The War on Advent

Everyone talks about the “war on Christmas” but Lino Rulli, host of The Catholic Guy Show on Sirius XM’s Catholic Channel, says it’s really a “war on Advent.” I happen to agree. It feels like  jump into Christmas as soon as we take our pumpkins off the porch. 

Think about it. Fall comes and next thing you know it’s Halloween. As soon as Halloween is over it feels like Hallmark fires up round the clock Christmas movies, stores turn into a Christmas wonderland and radio stations begin playing Christmas music. Poor Thanksgiving and Advent seem to get lost in the shuffle. 

Now I will admit, before I converted to Catholicism, I had never heard the word “Advent.” There was only so much they could cover in RCIA, so Advent and Lent were merely vague concepts to me. 

Growing up in the Baptist Church, we started singing Christmas carols right after Thanksgiving and I could not understand why we didn’t sing them in the Catholic Church, until I began to understand Advent and its meaning. I began to appreciate the songs, readings and traditions and gained a new outlook on Christmas as a result. The folks on Rulli’s show jokingly call Advent “Fun Lent.” If you think about it, that is true. 

To contemplate the birth of our savior is a beautiful and wondrous thing. I especially love the readings leading up to Advent, like the one in Luke that says, “But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.”  When we contemplate his birth, we are also remembering our journey of salvation and our hope of eternity with him. 

So, get an Advent calendar and think about the the events leading up to his birth. Read the mass readings every day. Read the O Antiphons that last week. Let Advent be a time of reflection, and for goodness sakes, don’t rush this Holy Season. It will give you time to reconnect with the one who loves you the most.