Once again we enter the season of Advent.  Most of us recognize this season as the time during which we prepare for Christmas.  The hectic pace of our lives seems to increase rapidly each year.  Yet the liturgical year gifts us with the opportunity to slow down and reflect on the significance of what and whom we will celebrate on Christmas and throughout the Christmas season.  This opportunity is the season of Advent.

Advent has three dimensions.  It is the season to prepare for Christmas when we remember Christ’s first coming long ago, also Christ’s coming in our hearts today, and waiting in joyful expectation as we ponder our belief in Christ’s second coming in glory at the end of time.

Christmas is more than just one day, it is an entire season.  The duration of Christmas demonstrates how sacred the memorial of Christ’s birth and early