From the Director of Sacred Music & Liturgy - December

Greetings brothers and sisters in Christ! This month, I thought I’d share with you some Advent trivia that you can spring on your friends at all of your (virtual) Christmas (er, Advent) parties.

1) The word “Advent” comes from the Latin phrase ad venio, meaning “to come to.” This is the season that begins the Church’s liturgical year, during which we both recall His first coming at the Incarnation and anticipate His second coming in glory at the end of time.

2) Advent ranges in length from 21 to 28 days each year, depending on the date of the Sunday nearest to the Feast of St. Andrew (November 30th), which can be as early as November 27th or as late as December 3rd.

3) In preparation for Christmas, some Catholics pray the St. Andrew Prayer, which is traditionally recited 15 times per day from the Feast of St. Andrew until Christmas. I have some friends who make this prayer the lock screen background on their smartphones so that they are reminded to pray it whenever they pick up their phones.
“Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires [here mention your requests] through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ and of His blessed Mother. Amen.”

4) The name for the Third Sunday of Advent, “Gaudete Sunday,” comes from the first words of the Introit Proper for that day: Gaudete in Domino semper...“Rejoice in the Lord always!” The rose-colored vestments used on this day signal the joyful expectation with which we await the birth of Christ.

Praying you have a blessed Advent,
Daniel