Preparing for Advent, and Praying as He Taught Us

It seems strange not to begin the season of Advent right after Thanksgiving this year. The stores are already filled with Christmas decorations, and the beauty of lights brightens the dark, long days of late November. In a certain way, the mood is set to welcome the inner longing for silence and calm that can also be filled with a disposition of prayerfulness. This virtue of prayerfulness is one where Jesus Himself taught us what it “looks like” and “sounds like.” When the pressures of life pressed on Him, He would go away to a remote location. One can’t help but wonder if the apostles “spied” on Him, since they asked Him, “Teach us how to pray.” From this, we heard what His prayer “sounds like”: Our Father who art in heaven… 

I encourage you in the weeks leading up to the celebration of Jesus’ birth into our world, to follow His example and find time to get away and pray, and if the words don’t readily come to your lips, slowly pray as He taught us.