Our at Home Faith Formation has a two pronged approach: a catechetical (teaching) element and a prayer element. During this Advent Season these will revolve around the season of Advent and praying with the Eucharist in Eucharistic Adoration. During this Advent Season we invite our families to learn about Advent together. In the links above, you will find age appropriate video series which we invite you to watch as a family and then use the provided questions as a guide for discussing what Advent is and how it helps us to prepare for the great gift of Christmas. To help facilitate learning about Advent you will also find links leading to other age appropriate sites which have helpful essays, videos, and interactive activities to help learn and teach about the great season of Advent. For our prayer element we ask that all of our families take part in Eucharistic Adoration at least twice during Advent. To learn more about Eucharistic Adoration please follow this link: Eucharistic Adoration. Information about adoration and age appropriate things to do in Eucharistic Adoration can be found in the link above labeled "Family Eucharistic Adoration". We realize that it can feel like a big ask: "come to Eucharistic Adoration twice during the season of Advent." To help facilitate this we will be adding many opportunities to take part Eucharist Adoration during the season of Advent. You can find these times as well as times for Adoration at parishes within our area in the above link. I am sure many are thinking how long should these times of adoration be. There is a long tradition in the Church of a Holy Hour, rooted in Jesus question to his disciples in the Garden, "Could you not watch for one hour with me?" (Mt. 26:40). While we should strive for one hour we are not all there yet and to think that our children, no matter what their age, should be able to do a whole hour of adoration is unreasonable. Knowing this we have come up with age appropriate suggestions for time expectations.
PreK to Second Grade: 5 to 15 minutes
Third and Fourth Grade: 10 to 15 minutes
Fifth to Eighth Grade: 20 to 30 minutes
Ninth to Eleventh Grade: 30 minutes
What is Advent?
Advent is a four-week liturgical season prior to Christmas. The word "Advent" originates from the Latin adventus, meaning "coming." This season commemorates not only the coming of Jesus at the first Christmas but also emphasizes Jesus' ongoing presence as reflected in the gospels, sacraments, interactions with others, prayer, love, truth, and personal experience. Additionally, Advent looks forward to the future coming of Jesus at the Second or Final Coming—referred to as the Parousia or Last Judgment. Sometimes we when we think of Advent we think; “oh, it’s mini-Lent.” NO! These seasons are very different. Advent is four Sundays and at most 28 days long, it can be shorter depending on which day of the week Christmas lands on. Lent has six Sundays and is always 40 days long. Advent always takes place during the last few days of November through December 24. Lent can begin anywhere from February 4 to March 10 and end anywhere between March 18 and April 22.
It's not just the length and when the seasons occur that differentiate these to two important seasons of the Church year. Advent stresses hope and joy, Lent stresses penance and conversion. Advent points us toward allowing the grace, light, and joy of Christ to enter our lives; Lent asks us to look towards removing sin from our life. Advent stresses preparation with festivity, Lent stresses preparation through ascetical practices such as prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. John the Baptist can be seen as the “central” saint of Advent. Described as “the prophet of the Most High” in Saint Luke’s gospel, he serves as the immediate precursor to Jesus and represents the transition between the Old Testament prophets and Jesus himself. We see John the Baptist on both the Second and Third Sundays of Advent. He is the voice in the desert proclaiming, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths” (Isaiah 40:3; Matthew 3:3), which is the basic call of this great season of Advent.
John the Baptist always pointed away from himself to Jesus. Starting of course in the womb when he leapt for joy as a pregnant Mary greeted his mother, Elizabeth; moving forward to when he proclaims: “Behold, the Lamb of God;” and culminating in his great declaration in St. John’s gospel “He must increase; I must decrease”. This is the path of Advent, following John the Baptist’s example. If we desire to have a spiritually enlivening Advent, we must take on the John’s humility allowing Christ’s presence to become more prominent in their lives.