A season of preparation.
This Sunday, 29th November, is the First Sunday of Advent, the season of preparation for the birth of Christ. Mrs McDermott, Head of R.E. has some tips to celebrate these weeks leading up to Christmas…
‘The shops are full of Christmas decorations, the M&S Christmas party food looks tempting, Christmas songs are on the radio and the John Lewis advert is on TV…that is how we know the secular world is ready for Christmas. But these signals of the coming of Christmas completely bypass the liturgical season of Advent; the four weeks of waiting and preparing for the coming of Christ.
Advent begins on Sunday 29th November and it marks the beginning of the Church’s year. There are many Advent traditions that you may want to resurrect (I know that’s an awful pun and obviously not liturgically relevant.) Many of you will no doubt buy Advent calendars – who doesn’t love the excuse of starting the day with a bit of chocolate, but use this time to countdown to Christ’s birth by also using CAFOD’s online Advent calendar this year. https://cafod.org.uk/Pray/Advent-calendar
| Interactive online Advent calendar | CAFOD Follow CAFOD’s interactive online Advent calendar until Christmas day for daily Christian reflections and short advent prayers during the holy season of Advent. cafod.org.uk |
As a family you could make your own Jesse tree to deepen your understanding of Jesus’ connection to key figures in the Old Testament. https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/activities/view.cfm?id=545
| Liturgical Year : Activities : Jesse Tree Instructions | Catholic Culture A chief provider and curator of Catholic information on the web since 1996. Our editorial voice, always faithful to the teachings of the Church, assists and inspires Catholic clergy and laity. www.catholicculture.org |
Finally, for those of you who want to spend slightly longer on their spiritual preparations during Advent I whole-heartedly recommend https://pray-as-you-go.org/article/advent-retreat-2020
| Pray as you go Welcome to this year’s Advent retreat in collaboration with Sacred Space, written by Gemma Simmonds CJ. Do you know that God is with you? After a year of challenges, changes, suffering, isolation and social distancing, perhaps there’s never been a more important time to reflect on the Incarnation; to reflect on God’s incredible plan to draw as close as possible to us, by becoming one of us. pray-as-you-go.org |
Wishing you and your families a holy and blessed Advent.
Now, how can I get my hands on those M&S chicken doughnuts…..’
