The Advent Wreath

The Advent Season is the beginning of a new liturgical year for the Church.  It is also our preparation for the BIG event that is Christmas Day.  This year the Advent Season starts on November 28, First Sunday of Advent.

We see a beautiful symbolism of Advent in churches and chapels, including most homes and offices, in the Advent Wreath. It is also one of the most popular traditions during the Advent Season.

Each part of the Advent Wreath symbolizes our spiritual preparation for the birth of the world's Messiah, Jesus Christ on Christmas Day.  The Advent Wreath is made up of various evergreens traditionally in a circular shape symbolizing eternal life.  Also, the circle of the wreath, which has no beginning or end, depicts the eternity of God, the immortality of the soul, and the everlasting life found only in Christ, the eternal Word of the Father.

The four candles in the Advent Wreath refer to the four weeks (or four Sundays) of Advent.  According to tradition, each week represents one hundred years, to sum up to the four thousand years from the time of Adam and Eve until the birth of the Savior. Each candle is lit on each Sunday of Advent.

Three of the candles are color purple and one is color rose.  In particular, the purple candles symbolize  the prayer, penance, and preparatory sacrifice, and the good works the faithful undertake at this time in preparation for Christ's birth.

The rose candle is lit on the third Sunday of Advent, which is called "Gaudete Sunday", or the Sunday of rejoicing.  It is so because the faithful are now at the midpoint of Advent by this time, when their preparation is now half over and they are close to Christmas Day.

The progressive lighting of the candles symbolizes the expectation and hope surround our Lord's first coming into the world and the anticipation of His second coming to judge the living and the dead at the end of time.

BLESSING OF THE ADVENT WREATH:

The following prayer maybe used to bless the Advent Wreath:

"O God, by whose word all things are sanctified, pour forth Thy blessing upon this wreath, and grant that we who use it may prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ and may receive from Thee abundant graces, who livest and reignest forever. Amen.

PRAYERS FOR THE LIGHTING OF THE ADVENT WREATH: 

(Usually at the start of Sunday Mass)

1st Sunday of Advent:

Father, as we begin our Advent pilgrimage, we light a candle of Hope. Grant us the courage to hope: hope for Your presence, hope for Your peace, hope for Your promise. Amen.

2nd Sunday of Advent:

Father, as we journey down the Advent road, we re-light the candle of Hope, and we light the candle of Peace.

Grant us the courage to make peace: peace in our hearts, peace in our homes, and peace in our communities. Amen.

3rd Sunday of Advent:

Father, at the height of our Advent walk, we re-light the candles of Hope and Peace, and we light the candle of Joy.

Grant us the courage to experience joy in the hope of the Savior's coming: joy in the face of apathy, joy in the face of sorrow, joy in the face of uncertainty. Amen.

4th Sunday of Advent:

Father, as our Advent pilgrimage draws to a close, we re-light the candles of Hope, Peace, and Joy. And we light the candle of Love.

Grant us the courage to share Your love: love for life and all creation; love for sinners and saints; love for the poor and the little ones.  We thank You for the hope Your Son gives us, for peace He bestows, for the joy Your Spirit pours into our hearts, and for Your love that redeems us and shows us the way. Amen.

Finally, may the Advent Wreath in our churches, chapels, offices and homes remind us that Christ is the Light that came into our world to dispel the darkness of sin and to radiate the truth and love of God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!