Christmas lights are popping up in the neighborhood and holiday tunes dance through the stores. It’s time for the yearly gluttony of eating and buying. It’s also time for Advent, a season of repentance, focused on watching and waiting for the coming of the Lord. The call to devotion and the call to consume compete…
When I was little, we hung Advent calendars with little doors that opened for each day leading to Christmas. Then one day I stepped through one of those little doors. It was like stepping into a giant house. When I really discovered Advent, I discovered the church year and a way of walking through days…
We must always remember that disciplines flow out of love and are not a substitute for the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ. Penitential Disciplines During the seasons of Lent and Advent, the church practices the disciplines of prayer, fasting, almsgiving. While these disciplines can be practiced anytime throughout the year, Lent and Advent…