Advent is a beautiful liturgical season in the Catholic Church, but one that is increasingly difficult to celebrate. Too often the material celebration of Christmas overtakes the spiritual preparation that is at the heart of Advent.
Pope Benedict XVI saw this as well and during his pontificate, looked to the Virgin Mary for inspiration. In particular, he looked to her as the “Mother of Hope,” who can help reorient our lives to God and live as Christians who longingly hope for a future united with God for all eternity.
Here is a short prayer he composed for a homily he gave at the beginning of Advent that we can recite daily to focus our attention on God during this special time of year.
O Mary, Virgin of expectation and Mother of hope, revive the spirit of Advent in your entire Church, so that all humanity may start out anew on the journey towards Bethlehem, from which it came, and that the Sun that dawns upon us from on high will come once again to visit us, Christ our God. Amen.
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And today we celebrate...