How Advent Teaches Us to Wait for the Coming of Jesus
Nov 16, 2016 by Gretchen Filz
It's hard for us to imagine what the world was like before the birth of Jesus, when our Savior was a only a vague yearning, a far-distant promise. We are blessed to live in the world at a time when the light of Christ shines clearly and brightly.
Even with all the evils in the world today, we still have the example of Jesus who came in the flesh to guide us, and who has left us the gift of his Church, his Sacraments, his Word, and his Saints.
Can you image what the world must have been like without this light? We take him for granted, and the way he changed the world for granted.
Yet, the Church has a built-in way of taking us back to the beginning, back to the thousands of years when the holy men and women of long ago anticipated the birth of their promised Messiah. It's called the liturgical season of Advent, which means, "to come to."
This is the example for us today as we await his promised return at the end of time. And this is in no way better demonstrated than with the Advent wreath that we use in our homes and churches.
Watch the video below to learn more about this important Advent tradition.
Read next The Advent Wreath Tradition & Meaning
This article has been updated and was originally published in November 2015. Copyright © The Catholic Company. All rights reserved.