[A man has particular word or phrase hits you. That may be the Lord trying to speak to you. . In order to better prepare our hearts and live this Advent well, we should turn to the Blessed VirginMary and ask her to intercede for us and accompany us on our Advent journey. Our Lady was there for the first Advent, of course, and then for the intermediate Advent of the conversion, salvation, and sanctification of her spiritual children. Finally, she will be there for the final Advent of the Second Coming. Pope St. John Paul II said, “In this journey of expectation and hope that is Advent, the Ecclesial Community is identified more closely than ever with the Most Holy Virgin. May it be she, the Virgin of expectation, who helps us to open our hearts to theOnewho, by His coming among us, brings the priceless gift of peace to all humanity.” We need to adopt Our Lady’s practice of pondering the things of God in our heart. During Advent, try to set aside some time each day to read a few verses from the Bible, especially from the Gospels. Saint Jerome said that ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ. One of the ways the Lord speaks to us is through Holy Scripture. Choose a Scripture verse that has a special meaning for you, and meditate on the words until a The Holy Season of Advent has begun! Excerpt from Living Advent well by Fr. Angelo Casimiro, MIC: https://www.thedivinemercy.org/articles/living-advent-well By Fr. Angelo Casimiro, MIC heart. If you have a hardened heart, then you cannot love other people. And if you cannot love other people, how can you love God? One final suggestion: if you aren’t already going to daily Mass, try to go one other time during the week in addition to Sunday Mass. The Eucharist is the source and summit of our Catholic faith, since we truly receive the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ in Holy Communion. The same Jesus who humbled Himself by coming to us as a little baby on Christmas Day continues to humble Himself by coming to us during Mass in the bread and wine that is changed into His Body and Blood. Following the example of the Blessed Mother, let us keep our hearts and minds recollected this Advent season. Let us wait with an expectant kind of longing, knowing thatJesus will soon come into our hearts, as we once again wait in darkness for the coming of the Messiah, the Light of the World Another way of living Advent well is by going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The best Christmas gift you can ever give yourself is to go to Confession, especially if you haven’t gone for a while. I like to describe Confession like this: If we take the time every day to bathe and clean our bodies, then it’s just as important that we also take the time to go to Confession and clean our souls. When you confess your sins and the priest gives you absolution, you’re starting anew. Not only are you forgiven your sins, but God also gives you the grace to help you resist temptations and not sin again. Remember that God’s mercy is bigger than any sin you can ever commit. Another way to prepare for Advent is to have a forgiving heart. The Lord forgives our sins in Confession; shouldn’t we forgive others, as well? It goes against our fallen human nature to forgive someone who has hurt us, and so that is when we need supernatural help. Life is too short to carry around grudges. Unforgiveness hardens your
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