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The Advent Crown helps the rather complicated story of Advent to shine out in the winter. Fashioned from a simple wreath of yew or holly, it symbolises movement through time by its five candles. The first, lit on the first Sunday in Advent, represents the church's Patriarchs. The second, lit on the second Sunday, represents the Prophets; the third, John the Baptist (these three are purple). The fourth, pink, represents Mary mother of God and the central white candle, lit on Christmas morning, Jesus. |
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Not only does the Advent Crown yearly help us to look back to early times and forward to the birth of the Christ child, but its circular shape also brings us round to the same point we started from. It reminds us that the only time we really have is the present. |
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Advent looks forward to the arrival of the kingdom of God but do we ask ourselves often enough, where is the kingdom of God in our lives? Rather than passively waiting for it to arrive, we should be working together to build a better world. We can do this in our own communities, with the people we know and meet every day. Mary gave birth to Christ but we all have the divine child in us to bring forth. |