I love Advent.
I love the prayers of the Season,
the hymns of the Season,
the hope of the Season,
the hush of the Season.

Advent is a time of quiet waiting for me,
a time to focus on the Who of the Season
and the Why of the Season,
not the hustle-bustle of the season.

I’m grateful for the prayerful peace of Advent,
for the holly and evergreen branches
that brighten the short, cold, winter days of anticipation.
It’s the time to put candles in the windows
to shine in the long dark winter nights;
the time to place the Advent wreath on the table,
to light a candle each night,
and pray our Advent prayer together.

It’s time to set out the crèche and the tiny figures;
to set up the old-fashioned candle-lit altar from my childhood
with Jesus at the top and guardian angels on each corner.
A time to hang the wreath that reminds me of the
circle of God’s never-ending love.

Advent is now a time of freedom for me, a simpler time:
freedom from the hectic shopping, baking, cooking, decorating,
those things I once felt I must do to prepare for Christmas;
freedom to add Advent prayers to my daily prayers;
freedom to reflect, to ponder.

Our family gifts are the charities of each one’s choice,
given with our hope that others may also be blessed.
Our gift to one another is the love we share
as we come together to celebrate
the Birth of God’s Promised One,
Jesus, the Lord, the Light of the world,
Emmanuel, God with us.

Gloria Ziemienski, 2010