St. Matthew the Apostle Catholic Parish in Gahanna, Ohio, recently shared a reflection on God’s love for us. 

“Sunday, Nov. 29, begins our journey through the season of Advent!” Ashley Allwein, parish School of Religion and evangelization director, said in the Nov. 29 bulletin. “With the hustle and bustle before Christmas, I think that Advent often gets forgotten or lost in our culture today.”

Allwein noted that with more years of life, she has come to love the process of preparing for Christ’s arrival and has fallen in love with the season. 

This is the time of the year in which we think and pray about our need for a savior. It can be difficult to remember that we do not need material things but that we do need a savior. Yet we rarely ponder on the deficiency of our human nature. 

“The depth of love God had to humble Himself into mankind... as a BABY, well that is truly overwhelming when you think about it,” Allwein said. “I encourage you to dive deeper into this love that God has for you this Advent.”

Now is the time to think about the reality that God humbled himself to the lowliest of positions in order to rescue us from the grips of sin and our nature to choose the distorted. 

“To help you do this, I invite you to check out our Family Life Office Advent & Christmas Calendar for 2020-21,” Allwein said. “This calendar is a great resource for you and your family to enter into this season of the Church.”

In addition to the calendar providing a guideline for the Advent season, it also offers access to videos, games, crafts and more for the entire family. Rather than spending free time being materialistic or otherwise distracting yourself, consider bringing your spouse and children into the preparation season of Advent. Remember to make time for the Lord this season.