Advent

Advent wreath

Browse the collection of Advent articles for catechists from the contributors at Catechist’s Journey. Highlights include:

Actively Waiting for Advent—Free Prayer Packet
The Jesse Tree—Free PowerPoint Presentation
Advent Bookmarks
9 Advent Attitudes by Joe Paprocki
Advent in the Classroom by Barb Gilman
The Advent Prayer Grab Bag by Denise Gorss
Advent: Of Elves or Angels? by Julianne Stanz
Waiting and Preparation: Teaching Advent and Christmas by Joyce Donahue
Waiting Is a Lesson in Advent by Lisa Jones

For even more Advent ideas, including the e-mail series Reimagining Advent with the Examen, visit Advent Resources from Loyola Press.

Fourth Week of Advent (Year C): The Plane! The Plane! Our Help Has Arrived!

Joe Paprocki

Recently, I had the opportunity to see the HBO movie, My Dinner With Hervé, in which actor Peter Dinklage plays the late actor Hervé Villechaize, who was best known for his role as Tattoo in the TV series Fantasy Island. The character of Tattoo was most famous for excitedly shouting, “The plane! The plane!” whenever guests were arriving to the island. With that in mind, imagine how you would react if you were stranded on […]

Third Week of Advent (Year C): This Is Really Happening! Wipe That Frown Off Your Face and Stop Worrying!

Joe Paprocki

Welcome to the third installment of this series on the Scripture readings for Advent, Year C. I mentioned in the first installment that, as I reflected on the Advent Scripture readings, I thought of the image of castaways on a deserted island, feeling hopeless and abandoned. The readings for the First Week of Advent reassured us that “help is on the way,” and the readings for the Second Week of Advent told us that we […]

Second Week of Advent (Year C): Pack Up Your Things, Come Out of Your Caves, and Light a Bonfire!

Joe Paprocki

Welcome to our second installment of this series on the Scripture readings for Advent, Year C. I mentioned in the first installment that, as I reflected on the Advent Scripture readings, I thought of the image of castaways on a deserted island, feeling hopeless and abandoned. The readings for the First Week of Advent reassured us that “help is on the way!” The Scripture readings for the Second Sunday of Advent tell us that, while […]

Advent in a Parish

John Masterson

This long-time Texas boy has recently moved north to Minnesota, and two of the joys I have felt as a result of this move are the experiences of watching the leaves change color in the fall (something I did not see much growing up) and the snowfall of winter. (Within just the last few days, I have witnessed more snow than I have in the past several years combined back home.) These changes remind me […]

First Week of Advent (Year C): Help Is On the Way!

Joe Paprocki

Welcome to the first installment of our Advent series for the 2019 liturgical year (Year C), which begins on Sunday, December 2, 2018. Each week, I will draw a theme from the Sunday Scripture readings, offer some reflections for your enrichment, and provide some suggestions and resources for bringing this theme to life in your learning setting. As I reflected on the Scripture readings for the Sundays of Advent this year, I thought of the […]

How to Host a Parish Advent Wreath-Making Workshop

Marie Noel

The Advent Wreath Workshop is an event I happily inherited from my predecessor at the Church of St. Clare in Staten Island, NY, where I serve as Pastoral Associate and Director of Religious Education. Every year, we invite parishioners on the Saturday before the First Sunday of Advent to gather and make an Advent wreath for their home. This event is a popular activity in our parish. I have met parishioners who have been doing this for many years as […]

Preparing to Journey Together Through Advent

Joe Paprocki

Believe it or not, we are once again preparing to enter into the season of Advent in just a few short weeks! As always, it is a privilege to walk that journey with you here at Catechist’s Journey. This year, Advent begins on Sunday, December 2, 2018, and we enter into Year C of the Lectionary cycle, which means that we will primarily be hearing the Good News according to St. Luke. Here are the […]

O Come Emmanuel - By Einsideln (http://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/en/list/one/sbe/0611) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Emmanuel, the Great Catechist

Joe Paprocki

During Advent, we sing the traditional hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” a beautiful song based on the “O” Antiphons from the Liturgy of the Hours (Vespers) for the octave (eight days) before Christmas (beginning December 17). One verse of that song is of particular interest to catechists, because it speaks of our longing for being taught to live according to God’s way: O come, Thou Wisdom from on high, Who orderest all things mightily; To us the […]

The Wandering Wise Men and Other Advent Traditions

Barb Gilman

Christmas seems to start earlier and earlier every year. I am thankful that my school waits to celebrate Christmas, opting for a hearty Advent celebration instead. My classroom gets into the Advent celebration by including many fun traditions and service projects revolving around Advent. My classroom has an Advent wreath, and we use the Loyola Press Children’s Advent Calendar. Our school also has an all-school Advent wreath prayer service where we sing and pray together. […]

Pieter Brueghel the Younger - St. John the Baptist Preaching

John the Baptist’s Marketing Strategies

Joe Paprocki

Whenever I propose an idea for a new book to Loyola Press, one of the questions that I am asked by our marketing people is, “How is this different from anything else that’s on the market?” The better job I do of differentiating my work from anything else available, the better chance the book has of being successful. Is it possible that John the Baptist had a degree in marketing? When you consider his message, his […]