Advent is a season that can pass rather quickly, and by the fourth week we may think that we are not nearly as prepared as we should be. Instead of despairing of time lost, the best thing to do is take advantage of the final week to double our preparations.
Here is a prayer from the Liturgical Year, asking the Virgin Mary for help to prepare our hearts for Christmas and for Christ’s final coming at the end of our lives on earth.
Most just indeed it is, O holy Mother of God, that we should unite in that ardent desire you had to see him who had been concealed for nine months in thy chaste womb. Dear Mother, the time is fast approaching, though not fast enough, to satisfy your desires and ours. Help us to redouble our attention to the great mystery and complete our preparation by your powerful prayers for us, that when the solemn hour has come, our Jesus may find no obstacle to his entrance into our hearts.
And today we celebrate...