This is a season of preparation. For
centuries Christians have used the month prior to the celebration of
Christ's incarnation to ready their hearts and their homes for the
great festival. While we moderns tend to do a good bit of
bustling about in the crowded hours between Thanksgiving and Christmas,
it often doesn't consitute the kind of preparation Advent calls
for. Indeed, traditionally Advent has been a time of quiet
introspection, personal examination, and repentance. It is a time
to slow down, to take stock of the things that matter the most, and to
do a thorough inner housecleaning. Advent is, as the ancient
dogma of the church asserts, a Little Pascha - a time of fasting, prayer, confession, and reconciliation.
Taken from The Christian Almanac, by Grant & Wilbur
Kerry
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