How to get ready for Christmas:

Ideas to Celebrate Advent

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Get your heart ready to receive Jesus this Christmas
with these great ways to celebrate Advent

Advent Prayer - click to read

Advent Wreath - click to see one - There are four candles in an Advent Wreath - three purple candles and one pink candle. We light one candle for each Sunday in Advent. In 2019, the first Sunday in Advent is December 1. The purple candles represent the royal majesty of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the penitential practices we ought to undertake as we prepare our hearts to receive Him at Christmas. The pink candle is for Gaudete Sunday and represents the joy we feel at His imminent arrival.

Advent Calendar - an Advent calendar, available at the Fullness of Truth (click to visit their website) Catholic bookstore in Kingwood, other bookstores, or online (among other outlets), is a great way to count down to Christmas! Beginning on December 1, children open one window at a time to see a Scripture verse or obtain a piece of candy (depending upon the calendar you choose). This helps them to keep the excitement of Christ's imminent birth alive in their hearts as they count down to Christmas day.

Charitable Giving - Almsgiving is a wonderful practice at all times, but especially as we prepare the way of the Lord in our hearts. Consider giving to a pro-life cause as the Lord of Life became incarnate and was born at Bethlehem. Thank God Mary chose Life! In accepting her "unplanned pregnancy," Mary's Fiat brought the Light of the World to us all, the King of Kings who conquered death. Click HERE for a suggested list of pro-life causes.

Jesse Tree - click to see one. A Jesse Tree tells the story of Salvation History - how God has acted throughout history as He tells His Story - the story of His love for us. God is Lifegiver, Lawgiver, Savior. Each ornament on the Jesse Tree tells a part of His Story - from the Creation of all, through Original Sin and the Flood, through the patriarchs and on up to the birth of Jesus. One ornament is placed on the Jesse Tree (or Jesse Tree poster) each day. Like the Advent calendar, it's a wonderful way for children to keep Christ in their hearts as they await the celebration of His birth on Christmas Day. Click HERE to see the Jesse Tree poster I've used with my children.