While the focus of Advent is looking forward to Christ’s arrival at Christmas – “Advent” comes from the Latin “adventus,” which means “arrival” – there are three additional feasts and solemnities to honor in this season. The Feast of St. Nicholas on Dec. 6 honors the saint whose story was the basis for Santa Claus. The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception (this year, on Dec. 9) celebrates the doctrine that Mary was conceived completely free of original sin. St. Lucy’s Day on Dec. 13 commemorates a fourth-century virgin martyr who, according to legend, brought food to Christians hiding in the Roman catacombs, wearing a candle-lit wreath on her head to light her way.
Did you know the Diocese of Charlotte offers free, video-based adult faith formation online through Franciscan University’s Catechetical Institute? You can deepen your faith and prepare your heart to encounter Christ this Christmas through “Following Jesus: The Challenge of Discipleship.” This workshop helps us come to know the person of Jesus as our one essential need. It benefits everyone, no matter where they are on their faith journey, as they walk through this season. Through this and other workshops, the CI provides solid Catholic content in a manner that is both substantive and engaging, offering personal formation that is human, intellectual, spiritual and pastoral.