The month of December is very busy for all of us. We have Christmas shopping to do, houses to decorate, parties to plan and attend, and family gatherings and meals to orchestrate. These activities are important to us, and help us celebrate a joyful time in our year, a time to share the love of family and friends. Sometines all of the secular preparations we take on can make the season feel overwhelming, and leave little time or energy to remember what the season is really about.
 
Advent should primarily be a season of prayerful anticipation of the birth of our Lord, Jesus. We often talk about the coming of the Kingdom of God, and we can profess that Jesus is the Kingdom of God. We can say we live in an "already, but not yet" time. The Kingdom has already come to us with the birth of Jesus, and the Kingdom of God lives among us by virtue of Christ's resurrection, and the grace of the Holy Spirit. The Kingdom is not yet fully realized, and our hopes for the peace and joy of the full manifestation of the Kingdom will be fulfilled when Jesus comes again in all His glory. Advent is a season of hope.

I hope and pray that we can all spend some time on what is most important this Advent. Spend time in prayer, read the sacred scriptures, receive the Sacraments, particularly the Holy Eucharist, and perform acts of charity. Perhaps the time we spend on spiritual things will help make the secular things we have to do seem much less overwhelming.

  Advent and Christmas are two of the holiest seasons of the Church year. In many ways, we become more the people Jesus calls us to be during the joys of the seasons. I wish all of you a prayerful Advent Season as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus on Christmas day. May your Advent and Christmas seasons be full of God's grace and blessings.

More than 2,000 years ago, Jesus was born to fulfill a mission: to save us from sin and death by his death and resurrection. Christmas, which takes place on December 25 every year, is a time when we remember the birth of Jesus and reflect on God’s amazing generosity. It’s a time of joyful celebration and love. Catholics eagerly anticipate Christmas by spending the four weeks prior (a season called Advent) preparing for the coming of Jesus.

The History of Christmas

The story of Christmas is captured in the nativity scene displays you see during the Christmas season. More than 2,000 years ago, Jesus’ mother, Mary, and her husband, Joseph, traveled to Bethlehem and needed a place to stay for the night. There was no room for them at the inn, so they stayed in a stable nearby. Jesus was born there, and Mary placed him in a manger.

The Gospel tells us that angels shared the Good News of Jesus’ birth with shepherds who were watching their flocks that night. The shepherds hurried to the stable to see Jesus. Later, a group of wise men, or magi, were led by a star to Jesus. They offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

During the Christmas season we can all take some time to reflect on the birth of Jesus and the great love God showed us by sending his son to earth. We can follow the example of the magi and shepherds by welcoming Jesus into our lives.

When Is Christmas?

Christmas Day is celebrated on December 25. The Christmas season, however, begins with Christmas Eve Mass on December 24 and lasts until the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. (This year the feast is January 8, 2018.)

Christmas is Monday, December 25, 2017.

Christmas is preceded by a four-week season called Advent, in which Catholics anticipate and prepare for the birth of Jesus.

The Twelve Days of Christmas

The Catholic Church celebrates the season of Christmas over a span of twelve days. The twelve days of Christmas begin on December 25 and end on January 5, the day before the feast of the Epiphany (which celebrates the day when the magi discovered Jesus). These two important feast days and the twelve days of Christmas give us time to celebrate Jesus’ birth at Mass and discover how we can bring his love to people in our everyday lives.

Let your goodness, Lord, appear to us, that we, made in your image, may conform ourselves to it. In our own strength we cannot image your majesty, power and wonder; nor is it fitting for us to try. But your mercy reaches from the heavens, through the clouds, to the earth below. You have come to us as a small child, but you have brought us the greatest of all gifts, the gift of your eternal love. Caress us with your tiny hands, embrace us with your tiny arms, and pierce our hearts with your soft, sweet cries.

– St. Bernard of Clairvaux