Advent and Marriage Preparation
The name Advent (from the Latin word Adventus, which signifies a coming) is applied to the time of year during which the Church requires the faithful to prepare for the celebration of the feast of Christmas — the anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ.
The season of Advent lasts for four weeks and the preparation for the coming of Christ must be taken in three different contexts:
- the birth of Christ at Christmas,
- the coming of Christ into our lives in the Sacrament of Holy Communion
- the coming of Christ at the end of times
The color purple used during the season of Advent symbolizes penance, preparation and sacrifice, except in the third week of Advent (Gaudete Sunday, which means Sunday of Joy or Rejoicing). That is when the color purple is replaced by the color rose that symbolizes the joy of Christmas that is about to come.
The Meaning of the Advent Wreath
- The circular shape of the Advent Wreath symbolizes the eternal nature of God; He has no beginning and no end.
- The four candles symbolize the four Sundays of Advent.
- Three candles are purple and one is rose — that is the candle that is lit on Gaudette Sunday.
Advent and Marriage Preparation
Advent is the season of hope, the season of preparation, the season of getting ready for what is to come.
In Advent, we experience the anticipation and the excitement of preparing for something that we enjoy. It is something that we have been expecting.
In many ways, marriage preparation is like the season of Advent. It is the anticipation, the getting ready, and the preparation that takes place ahead of time.
The time we dedicate to marriage preparation is filled with expectation and anticipation for the wedding ceremony. It is also for the new life that the couple will start together as a family.
Every time you complete your marriage preparation sessions or online segments, it is like lighting a candle in the Advent wreath. You feel that sense of accomplishment and the feeling that the big day is getting closer!
As you advance in your marriage preparation, you start feeling the anticipation of the new married life you are about to begin. In the same way, our journey through Advent brings us closer and closer to the birth of Jesus Christ and his coming into the world — making everything new.
Have A Blessed Advent
It is our hope that this season of Advent will help you to reflect more deeply into the real meaning of Christmas and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ into our lives.
Let us rejoice in the fact that He wants to come into our lives and make everything new! Let us prepare our hearts to His coming and let us love in the same way He loves us.
