Themes and Traditions Of Advent

Pastoral notes

The following pastoral notes on the liturgies of Advent and Christmas are offered in order to assist parishes celebrate them well.  Local communities and liturgical teams must take their particular circumstances into account and make their own choice of the various options available.  However the combination of general principles and suggestions presented here can serve as a helpful catalyst in the process of preparing these important celebrations.

∙  When planning each part, keep the big picture in mind: it includes Advent, plus the feast of the Nativity itself, plus the rest of the Christmas Season.

∙  The key to good liturgy is to respect the rites and let the ritual moments and central symbols speak for themselves.  

∙  Do not reinvent the seasons each year.  Start with the liturgy as set out in the ritual books and consult comments made at the previous years’ meeting to review the ceremonies.  

∙  Common cues/responses and seasonal psalms throughout Advent or Christmas will help unify these seasons – for example, in Advent, Lord, come and save us.  R Come, Lord Jesus.  

Primary resources

The Roman Missal

Lectionary for Mass

Book of Blessings

Universal Norms on the Liturgical Year and the Calendar

Contemporary Advent

No season of the year is more at odds with the prevailing culture in Australia than Advent.  The advertising blitz for the Christmas shopping binge, reinforced by Christmas decor in shops and streets, starts several weeks prior to Advent.  To make matters worse, all this commercial Christmas decoration disappears on Christmas night to make way for the Boxing Day sales.

It’s a busy time of the year.  Schools and colleges are marking the end of the school year with exams, graduation ceremonies and farewells.  Businesses are holding end-of-the year parties.  Time and energy go into sending Christmas greetings of one kind or another.  Families are occupied with plans for Christmas Day meals and summer holidays.  There’s a spirit of indulgence in the air, congruent with the languor of summer days.

Advent

By contrast, this is what the Church says about Advent.  “Advent has a twofold character, for it is a time of preparation for the Solemnity of Christmas, in which the First Coming of the Son of God to humanity is remembered, and likewise a time when, by remembrance of this, minds and hearts are led to look forward to Christ’s Second Coming at the end of time.  For these two reasons, Advent is a period of devout and expectant delight.” (UNLYGRC #39, 1969) The spirit of Advent is one of hope, patient expectation, joy and contemplation. 

∙  The word ‘advent’ means ‘waiting’.  

∙  The season has three aspects – thanksgiving, Christ with us now, hope in future.

∙  The season encompasses three time dimensions – past, present, future.

∙  The season features three key figures – the prophet Isaiah, John the Baptist, the Virgin Mary.

∙  Advent has three distinct stages:  the first focuses on the end of time when Christ will come again in glory; the second on John the Baptist heralding Jesus’ public ministry; the last (the Christmas novena) on Jesus’ birth and the role of Mary in salvation history.  

The Liturgy of Advent

The season begins with First Vespers of the Sunday on or nearest to 30th November and ends before the First Vespers of Christmas (i.e. on Christmas Eve).  Depending on the day of the week that Christmas falls, Advent can be as short as three weeks and one day or as long as full four weeks, but there are always four Sundays.

The Sunday pattern

Two independent yet inter-related patterns, the Sunday and the weekday, are in play.  The Sunday pattern centres on the Gospel reading.  On the 1st Sunday the Gospel heralds the end times.  On the 2nd and 3rd it highlights the mission of John the Baptist, while on the 4th it turns attention to the forthcoming Nativity of Christ.  The Old Testament readings consist of messianic prophecies, mostly from Isaiah, while the second readings are season-related extracts from the writings of the apostles.

Advent prefaces

There are two prefaces specific to the Advent season.  The first is for use up until 16 December (feast days aside); it links the two comings of Christ – his incarnation and his return in glory – to evoke joyful confidence in God’s saving design.  The second is used from 17th December for the remainder of the season.  With its more explicit reference to the approaching Nativity and especially to Mary and John the Baptist, it invites watchful prayer and exultant praise.

Liturgical features

Silence

The Advent season is a most suitable time to take full advantage of the several explicit references to silent prayer in the Roman Missal, such as after each reading and after Communion (GIRM #56).  Some brief catechesis may be of value to enable the faithful to make good use of these opportunities for prayer.

Liturgical colour

Violet is the colour of the Advent season.  A lighter shade could be chosen for vestments to distinguish the hopeful spirit of Advent from the penitential character of Lent.  Rose is an approved colour for the third Sunday.

Environment

The liturgical setting should be one of simplicity and restraint to reinforce the season’s spirit of prayerful vigilance (GIRM #305).  This will be in stark contrast to the Christmas decorations that have adorned stores and streets and offices for several weeks.

Advent wreath

The custom of displaying and lighting the candles of an Advent wreath has become widespread.   Though there is no mention of it in the Roman Missal, the Book of Blessings (1989) contains an Order for the Blessing of an Advent Wreath, within either Mass (#1517-20) or a Celebration of the Word (#1521-33).

Traditionally the wreath is shaped into a circle of evergreen branches that house four candles, one for each week of the season.  The use of Australian native flora is to be commended.  It should be of sufficient size to be visible to the whole assembly and may be either hung from the ceiling or placed on a stand, but without obscuring the altar, lectern or chair (#1512).

