advent, first sunday

 

Today is the first Sunday of Advent. After getting up at seven to start a productive day, I feel back asleep while reading (just started "Les désastreuses Aventures des Orphelins Baudelaire" for gaining some vocabulary). I woke up after our church's Sunday Mass had started. 

Fail. Advent is my favorite time of the year for church-going, & I'm sad that I just missed it all getting started. I did NOT fail on starting our Advent calendar, though. We've yet to buy a chocolate-filled one–soon, though. Soon.

I'm trying to follow John Zmirak's advice and not rush into Christmas. Not being around my family & our traditions & get-together, I'm relying more on Joe & our faith to get us through the holidays without getting too lonely. This means it's time to do some educating for myself.

I wanted to take some time each Sunday to figure out what Advent is all about–I know it's the build-up to Christmas, but what does it really mean? So here's a summary of Advent, week one to make you feel like you've earned the coming seven pieces of chocolate to get you to next Sunday:

The first candle, the Prophet's candle, is traditionally purple & a reminder that the light of the Lord is about to come into the world. It is a symbol of hope, as the prophet's worked to give people hope of the coming of their Lord.*

Hope is something I can definitely use more of right now, as I read news stories of the growing gap between working/middle-class Americans & the über-wealthy, as I think about our planet's future. I want to believe that my generation has enough hope (& will power) to change the course of the world. I have to have hope in this, or I truly become crippled by fear–turning off the news & laying in bed until Joe finds a way to distract me. I'm a worrier, but I'm trying to remember that there is always hope.

I hope that my family traveled safely today while they were out doing their holiday shopping, and I hope that you all continue to read & enjoy the blog.

I also hope, on a more selfish note, that I can finish the Advent wreath project I started. The image above is my progress so far. I'm building an advent wreath out of words, all in the Palatino typeface. It's rough, as I'm not good in Illustrator, but I need to keep sharpening my design skills before Adobe comes out with new versions that put my four years of college in the dark ages of digital design.

Want to learn more about Advent or save some time to reflect? Here's an online advent calendar.

What are you hoping for this Advent season?