“Let every heart, prepare him room.” Have you ever sang those words during the Christmas song Joy to the World? I know I have. It wasn’t until this year that I have really reflected on those words. Prepare Him Room. What does that even mean?
This Advent season, let’s prepare to have room for Him. It’s not too late. To start, let’s talk about what Advent is, what it means and what as Catholics, we are expected to do during this season.
Advent is a month long preparation extending over the four Sundays before Christmas. During Advent, we prepare our hearts and minds and bodies for the coming of Christ. The word Advent comes from the Latin word ad-venire which means “to come to” or “arrival.” During Advent we can prepare by increasing our prayer life, fasting and slowing down our schedules to truly reflect as we await to celebrate the day our Savior was born.
One way to increase your prayer life is by creating a space for prayer. Set up an Advent wreath, put out a Nativity set, or purchase an Advent calendar. My family has our Advent wreath in our dining room. Every evening before or after dinner, we light a candle and read prayers and daily devotions about that particular day in Advent. As the next Sunday passes, we light an additional candle and continue our journey as we prepare our hearts for Christmas. Another thing that I do is read the bible. I know that sounds cliché, but I read the entire Gospel of Luke. There are 24 chapters, so beginning on December 1st, I read one chapter per day. The book of Luke is the story of Jesus. It helps me remember who He is and why we celebrate Christmas. I challenge you to also journal your thoughts after each chapter. Grab a small notebook or go to the Notes app on your phone and write out a couple of sentences of your thoughts on each chapter as you read.
Did you know you can fast from more than just food or meat? Something I have been doing for awhile is abstaining from meat on Fridays. This is a great way during Advent to prepare your body especially if you have thought about fasting on Fridays permanently. Advent is a great season to start this refrainment. We can also fast from other things that may help prepare our mind. Maybe a fast from social media, television time, or extracurricular activities may be helpful. Is your December calendar already filled with events and things you have to do? Do you have to attend them all?
I realize that we don’t live in a perfect world and will have to attend certain family gatherings and entertain the hustle and bustle of the busy holiday. Can we limit these in anyway? For my family, we have decided to scale back the amount of Christmas presents our children receive. Think about it. They really have too many toys and items that gain interest for a little while Christmas Day, then go on a shelf or in a closet to never be seen again. When preparing my mind for Advent, I started my shopping early. I knew that I wanted to have that stress off of my plate so I can truly focus on the reason for the season. Get all of your “check lists” completed. Wrap presents, bake cookies and freeze them. Say no to some of the different gatherings you are invited to. You will alleviate the stress of what to bring, what to wear, what sitter to call etc. This isn’t what the season is about. We cannot prepare our hearts and minds for Advent if we are distracted.
Even if you can only practice one of these suggestions you will still be preparing yourself to make room for Him. There are many great devotionals and books you can download or purchase to help your journey this Advent season. I recently listened to a homily from a Bishop that really spoke to me. I think one point of this homily is relative to our preparation. Are we doing things in our personal life that are Christ like? The TV show we are watching, the conversation we are having, the text message we are sending, the music we are listening to… would you still do those things if Jesus was sitting in the room next to you? This Advent season, think about that point. Is what I am doing something Jesus would approve of if He was in the same room? Are we living in a way that prepares ourselves for Him? Embracing the quiet, slowing down our lives, and preparing our hearts to welcome the arrival of our Savior is truly what Jesus would want us to do to celebrate Him.
Hugs and Loves,
Ali
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign; the young woman, pregnant and about to bear a son, shall name him Emmanuel.” Isaiah 7:14
