Advent Wreath, Candles, and meaning…
Welcome to our first week of Advent! Can you believe that 2020 is almost over? We embark on our final descent of the year with Advent, which is all about preparing and joy.
How are you preparing yourself and homes for Advent this year? In our house, my kids are incredibly excited to begin decorating the house and the outside of the house to prepare for Jesus’ birth. We get to celebrate two birthdays in our house during December, my daughter, Addie, and the birth of Jesus, so there is a ton of preparation going on in our home!
We spend this time of Advent preparing our hearts and minds for Jesus’ birth, but what other birth, or renewals, are you looking forward to during this Advent season? What are you hoping to gain and to give during this season? There are so many blessings that go into the season of Advent. We are fortunate enough this year to slow down and really focus on the traditions that we have in the Catholic faith during Advent.
I had never really thought too much about the Advent wreath and candles, but as I have thought about how to prepare our home, I wanted to know more about them, their history and meaning and why we use them to help prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of Christ.
As we talked about last week with Christ the King Sunday, the end of our Liturgical year came, the Omega, and this week we begin with the beginning of our new Liturgical year, the Alpha. It has come full circle, just like our wreath. Our wreath reminds us that what was once old will be made new again, and what had ended will be born again. It is the circle of life.
The candles are reflections on the many times that Jesus told us He is our light. “You are the light of the world ... let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16)” Each week as we light one more candle, we are sharing Jesus’ light and comfort and bringing us closer to that starry night that he was born.
Why four weeks and four candles? (Five if you count Christmas day.) The Advent Wreath traditionally holds four candles which are lit, one at a time, on each of the four Sundays of the Advent season. Each candle represents 1,000 years. Added together, the four candles symbolize the 4,000 years that humanity waited for the world's Savior—from Adam and Eve to Jesus, whose birth was foretold in the Old Testament.
What do the colors of the candles represent?
- The 1st Sunday of Advent symbolizes Hope with the "Prophet’s Candle" reminding us that Jesus is coming.
- The 2nd Sunday of Advent symbolizes Faith with the "Bethlehem Candle" reminding us of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem.
- The 3rd Sunday of Advent symbolizes Joy with the "Shepherd’s Candle" reminding us of the Joy the world experienced at the coming birth of Jesus.
- The 4th Sunday of Advent symbolizes Peace with the "Angel’s Candle" reminding us of the message of the angels: “Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men.”
And finally, the blessing. We bless our Advent Wreath on the first Sunday of Advent. We bless it to welcome the joys of Advent into our homes and to help ourselves remember the joys that will be coming to us during these four weeks…
All make the sign of the cross as the leader says: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
Response (R/.) Who made heaven and earth.
Then the Scripture, Isaiah 9: (lines 1-2 and 5-6) or Isaiah 63 (lines 16-17 & 19) or Isaiah 64 (lines 2-7) is read:
Reader: The Word of the Lord.
R/. Thanks be to God.
With hands joined, the leader says:
Lord our God, we praise you for your Son, Jesus Christ: he is Emmanuel, the hope of the peoples, he is the wisdom that teaches and guides us, he is the Savior of every nation.
Lord God, let your blessing come upon us as we light the candles of this wreath. May the wreath and its light be a sign of Christ’s promise to bring us salvation. May he come quickly and not delay. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
R/. Amen.
The blessing may conclude with a verse from
“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”: O come, desire of nations, bind in one the hearts of humankind; bid ev’ry sad division cease and be thyself our Prince of peace. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
Join us in Live Mass from St. Austin webpage!!!
Click below to watch
Prayer for a Spiritual Communion
My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament of the altar. I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart … I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You.
Join St. Catherine of Siena's Director of Family Ministry, Kendall Antosh, on Sunday, December 6th at 3pm-5pm on Zoom.
This workshop utilizes the book Unplug the Christmas Machine, and helps answer the questions many of us have asked about Christmas as the season nears. Some of the questions are:
- "How can I reduce the stress of preparing for Christmas?"
- "How can I make our celebration more spiritual and less materialistic?"
- "How can I help my children see that Christmas is more than just presents?"
- "How can I get my husband to be more enthusiastic about Christmas?"
- "How can I get my wife to relax and enjoy the celebration?"
Are you hoping for a less harried holiday? To have a more spiritual and intentional celebration, take some time to reflect both on what you are doing now during the season and then, how you wish the season would be ideally spent in your household.
The workshop provides free handouts which include an inventory and a space to think about how you'd like your Christmas to be.