The season of Advent: A time to pause

On December 1, Catholics all over the world ushered in the season of Advent. It is a four-week period that usually begins on the Sunday closest to November 30, and culminates on Christmas Eve.

It is a time of waiting and preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas, as well as a time of anticipating His second coming. This season is a reminder to pause, reflect, and prepare our hearts for the arrival of Christ. It is an invitation to embrace the light of Christ and to share that light with a world in need.

Advent is both a reflective and hopeful period, that focuses on the themes of hope, peace, joy, and love. During this time, Christians are called to prepare their hearts and lives to receive Christ anew, remembering His first coming to the world and looking forward to His return in glory. 

Advent, in its quintessence mirrors the experience of waiting for something good, just as we do
in many aspects of life. Waiting for something meaningful makes us
diligent and patient, which in turn makes us virtuous.   

In this period of Advent, we are reminded that the best things in life are always worth waiting for. This waiting, however, should not be looked upon as passive. Rather, it ought to be an active preparation of the heart and spirit, ready to embrace the joy, peace, and love that the birth of Christ brings to the world.

Advent is thus a special season of waiting, reflection, and preparation that embodies the values of patience and contemplation. It encourages us to focus on the deeper significance of Christmas. It is not only a time of waiting for the Lord’s coming but also a time to consider the importance of good works, faith, unity and love.  

As Mark Zimmermann, the American writer and artist put it, “This Advent we look to the Wise Men to teach us where to focus our attention. We set our sights on things above, where God is. We draw closer to Jesus... When our Advent journey ends, and we reach the place where Jesus resides in Bethlehem, may we, like the Wise Men, fall on our knees and adore Him as our true and only King.”