Advent begins Nov. 29: a short guide to the season

The First Sunday of Advent falls on Nov. 29 this year, which begins a new liturgical year. Advent always includes the four Sundays before Christmas.

The season has two parts. Until Dec. 16, the readings look ahead to Christ's second coming at the end of time. From Dec. 17 to Christmas Eve, they turn to preparing for the celebration of his birth at Bethlehem. The Church's color is violet, with rose vestments allowed on the Third Sunday, Gaudete Sunday, which falls on Dec. 13 this year.

Advent is a time of joyful expectation more than a second Lent, but the Church encourages prayer, confession, and works of charity. Familiar customs include the Advent wreath, which adds a candle each week, and the Jesse tree, which walks through salvation history from creation to the birth of Christ.

Two dates fall in early December. The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, the patronal feast of the United States, is on Tuesday, Dec. 8, and it is a holy day of obligation. Our Lady of Guadalupe follows on Saturday, Dec. 12.

Locally, the St. Pius X Council of Catholic Women is holding an Advent retreat on Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m. in the Martha Room, according to the parish bulletin. We will add other parish Advent events to the calendar as they are announced.