The Importance of Advent  
The world skips Advent and celebrates the Christmas Season during the Advent Season. Because our society avoids self reflection, it skips Advent. Our society’s preparations for Christmas is making sure all the cards are sent, the decorations up and the shopping done. It is all focused on the day of December 25th.
Advent gives us time to slow down and take a look at ourselves—where we are going. As Christian, its gives us a vision of our lives, reminds us of God’s actions in the lives of our ancestors in the past and shows us the new possibilities of what our life can be.
The vision of life that Advent gives us is twofold; it looks back to the first coming of Christ at Bethlehem, and it looks to the future when Christ will come again. In the interval between these two events we find meaning for our life as a Christian.
First, we celebrate Christ-become-human. We view his life and experience his presence as a human being in our history. Christ came to show us what life can and should be. He gave us true and valid principles by which we can live true and valid lives. But Jesus knew that the human heart could not live in isolation. He formed the Church around the concept of a people held together by love. In that community we discover unlimited possibilities and meaning. Alone we can do nothing. Together we find real meaning.
When Christ left this earth, he did not abandon us. He remains with us in his Spirit, the Church, the sacraments, the Scriptures and each other. He lives in community with us and keeps his vision of life before us.
When Christ comes again, his presence will no longer be hidden behind the signs and symbols of the liturgy or the words of the Scriptures. His presence among us will be revealed in all its fullness, a presence that will never end, a presence that will perfect and complete our community.
This is the "greater significance" of Advent. In these few short weeks, we take in the sweeping panorama of time - from Christ's birth to his Second Coming. The season of Advent brings us the magnificent vision of life and hope for the future given to us by Christ. It redefines what is important
—not by the values of the world—but by the image of Christ.
Advent is our time first to become reflective so we know the direction that Christ calls us to and then to become more involved, more caught up in the meaning and the possibilities of life as a Christian community. Thus we are preparing not only for Christmas Day and Season, but also for Christ’s Second Coming. This means that when he comes again, we will be awake and watchful. He will not find us asleep.
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