advent, let us strive to prepare ourselves through fasting, penance, prayer, and almsgiving, which allow us to experience the fullness of Christ’s birth, and ultimately, prepare for His Second Coming.
Advent: A Yearly Disappearance
More to Discover
About the Contributor
Samuel Almazan, Staff Writer
Samuel Juan Almazan Jr is currently a junior at Cardinal Newman High School. He attends St. Ann Catholic Church(The oldest and therefore, (as he believes) the best Parish in the Diocese of Palm Beach). His Patron Saint is St. Ignatius of Loyola. Samuel believes he is the greatest student in the history of Cardinal Newman High School. He is a role model to all those around him. He also thinks he is the greatest student athlete in the history of school. Samuel is captain on the swim and weightlifting teams. He is member of the Gaming Guild, Campus Ministry, National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, and the Honor Council(which was disbanded). Samuel loves the Catholic Church and will defend it till his death. Lastly, Samuel wants to go into the military when he grows up.