RCIA presentation on the topic of Advent [converted to PDF format]

1. What is
Advent?

2. Opening Prayer
• Canticle of Zechariah (Lk 1:68-79)

3. Overview
• Liturgy, Cycles and Seasons
• Season of Advent
• Origin of Advent
• Preparing for the Messiah
• How Advent is Celebrated

4. What is Liturgy?
• From the Greek “leitourgia,” which means,
“public work” or a “service in the name of/on
behalf of the people”
• In Judeo-Christian usage, it means “the
participation of the People of God in the work
of God”
– Lk 1:23 - Zechariah goes home when “the days of
his liturgy” (Gk “leitourgias”) are over

5. Liturgical Seasons
• Daily liturgy: Liturgy of the Hours, Daily
Mass
• Weekly liturgy: all Fridays are “days of
Penance”; every Sunday we celebrate the
“Lord‟s Day,” Christ‟s Resurrection
• Annual Liturgy: memorials, feasts,
solemnities and seasons

8. Liturgical Seasons
• Antiquity of liturgical colors
– White used until 4th cent., other colors introduced soon
afterwards
– Innocent III (d. 1216) among the first to emphasize a
distinction
• Symbolism of liturgical colors
– Purple – penitential character
– Rose - rejoicing
– White – festive symbol of light, innocence, purity
– Green – color of plant/trees, represents hope of life
eternal
– Red – symbol of fire & blood; indicates burning charity
and the martyrs‟ generous sacrifice

9. Season of Advent
• From Latin “adventus,” a coming, approach, arrival
• Lasts approx. 4 weeks, from the first Sunday nearest the
feast of St. Andrew (30 November) until Christmas
• Church‟s Liturgical “New Year”
– The Lectionary for Mass, which cycles through three
liturgical years (A, B, and C), changes to a new year at
Advent
– In Cycle A we read the Gospel of Matthew. In Cycle B
we read the Gospel of Mark. In Cycle C we read the
gospel of Luke
– The Gospel of John focuses on the risen life of Christ,
so it is read primarily during the Lent/Easter and
Advent/Christmas seasons.

10. Origin of Advent
• No evidence before end of the 4th cent.,
after the Feast of the Nativity was
celebrated throughout the Church
• Synod of Saragossa in AD 380
– Pre-Epiphany preparatory period mentioned
• 5th cent. - homilies entitled “In Adventu
Domini”
• 6th cent. – homilies describing pre-Nativity
preparations

11. Origin of Advent
• 6th-7th cent. – St. Gregory the Great‟s
homilies discuss Advent
• 8th cent. Gelasian Sacramentary notes
five Sundays for the season
• 8th cent. – Greek Church observes
pre-Nativity fast
• 11th cent. - St. Gregory VII
reduced Advent to four
Sundays

12. Preparing for the Messiah
• What does the Catechism mean by the
following statements…
– “The coming of God's Son to earth is an event
of such immensity that God willed to prepare for
it over centuries.”
– “He announces him through the mouths
of the prophets who succeeded one
another in Israel. Moreover, he
awakens in the hearts of the
pagans a dim expectation
of this coming.”

13. Preparing for the Messiah
– “St. John the Baptist is the Lord's immediate
precursor or forerunner, sent to prepare his
way.”
– “ „Prophet of the Most High‟, John
surpasses all the prophets, of whom he
is the last. He inaugurates the Gospel,
already from his mother's womb
welcomes the coming of Christ,…
whom he [later] points out as
„the Lamb of God, who takes
away the sin of the world‟.”

14. Preparing for the Messiah
– When the Church celebrates the liturgy of
Advent each year, she makes present this
ancient expectancy of the Messiah
– By sharing in the long preparation for the
Savior's first coming, the faithful renew their
ardent desire for his second coming.
– By celebrating the precursor's birth and
martyrdom, the Church unites
herself to his desire: He
must increase, but I must
decrease.

15. How Advent is Celebrated
• "Each Gospel reading has a distinctive theme: the
Lord's coming at the end of time (First Sunday of
Advent), John the Baptist (Second and Third
Sunday), and the events that prepared immediately
for the Lord's birth (Fourth Sunday). The Old
Testament readings are prophecies about the
Messiah and the Messianic age, especially from the
Book of Isaiah. The readings from an Apostle
contain exhortations and proclamations, in keeping
with the different themes of Advent." (Lectionary
for Mass, "Introduction," chap. 5, par. 93)

16. How Advent is Celebrated
• Advent is characterized by a penitential character
(e.g. purple color) and joyful character (e.g. rose
color)
• “…each one, at a time known to God alone, will be
called to account for his life. This involves a proper
detachment from earthly goods, sincere repentance
for one's errors, active charity to one's neighbour
and above all a humble and confident entrustment to
the hands of God, our tender and merciful Father.”
- Pope Benedict XVI
Angelus, 30 Nov 2008

17. How Advent is Celebrated
• Gaudete Sunday – third Sunday of Advent
– Gaudete is Latin for “Rejoice”
– Break from the penitential character of the season
– St. Paul teaches: "Rejoice in the Lord always.... The
Lord is near" (Phil 4: 4-5).
– Advent is a season of rejoicing because it revives the
expectation of the most joyful event in history: the birth of
the Son of God by the Virgin Mary
– "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!" (Lk 1: 28) - the
angel's announcement to Mary is an invitation to rejoice

18. How Advent is Celebrated
• Advent Wreath
– Band or circle of green foliage surrounding four candles
– Used in prayer - candles lit successively in the four
weeks of Advent
– Circular wreath represents God‟s eternity
– Often present in the parish and at home
– Four candles represent each Sunday of Advent
• Three purple candles - the color of penitence and
fasting as well as the color of royalty to welcome the
Advent of the King
• One rose candle – reflects a lessening emphasis on
penitence and more toward rejoicing at the nearness
of Christ

19. How Advent is Celebrated
• Jesse Tree
– Named for the father of David
– Tree decorated gradually throughout Advent
with symbols or pictures of biblical persons
– Depicts the gradual coming of the Messiah
• Advent Calendars
– Use of stickers or opening a window each day
during Advent to reveal a special picture, theme,
Bible text, etc.

20. Questions?

21. Question
• Why did God choose to send his son as an infant?
– “[There was a] decisive moment at which God knocked
at Mary's heart and, having received her "yes", began to
take flesh, in her and from her.”1
– “In the Grotto of Bethlehem God shows himself to us
as a humble "infant" to defeat our arrogance. Perhaps we
would have submitted more easily to power and wisdom,
but he does not want us to submit; rather, he appeals to
our hearts and to our free decision to accept his love.
He made himself tiny to set us free from that human claim
to grandeur that results from pride. He became flesh
freely in order to set us truly free, free to love him.” 2
- Pope Benedict XVI