The season of Advent has been all but obliterated by the holiday rush. This is ironic because at the heart of the holiday is spiritual preparation — and that is what Advent is all about. Here are some quotes that describe Advent and explain its spiritual importance.
“At this Christmas when Christ comes, will He find a warm heart? Mark the season of Advent by loving and serving the others with God’s own love and concern.”
― Saint Teresa of Calcutta, Love: A Fruit Always in Season
“Advent creates people, new people.”
— Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“Into this world, this demented inn
in which there is absolutely no room for him at all,
Christ comes uninvited.”
― Thomas Merton
“It is the beautiful task of Advent to awaken in all of us memories of goodness and thus to open doors of hope.”
— Pope Benedict XVI
“I don’t think we’ll understand Advent correctly until we see it as a preparation for a revolution.”
— Bishop Robert Barron
“One response was given by the innkeeper when Mary and Joseph wanted to find a room where the Child could be born. The innkeeper was not hostile; he was not opposed to them, but his inn was crowded; his hands were full; his mind was preoccupied. This§ is the answer that millions are giving today. Like a Bethlehem innkeeper, they cannot find room for Christ. All the accommodations in their hearts are already taken up by other crowding interests. Their response is not atheism. It is not defiance. It is preoccupation and the feeling of being able to get on reasonably well without Christianity.”
― Billy Graham
(Image Credit – Wikimedia Commons)
Thanks. It’s a shame that we need to be reminded; but we need to be reminded.
Everyone does at this time of year … compiling this post was a reminder for me.
Hi again Bill, I ran across this quote last night, which has a lot of relevance to your comment: “Men more frequently require to be reminded than informed.” — Samuel Johnson.
Good quote and good observation.