The name “Advent” is derived from a Latin word which means “coming,” and this season is dedicated to preparing believers to reflect both on the miracle of Christ’s first coming to live among us and on the promise of his second coming as judge and king of the earth.
Advent calls us to repentance as we remember God’s gift of a Savior for sinful humanity, and it reminds us that we are a people of hope who await the return of Christ our Lord.
On each of the four Sundays leading up to Christmas, we light an additional candle in the Advent wreath to portray in a dramatic way our growing hope in the coming of Christ, the light of the world. With hope and joy, with repentance and commitment, we enter again into this season of preparation.