Advent spirit in the domestic Church
“No one, whether shepherd or wise man, can approach God here below except by kneeling before the manger at Bethlehem and adoring him hidden in the weakness of a newborn child.” Catechism of the Catholic Church (#563).
Are we prepared for the birth of our Lord? How are we celebrating Christmas? How do we even contemplate doing this in the busy secular world that we live in? We Catholics have been blessed with the season of Advent, but are we relying solely on the Church to do this preparation on our behalf, or are we bringing the spirit of advent and the Christmas season into the domestic Church - our homes?
Roll back to the first weekend of Advent 2021. In our Church, the advent wreath and candles were for the first year in many, not present. Our new parish priest, coincidently now set to be our Bishop, had not put it out. With many people whispering and lightly moaning, his answer was simple: this is a tradition to be done in the home. The answer was simple but the meaning behind it deep, how purposeful and Christ-centred are we with our preparation and celebrations at home within our families.
Our diaries quickly fill with school prize giving, end of year dance shows, work functions, the list goes on. We decorate our homes, we probably have a stable scene set up, feed our cakes with brandy, we shop in packed shopping centers while listening to secular Christmas music. We (hopefully) go to Church every Sunday of Advent and notice the change in the colour of vestments from purple to pink and back again before changing to white. Are we going to an effort to understand why this is done? Referring back to the thought of the advent wreath being removed, sometimes the more that is done in the church, the less that we will do at home.
If by the time you a reading this, we are well into Advent, do not despair! There is still time to prepare your home and your hearts to help bring us with the hope, peace, joy, and love of advent, ready to bend our knee before the Manger. We cannot enjoy the feast if we have not fasted.
You may have already set up your Nativity set. Is it full already? It is completely perfect to have only the animals set up and an empty manger (if your set, like mine, has the baby Jesus attached, use something else for the meantime; remember the word “manger” comes from the Latin word manducare, which means “to eat,” so you can replace this with something similar for now). The empty manger in itself reminds us to prepare for the coming of Christ, not only in his birth but also his coming at the end of time. It is also a good way to help prepare our children for His birth. Have pre-cut pieces of gold and yellow wool, everytime they do a good deed over the Advent season, or likewise, everytime they fast (age appropriate, can be go without and offer up a penance) they can place a piece of wool in the manger to help get it ready for the baby Jesus. Just like getting their hearts and souls ready for Jesus to enter.
Fun fact : St Francis of Assisi, inspired by a trip to the Holy Land, set up the first Nativity scene in 1223.
If you have not done so already, again it's not too late to get an advent wreath in your own home, all you really need is some greenery - pretty easy to find at this time of year, and 5 candles, 3 purple, 1 rose and 1 white. Every evening as you sit around the table, the lights can be dimmed, the applicable candle/s lit, prayers said and hymns sung. Not only does the act itself help prepare us, but the coming together and stopping in the midst of all the busyness helps also.
By the morning of the 24th December you can now move Mary and Joseph to the stable you have set up. Where have they been up until now? Talk about their journey, read scripture as the move toward the stable. Once the children are tucked up in bed, place the baby Jesus in the manger so He is there in the morning for the children.
The most important celebrations are still yet to come following the birth of Jesus, He is here now, we don’t suddenly stop all celebrations, we are just getting started on December 25th. Christmas.Is.Not.Over.
To be continued!
