This time of year we are bombarded by many different lists of Christmas gift ideas – instead, I thought I would put together a list of ideas of spiritual prep for Advent! While we may find it difficult to fit in a lot each day, it is amazing how much impact small habits can have. Even 1% effort can make a huge difference.

On that note, the most fundamental way to keep Advent is to celebrate the four Advent Sundays! This is what outlines the season, and is reflected in the tradition of the Advent wreath (one candle for each Sunday). Fittingly, 1% of our week is 100 minutes – enough time for Mass even including preparation/travel. The readings of the four weeks are chosen especially to prepare for Christmas, and the connection with the community is good for us.

If you want to have an even more transformative experience, I encourage you to extend this “1% challenge” into the weekdays as well! That amounts to roughly 15 minutes per day. This is a goal that is pretty achievable even with a busy schedule. We often find that we spend at least this much time per day on low-quality time (e.g. social media) anyways!

Where might we find the 15 minutes? Classic times are during the morning, during lunch break, or in the evening. For some it may work to make this time right before bed, although for others it may be a time of too much drowsiness (or at risk of just falling asleep in the middle!). So, in the evening it might work better to schedule it just after some other activity concludes (e.g. after work/school, after dinner, right after the kids go to bed, etc). Other ideas might be during some activity when our body is occupied but our mind is able to engage in some real prayer/reflection. For example – during an easy drive, during a walk, or during simple chores (like folding laundry). 

What can we do during these 15 minutes? Here is a list of ideas-

• Attend a daily Mass (these are simpler than a weekend Mass, usually closer to 20 minutes, and deepen our Scriptural dive into Advent texts)
• Pray the rosary (especially reflecting on the Joyful mysteries)
• Spiritual reading (e.g., the daily Mass readings, a devotional, or the writings of a saint)
• Parish small group study (fittingly four meetings for four weeks! Available here – https://www.stmalachyschool.org/s/Parish-Mission-Small-Group-Study.pdf)
• Pray the Angelus in the morning, noon, and evening (after spending a couple of minutes reflecting on God’s action in our life that day, basically three sets of 5 minutes – Angelus | USCCB)
• Quiet meditation in front of religious art (e.g. a Nativity scene), perhaps with journaling (reflecting on God’s role in one’s life, goals, obstacles, intentions, brainstorming, etc). 
• Audio options – podcasts, formed.org (free through our parish subscription)
• Video options – formed.org, Chosen tv series
• Works of mercy idea – place straw/paper next to the empty manger in your family Nativity scene. After a work of mercy, secretly add the straw to the pile. At the end of Advent you will have prepared a soft resting place for the infant Jesus, as well as have a visual representation of moments of grace.

Whatever you choose, I hope you have a very blessed Advent, and an even more Merry Christmas!