If you are anything like me, the holiday season is a bit overwhelming. I love seeing all of my family and friends, and the food and sweets are an added bonus, but all the commotion and the price tags that come with it can turn me into a bit of grinch sometimes. I can sometimes catch myself thinking, “Can we just fast forward to New Year's Day and skip all of this hustle and bustle?”  It’s at these moments when I really appreciate the spirit of Advent.

Advent is all about preparation that allows us to reorient and focus on what the holidays are all about: Christ’s coming and Second Coming! 

This reorientation and focus allows me to put all of the stress of the holidays into its proper perspective and provides me with a bit of grounding that allows me to enjoy the season instead of just getting through the season. This year, my Advent companions are the three Magi, and hopefully, two of the tips they provide can help you and me appreciate this time of preparation.

Follow the Signs

The Magi were wise men who journeyed from their far-off homes in the East to pay their respects to a soon to be born king.  Unlike now, they didn’t have Google Maps to help them along the way, but they did have a few things. They had the knowledge of the Scriptures that provided a general location of their destination and a Star that guided them to their destination.

It must have seemed daunting to set out on such a journey across mountains, rivers, and deserts with the little information that they had, but courageously, they set out nonetheless. Life can present us with similar circumstances. Sometimes we may know where we want to go, but we may not know how we are going to get there. It’s times like this where I look for the signs God is sending me.

For some, that destination may be trying to find the peace of Christ when the demands of the holidays and the stress that comes with them threaten to rob you of the joy of the season. For others, the destination may be finding ways to share the joy of the season with others around you. Some of you may be in the same boat as me, trying to find the joy of the season in the absence of a loved one who is no longer with us to celebrate.

One of the cool things about the human brain is that it scans the world around us for patterns, and once it recognizes the patterns, it actively searches to discover more and more connections for those patterns. Like the Magi, we can discover the signs in our life of God’s presence and guidance that allow us to truly participate in the hope of Christ’s coming. One way that I’m more actively search these signs is to be more attentive to things that I am thankful for. That’s why this Advent, I am going to look for one or two things from each day that I am thankful for that I can offer up to God in prayer. Hopefully, the more I practice looking for those things to be thankful for, I’ll be more focused on the positive things of this holiday season. 

Meaningful Gifts 

The Magi didn’t leave their homes empty-handed. They brought with them gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These gifts were not merely material but also symbolized the mission of Christ for the world and our lives. The gold testified to Christ’s kingship, the frankincense indicated Christ’s role as the high priest, and the myrrh prophesied Christ’s dying and rising. These gifts should inspire us to be more present, pun intended, this holiday season.

I know that for myself, I am tempted to think more about the things that go into an event than actually experiencing the event.  Sometimes, I become too distracted by what needs to be done that I’m too exhausted to enjoy myself when the event finally arrives. It’s times like this that I remind myself that Christ’s name of Immanuel means “God with us”, and one way where I make more room at the inn for Christ this season is by spending more time with him. One way I can spend more time with him is by meeting Christ in the sacraments such as reconciliation and the mass. Another way I can spend more time with Christ is by recognizing Christ in other people. I’m hoping to accomplish this recognition of encountering Christ in others by reminding myself that the people I encounter or will be encountering are the focus of the season rather than the food, presents, or decorations that are the symbols of the season.