The blessing takes place only on the 1st Sunday of Advent; on the remaining Sundays the candles are lit either before Mass begins or before the opening collect, without additional rites or prayers (#1513).

Music

Although Advent is not a penitential season, the Gloria is omitted, thus giving dramatic impact to its reappearance on Christmas Eve.  

Like the worship space, the music of the Advent season is meant to be simple and restrained (cf. GIRM #313), apart from festive occasions such as the Immaculate Conception.  In order to respect the particular character of each season, it is best to choose appropriate Advent hymnody rather than Christmas carols.

Devotions

Jesse tree

While the custom has not become popular in Australia, setting up a Jesse tree can serve a good catechetical and spiritual purpose.  As the days and weeks of Advent go by, the names or symbols of Jesus’ ancestors and of key figures from the Old Testament can be added to heighten the community’s sense of expectation.  As the Jesse tree is not a liturgical item, it does not belong in the main arena of liturgical action, but in the porch or a side chapel. 

Christmas crib

Like the Advent wreath, the crib is not mentioned in the Roman Missal but is referred to in the Book of Blessings.  Two Orders of Blessing for a Christmas manger or nativity scene are included, one within the celebration of the word of God (#1547-61), the other within Mass (#1562-69). If the crib is located inside the church, it should be in a place that is accessible and suitable for prayer and devotion but not in the sanctuary.

Christmas

∙  The ritual books provide sets of Missal texts and Scripture readings for Christmas Masses at four different times – vigil, during the night, at dawn, during the day.  Masses at night on Christmas Eve would normally us the texts for ‘during the night’, since the vigil texts still look forward to the feast.

∙  Study the Prefaces provided and make considered choices.

∙  The Gloria is sung for first time since Christ the King – add bells, other instruments for effect.

∙  Many ‘occasional Catholics’ come to church on Christmas Day, so it is important that the celebration be vibrant, inclusive and engaging.

∙  Consider strategies for including non-regular Mass attendees, for example, providing leaflets with Mass outline and all responses, and reminding ushers and greeters to assist visitors.  

∙  Consider ways of incorporating the Advent wreath and candles into the Christmas environment.

Pastoral Issues

The liturgical celebration of Christmas offers valuable pastoral opportunities even as it presents particular challenges.  The special character of Christmas attracts large numbers of people who wish to attend Mass, especially as families.  This means an unusually high proportion of both young children and of people who are not regular Mass-goers. The pressing question is how to elicit their full, conscious and active participation.

Christmas pageant

Given the popularity of Christmas Eve Masses for families with young children, some parishes seek to involve children, and thereby engage the attention of their parents and the congregation, in a pageant or dramatization of Luke’s nativity narrative.  It is important that the pageant be kept brief and simple and not overshadow the Mass itself.

Full participation: a shared task

All liturgical ministers have a key role to play in fostering the assembly’s participation:

• Musicians and singers need to choose the music and rehearse well in advance. It is vital that the whole assembly has access to the words of all items that are to be sung, whether in hard copy or via screens.
• Readers need to be well prepared in order to communicate God’s word in the unusual circumstances of Christmas; they will need to gain the congregation’s attention, speak more deliberately and with greater volume, and make proper use of pauses.
• Sacristans need to ensure that there is enough bread and wine to be consecrated,
• Additional Communion Ministers will need to be rostered and informed in advance where and how Communion is to be distributed.
• Ministers of hospitality play a vital role in welcoming people, especially strangers and visitors, ensuring they have any worship aids and assisting them to find a seat.
• Presiders, as always, have a unique role in facilitating the prayer of the whole assembly. They will serve their people well if they lead with warmth and grace and communicate God’s word succinctly and effectively.

Prayers and Readings for the Nativity

The Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord is unique in having four sets of prayers in the Roman Missal and four corresponding sets of readings in the Lectionary for Mass.  These are allocated to:

• the Vigil Mass
• the Mass during the Night
• the Mass at Dawn, and
• the Mass during the Day.

Each of the four first readings comes from the prophet Isaiah.  All in their own way celebrate the dawn of a new era, for the salvation of all the peoples of the earth has been made manifest.

The second readings are varied.  The first, from the Acts of the Apostles, is an excerpt from Paul’s preaching that proclaims Jesus as the son of David.  The next, from the letter to Titus, announces the revelation of God’s grace in Jesus.  The third, also from Titus, highlights the saving role of baptism, while the fourth comprises the majestic opening passage of the letter to the Hebrews which asserts the unique identity of Jesus as God’s Son.

Each of the Gospel texts is distinct.  The first is Matthew’s account of the nativity (preceded by Jesus’ genealogy), the second gives Luke’s account of the nativity, the third is Luke’s description of the adoration of the shepherds, and the fourth is the splendid prologue of John’s Gospel.

It is worth noting that while the proclamation of Matthew’s genealogy and John’s prologue may present a pastoral challenge, given the unusual nature of Christmas Mass congregations, this is the only time that Sunday Mass-goers will ever hear these extraordinary texts.

Image Attribution - Grafton Street Jacaranda Tree