Advent is a time for waiting, preparing and hoping. Too often my waiting is spent in shopping lines and post offices; my preparing means rushing around to get cards addressed and gifts wrapped, and my major hope for the season is that I get everything done in time for the big day. Probably not exactly what those wise folks had in mind when they set aside four weeks of preparation. Each year I tell myself, "This Advent will be different." Well perhaps this year it actually will be.

There are all sorts of Advent resources available to help us slow down so that we can live the season the way it is meant to be lived. The Catholic Update that St. Anthony Messenger Press puts together for Advent is one of the best. Along with a brief introduction and a few scriptural sidebars, this four-page newsletter offers a short reflection on the readings for each day of the season.

This year's Advent Update is one my favorites. The front page has an illustration of Mary in profile, right hand on her swollen stomach. She is leaning on her left hand, her back arched in that achy stretch that every mother remembers. Her pose reflects the deliberate calm of a first-time mother, waiting and hoping for a much-loved child. Julie Irwin Zimmerman, the author, reminds us:

Overwhelmed by the demands of the season, we can wait for Jesus in a state of anxiety, or cynicism, or harried indifference toward the miracle that is upon us. Or we can take our cue from the prayer we hear every Sunday and 'wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.' Welcoming Jesus into our homes and our hearts, full of hope and joy, prepares us to properly celebrate Jesus' birth and anticipate his return.

You can click here to see this year's Advent Catholic Update. Why not buy a copy for every household in the parish? You might consider doing what I used to do when our parish budget was tight (and when isn't it?): Get together with a couple of neighboring parishes to get the largest bulk number. When you buy a thousand copies of a Catholic Update, they are only 13 cents each.

Maybe this is the year I will curtail my shopping and have everything wrapped by Thanksgiving. I'll have all my cookies baked, candies made and special projects done by the first Sunday in Advent. Perhaps this is the Advent I will spend waiting and hoping and preparing to celebrate the Incarnation by welcoming Christ in the world wherever I see him. Maybe this is the year I can focus on the Second Coming. Actually, if I am ever ready for Christmas by the first Sunday of Advent, it may well be the first sign of the Second Coming.

One of my best Advent memories as a DRE is the Family Advent Rally. We usually began by taking the youngsters off for their own activities for the first few minutes. We could then spend that beginning time talking to the adults. We did a little quiet centering prayer and talked about the reality of this pre-Christmas season. We talked about the rushing, the anxiety over money, the real or perceived expectations of putting together the perfect home for Christmas. We tried to let all that go as we focused on spending time as a family getting ready for Jesus in our lives. Sometimes there were only a dozen families at the rally, sometimes three or four dozen; no matter the number we made a commitment to each other that this Advent, family time would come first.

For a number of years I used Kitchen Table Gospel for parish family rallies. Generations of Faith also has some excellent material for parishes interested in lifelong, event-centered, intergenerational faith formation.

Some years we made up our own activities. We would make Advent wreaths and plan our own home activities for the upcoming weeks. One activity families seemed to enjoy was the "Advent Game." During the rally we spent our time decorating a coffee can with paint and tissue and glitter. The container became the keeper of the family Advent activities. This section [pages 29-34] of Holy Bells and Wonderful Smells has more information where you can read more about this Advent pastime and find activity ideas to present to participants. Hand out the suggestions, then let families decide which ones they want to include. Hopefully they will come up with their own Advent ideas.

It's hard to believe that another Church year is nearing its end. The world of retail seems to begin its push for Christmas shopping earlier every year. And while our thoughts do move to the many tasks involved in the upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, it's important that we take time for Advent—for ourselves as people of faith and for those in our parish communities.

While it's difficult (some would say impossible) to work anything else into the weeks preceding Christmas, we as Church must continue to challenge our parishioners to remember and keep Advent.

Give parishioners a specific challenge this Advent: Invite them to give the Sundays of Advent to God. Instead of Sunday being just another day to "get things done," encourage them to 1) save Sunday for those activities that bring them closer to God and others and/or 2) invite God into the activities that must be done on Sunday. Offer them suggestions for family and individual activities that support that goal (an idea for adults follows). Make this realistic and reasonable in our busy world: If there's holiday baking to do, do it as a family. If there are Christmas cards to write, make it a family project (even little ones can seal envelopes and put on stamps!)—and then say a short prayer for the recipients of each card. If there is no other time for Christmas shopping, approach each selection and purchase with the attitude that the gift is a way of sharing God's love with someone you care about. Include a prayer for the recipient in the shopping process.

For those wanting to offer adults a faith formation opportunity this Advent, a new video Behold This Child: The Gospel Stories of Jesus' Birth presents contemporary Scripture scholarship concerning the birth of Christ in four 10-12 minute segments. It explores biblical background in a way easily understood and accepted by the average audience, moving them beyond literal history or biography to a story rich in theology. Segments could be shown before or after Sunday Masses or at the same time as religious education sessions for children. Scripture study groups may enjoy this treatment of the infancy narratives during the Advent/Christmas season—or any time of the year. The leader's guide that accompanies the video offers suggestions for group process. Click here to see a video clip from Behold This Child: The Gospel Stories of Jesus' Birth (RealMedia | Windows Media).

Other videos on Advent (click on the video title for more information):

Keeping the parish community focused on the true meaning of the Advent season—beyond the shopping and holiday parties—is always a challenge. This year St. Anthony Messenger Press offers an inexpensive, pocketbook-sized booklet of daily reflections on the Church's readings for the Advent season: Preparing For Christ: Advent Reflections Day-by-Day. This is an excellent resource to make available to your whole parish family, to encourage everyone to take just a couple minutes a day to focus attention on the true meaning of the Advent season.

Here's a unique seasonal item to remind parishioners of the message of Advent: a door hanger with the Advent message, "Wait in Joyful Hope!". Consider giving them as an Advent gift to each family in your school or parish school of religion program. Not only are these attractive reminders of Advent's message, but on the reverse side they contain a short family Advent prayer service suitable for use at family gatherings throughout the season. (Still available, by the way, are Peace Prayer door hangers which proclaim "Peace to all who live here" and offer a family prayer service for peace on the reverse side.)

Looking for Bible study material for Advent? Take a look at back issues of Scripture From Scratch. Three particularly good issues from the last few years are The Tricky Twists and Turns of God's Promise to David; The Incarnation: God's Gift of Love; and Mary's Magnificat.

How do you observe Advent? Our editors will screen and post your ideas on our online bulletin board at AmericanCatholic.org. You can check the board from time to time to see others' ideas. Submit your ideas by clicking here.