{"id":25996,"date":"2010-11-27T11:55:04","date_gmt":"2010-11-27T15:55:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/2010\/11\/preparing-for-advent-the-wreat\/"},"modified":"2013-12-03T16:42:35","modified_gmt":"2013-12-03T20:42:35","slug":"preparing-for-advent-the-wreat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/2010\/11\/preparing-for-advent-the-wreat\/","title":{"rendered":"Preparing for Advent: the wreath as a sign that Salvation is at hand"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\"Prophet<\/a>The new liturgical year begins tonight at First Vespers for\u00a0Advent (as a point of comparison, the Church in Milan which follows its own\u00a0liturgical calendar and set of customs began Advent on November 14th this year [2010]). A new\u00a0liturgical year refreshes our understanding of good Catholic customs and\u00a0practices, a renews the emphasis of ongoing conversion and encourages a lively following of\u00a0God Incarnate — all these things are essential hallmarks of Advent.<\/p>\n

The newness the Advent gives to us is seen as a feast for the senses (Catholics are sensual people) known through investment of our best resources and energies: the Church’s vesture changes to purple, silence is observed a little more in the Liturgy, the sacred Scriptures draws out attention to waiting and preparing the way of the\u00a0Lord (think of the Prophet Isaiah pictured right), the season’s music focuses our hopes and loves on the Kingdom already\u00a0present but not fully realized and our homes, the “domestic church,” reinforces\u00a0our seeking God together. As Father U. Michael Lang, CO, said in a recent essay on vestments, “Divine beauty manifests itself in an altogether particular way in the sacred liturgy, also through material things of which man, made of soul and body, has need to come to spiritual realities: the buildings of worship, the furnishings, the vestments, the images, the music, the dignity of ceremonies themselves.”<\/p>\n

As one small sign for the daily and weekly journey, our movement in this season of preparation is the Advent wreath — a tangible sign of movement to recognizing more deeply that our Salvation is at hand. The Advent wreath is, however, not a parish church custom as much as it is custom for one’s home (but you can’t persuade too many\u00a0priests to move the Advent wreath out of the sanctuary these days).<\/p>\n

A favorite\u00a0historian of liturgical customs is Jesuit Father Francis X. Weiser’s 1958\u00a0Handbook\u00a0of Christian Feasts and Customs: The Year of the Lord in Liturgy and Folklore<\/i>,\u00a0but I also look to Pius Parsch, Dom Gueranger and the\u00a0Directory of Popular\u00a0Piety and the Liturgy<\/i>\u00a0(2001) to recall the Advent sensibility given to us by\u00a0the Church. These authors are particularly helpful in preparing the faithful\u00a0and especially the children in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and other\u00a0CCD programs about the sacred Liturgy. About the Advent wreath Weiser writes:<\/p>\n

\n

The\u00a0Advent wreath originated a few hundred years ago among the Lutherans of eastern\u00a0Germany. It probably was suggested by one of the many light symbols which were\u00a0used in folklore at the end of November and beginning of December… The\u00a0Christians in medieval times kept many of these lights and fire symbols alive\u00a0as popular traditions and ancient folklore. In the sixteenth century the custom\u00a0started of using such lights as a religious symbol of Advent in the houses of\u00a0the faithful. This practice quickly spread among the Protestants of eastern\u00a0Germany and was soon accepted by Protestants and Catholics in other parts of\u00a0the country. Recently it has not only found its way to America, but has been\u00a0spreading so rapidly that it is already a cherished custom in many homes.<\/p>\n

\"Advent<\/a><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Advent wreath is exactly what the word implies, a wreath of evergreens (yew or\u00a0fir or laurel), made in various sizes. It is either suspended from the ceiling\u00a0or placed on a table, usually in front of the family shrine. Fastened to the\u00a0wreath are four candles standing upright, at equal distances. These candles\u00a0represent the four weeks of Advent.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Daily at a certain time (usually in the\u00a0evening), the family gathers for a short religious exercise. Every Sunday of\u00a0Advent one more candle is lit, until all four candles shed their cheerful light\u00a0to announce the approaching birthday of the Lord. All other lights are\u00a0extinguished in the room, and only the gentle glow of the live candles\u00a0illuminates the darkness. After some prayers, which are recited for the grace\u00a0of a good and holy preparation for Christmas, the family sings one of the\u00a0traditional Advent hymns or a song in honor of Mary.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The traditional symbolism\u00a0of the Advent wreath reminds the faithful of the Old Testament, when humanity\u00a0was “sitting in the darkness and in the shadow of death” (Luke 2:79);\u00a0when the prophets, illumined by God, announced the Redeemer; and when the\u00a0hearts of men glowed with the desire for the Messiah. The wreath — an ancient\u00a0symbol of victory and glory — symbolizes the “fulfillment of time”\u00a0in the coming of Christ and the glory of His birth.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In some sections of Europe\u00a0it is customary for persons with the name of John or Joan to have the first\u00a0right to light the candles on the Advent wreath and Christmas tree, because\u00a0John the Evangelist starts his Gospel by calling Christ the “Light of the\u00a0World” and John the Baptist was the first one to see the light of divinity\u00a0shining about the Lord at His baptism in the Jordan. (pp. 54-55)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The new liturgical year begins tonight at First Vespers for\u00a0Advent (as a point of comparison, the Church in Milan which follows its own\u00a0liturgical calendar and set of customs began Advent on November 14th this year [2010]). A new\u00a0liturgical year refreshes our understanding of good Catholic customs and\u00a0practices, a renews the emphasis of ongoing conversion and … Continue reading Preparing for Advent: the wreath as a sign that Salvation is at hand<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[1827,1713,1826],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25996"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25996"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25996\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29516,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25996\/revisions\/29516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}