Hello friends. Today, as we begin our poetry-guided Advent retreat, the Church calls us to contemplate the virtue of hope. So, for the next five days, I’ve chosen poems that illuminate that virtue: what we hope for, who we hope for, what hope looks like, an and what hope really means. At the end of the week, on Friday, I’ll tie all these random bits of beauty and truth together with a few thoughts of my home. Now, for today’s poem, which is Christina Rosetti’s “The Sunday Before Advent”
The Sunday Before Advent
by Christina Rosetti
The end of all things is at hand. We all
Stand in the balance trembling as we stand;
Or if not trembling, tottering to a fall.
The end of all things is at hand.
O hearts of men, covet the unending land!
O hearts of men, covet the musical,
Sweet, never-ending waters of that strand!
While Earth shows poor, a slippery rolling ball,
And Hell looms vast, a gulf unplumbed, unspanned,
And Heaven flings wide its gates to great and small,
The end of all things is at hand.
Roundup: The First Week of Advent
For many years now, the first week of Advent is a bit of a catch up week for my family, as we usually spend this Sunday driving back from my hometown in Illinois. The next few days will be full of unpacking and laundry and restoring order in the house. It’s amazing how unpacking a minivan can upend a home.
Accordingly, this week will be a simple one, where my family eases into the Advent season. Here is what we will be doing in our home this week.
Prayer and Devotions:
Before we left, I dug out the Advent wreath and candles, so that will be waiting for us on the kitchen table when we walk in the door. Beginning tomorrow (since we’ll be home so late today), we’ll light the candle each night before dinner and sing the first verse of “O’ Come, O’ Come, Emmanuel.” The kids love this, and it is an easy way to incorporate Advent prayer into our week. If your family or roommates are not all together for dinner, you could alternately do this over breakfast or right before bed.
Saints and Feasts
There are so many wonderful feast days throughout Advent, but trying to celebrate them all in a significant way would cost me my sanity. We do, however, love to commemorate St. Nicholas Day, so today, I’ll be ordering chocolate coins from Amazon, and on the night of December 5, the kids will set out their shoes for St. Nick. The next morning, they’ll find those chocolate coins, along with couple other small gifts intended to help us celebrate this season. Those gifts always include a Christmas themed book for each child, plus one other thing. In the past we’ve done things like Christmas pajamas, snow shovels, and cheap sleds—all things that we wanted them to have at the start of December, not the end. This year, we’re giving each child a special Christmas mug of their own, with a little package of hot chocolate in each.
Decorating
I take almost the whole of Advent to decorate my house. It started out as a practical way to decorate a house with three small children, but it’s become another way I prepare my heart for Christmas, slowly layering in tangible, visible signs of beauty and joy as December 25 approaches. This week, we’ll start by putting up our main tree on St. Nicholas Day—not decorating it, just putting it up. I’ll also start hanging wreaths and setting up Nativity sets.
And that’s the first week of Advent here. I pray it’s a blessed one for all of us.
Before you go, just a reminder that throughout Advent, the daily poems and Sunday roundups will be free for all subscribers. The Friday essays, however, which tie the poems together with the week’s theme, along with the special Advent and Christmas recipes I’ll be sharing, are only for full subscribers. Until December 7, you can upgrade your subscription for 35 percent less than normal. Along with having full access to the Advent retreat, you’ll also have full access to the archives and all posts for one year. I want this retreat to be as affordable as possible for everyone, so hopefully this helps.
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