Preparing to Prepare

Tomorrow is the start of Advent! We get to spend nearly four weeks preparing our hearts for the Coming of Our Lord!

As a friend, M has explained at our local COGS Atrium, we often prepare our homes in expectation of company. During Advent, we have an opportunity to prepare our hearts- our soul's home- for the best company ever!

Preparing one's heart does take some ... well, preparation. I can't just start tomorrow and know what to do. So over the past month or so, (plus over the past years) I have casually contemplated what it means to prepare our hearts for Jesus. Some ideas are:

• To track time by keeping an Advent calendar ~ traditional chocolate candies hidden inside a cardboard box with little doors!
• To accompany the chocolate adventure with a felt Jesse Tree
• To mark the last 7 days of Advent with an * O Antiphon House*
• I printed up a small liturgical calendar from Family Centered Press and Blog (where I order my appointment book for the school year)
• And a blank template for the children to color in each day. After all, the liturgical 'new year' begins with the first day of Advent.
• The children, dh and I discussed how to prepare our hearts for Jesus. We sang "Prepare now! Prepare now! A way for the Lord!" and "Come Lord Jesus! Come and be born in our hearts" both songs we all know from Atrium. This helped us frame our minds around what we are actually doing.
• We collectively made a list of things we can consider for the preparation of our hearts:

1. Less junk food ~ More healthy cooking!
2. No purchase of toys during Advent ( this from Little Brother, who is obsessed with buying toys!!)
3. Mass & Adoration ~ especially on Wednesdays at our Franciscan parish of the Sacred Heart and on Fridays at the Sisters' Chapel at the Community of St. John
4. Keep our home clean!
5. Less screen time (for us this is TV, DVDs, computers)
6. Family prayers at bedtime- which we are already pretty good at.
7. Outdoor Hour Challenge!
8. Embrace Silence!
9. Pray the entire Rosary over the course of a week ~ which I am doing anyway as a member of the Rosary Confraternity. So now the kids and I get to say the Rosary outloud, together!

PREPARE A WAY!

Come Lord Jesus! Come and be born in our hearts!