5 Simple Ways to Embrace Advent (Even When Life Is Hectic)
The busyness of December can easily distract from the call of Advent.
In many seasons of life, our calendars grow full as Christmas approaches and our prayer life becomes squeezed. As a college student I hustled towards finals and packing up for winter break. As a newlywed there were new family dynamics to navigate. Currently, as a young mom I am just trying to get through each day and show my children grace. I imagine the stress of a business woman working to close out the fourth quarter. I admire my mother’s effort to prepare her home for the chaos and joy of grandchildren coming.
These needs driving the busyness are all valid, yet our need for waiting and patience for Jesus’ birth is our most important call during Advent. Here are some ways I embrace the season of Advent during hectic times.
Mary Beth Keenan, @mb_keenan.15.
Light your Advent wreath every single day. This simple act can ground us in the liturgical season of Advent. It is a physical chance to pause during the day and center ourselves in the Advent season. Find a time each day and create a habit of this ritual - maybe it gets lit while you make and drink your morning coffee, maybe it is lit during grace before dinner, or maybe the wreath helps to set the space for your evening journaling practice. Whenever it fits your schedule, try to do it at the same time each day.
Pray with Advent music. While I often listen to Christmas carols starting the day after Thanksgiving, this year I plan to listen to more Advent music. There are so many wonderful Advent songs in our faith tradition! I have my favorites and tend to get disappointed when we do not sing them at Mass during Advent. I pray that abstaining from carols will center my heart on waiting and make singing Christmas carols at Christmas Mass that much more festive!
Pray with your community. There are often many social invitations and pressures during the season of Advent. It is a blessing to want to connect with a wide variety of people during the joy of Christmas. However, it quickly adds to the busyness and overwhelm of December. What would it look like if we could connect through prayer rather than parties? To me, it looks like writing names of people I like to celebrate with on small slips of paper and placing them in a jar. Each day I will pull a name out of a jar and say a prayer over them.
Look up at the night sky. If you are able, spend some time in nature in the dark. (Looking out of your window with the lights off counts!) The Christmas story is rich with imagery of stars and the night sky. Allow enough time to wait for the stars to present themselves or the sounds to change. There is a waiting required for creation to reveal itself at night; in your heart and mind, allow God to connect this to the waiting required for Christmas.
Celebrate a feast day that falls in Advent. Pause from the busyness of preparing for Christmas by prayerfully celebrating a feast day this month. There are a lot to choose from! Do not let this idea become one more item on a to-do list or one more photo to capture. Simply enter the feast of your choice with mindfulness, inviting the Saint to accompany you during that day. Allow them to walk alongside you through your daily tasks.
December 3rd - Saint Francis Xavier
December 6th - Saint Nicolas
December 7th - Saint Ambrose
December 8th - The Immaculate Conception
December 9th - Saint Juan Diego
December 12th - Our Lady of Guadalupe
December 13th - Saint Lucy
December 14th - Saint John of the Cross
This Advent, I pray you may find some deep breaths of patience and gratitude for what is to come with Christmas.
Meet Mary Beth Keenan
Mary Beth is an adventurer who seeks the glory of God in all of creation. You'll often find her pulled over on the side of a hiking trail taking photos of wildflowers. An advocate for self-care and authenticity, she loves running, listening to others' stories, gluten-free baked goods, and children's books. She is an artist, as well as wife to the calmest tinkerer around and mom to a strong, curious girl. You can connect with her on Instagram @mb_keenan.15.