The Advent Calendar

The opening of the little window in our Advent calendar was a very solemn family ritual when I was a child, performed just before my brother and I were packed off to bed. As we got closer and closer to Christmas day the knot of excitement in my stomach used to get bigger and bigger ... Advent calendars are often at the heart of little family traditions. For me, this emphasizes the communal dimension of this liturgical season. We, as a community, as a Church, wait in hope for the glorious coming of our Saviour. We count the days, just as Mary, Mother of God and symbol of the Church, must have counted down the days until the birth of her child.

We wait in hope for the coming of the Son of God, born of Mary. We wait in expectation, but there must also be preparation. Every family makes ready a place for a new baby in the weeks and months before the child is born. In this season of Advent we must prepare ourselves to receive Christ once more.

My father once told me that when he became a parent there was not one part of his life that was not compromised. The responsibility of caring for a fragile and delicate human life touched every corner of his world. I think in many ways this is a good image of the spiritual life. Christ breathes new life into our souls. Through baptism we are born anew. We must nourish and care for this new life inside us, and allow the grace of God to fill our entire being.

Christ is calling us to prepare a way for him, our response must embrace every dimension of our lives.