Advent 2025
With the Advent Season, we begin a new liturgical year in the Church calendar. We are officially in the Year A cycle. Advent is a season of hope, but also a time to reflect on the meaning and direction of our lives as Christians. We look back on the first coming of our Beloved Savior and forward to the future when our Beloved Lord will return. It is a time to celebrate Christ becoming human, for He shows us what real life can be and what a life that will last forever can be. When Christ departed from this earth, He did not abandon us. He told us that He went to prepare a place for us in the eternal kingdom.
When He returns, Christ will not be under any veil or symbol, but will be revealed in His fullness – it will be a presence that will never end, and it will be a time of perfection and completeness of what community really means. We are, during Advent, to be awake, aware, and anticipating his coming with watchful hearts.
There are symbols in the meantime in Advent that speak to us of what we can expect and hold on to in hope, love, and joy. The Advent wreath guides us on a spiritual journey in preparation for the coming of Christ as a Babe, and for His final coming.
- The first candle symbolizes HOPE and the anticipation of His coming as a child, and can also be of his final coming. Lighting this first candle of Advent encourages us to reflect and meditate on the hope that Jesus brings to the world, dispelling darkness and despair.
- The second candle symbolizes the element of PEACE, reminding us of the gift of gifts given at his birth and encouraging us to foster peace within ourselves, our families, and the immediate community. It points to the title in the Bible given to Jesus as “Prince of Peace.”
- The third candle symbolizes JOY. It is the joy at the impending birth of Christ, but also the joy that should be at the center of our lives, not only in Advent and Christmas, but all year round. This joy will be permanent at His second coming and for all eternity. This candle has the title of the “Shepherd’s Candle” because it reflects the joy of the shepherds who had the news revealed to them and of the Christ child that they were able to see and give adoration. What joy will be at the second coming of Christ, because our joy will be complete.
- The fourth candle symbolizes LOVE. It is the love of God for all humanity and manifested at Christ’s birth. It is a time to reflect on how we can embrace such love for Christ and then share that love with others. Christ’s second coming will be for those who believe in Him, who have an overwhelming love for what Christ has accomplished for us, and the love from Him to us, which is a real love, given in its fullness.
St. Paul, in his letter to the Romans, gives a guideline for celebrating Advent and simply states, “Let us throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light, let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day” (Rom 13:12-13a). These words invite us to live the season with compassion for one another, seeing each other as brothers and sisters in the Lord, and showing dignity and respect to all, especially the poor, the neglected, and the forgotten.
Blessings to you for a grace-filled Advent.
Abbot Sharbel Ewen, O.S.B.
Prince of Peace Abbey
