Advent Awakenings

Advent invites us to be fully aware of what matters most in our lives.

Advent is the season for looking ahead. We look ahead during these four weeks to our celebration of the birth of Jesus—the miraculous event in which God came into the world in the form of a child. But Advent can be cluttered with preparations for Christmas that may distract us from the meaning of the season. Advent Awakenings, a four-session faith-sharing experience grounded in the Sunday Gospel readings, provides an opportunity get away once each week from the shopping and cooking and decorating and feel again the excitement of waiting for the Lord.

Advent Awakenings is appropriate for seasonal groups, small Christian communities, and individual reflection and prayer.

The Advent Awakenings series is based on the three-year cycle of the Lectionary. Each book contains four sessions corresponding with the four Sundays of Advent and presents themes drawn from the Sunday Gospel readings. Each session includes vignettes from real life, song suggestions, prayers, and action responses.

Year A: Trust the Lord: Urges participants to have confidence that God’s challenging call, as proclaimed by John the Baptist, is the true way to prepare for union with Christ.

Year B: Take the Time: Encourages participants to prepare for Jesus’ coming by setting aside everyday busyness and become more deeply aware of God’s call.

Year C: Say Yes to God: Prompts participants to accept the invitation of Jesus to prepare for his coming by reflecting more deeply each week on how they can open themselves to his presence in their lives.

The Advent Awakenings faith-sharing book also includes original devotions that families can use at home to enrich their Advent experience by blessing the Advent wreath, the crèche, and the Christmas tree, and by blessing their home on Epiphany. The book also provides a Christmas Eve reflection for individuals or groups.