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The season of Advent is a gift from God.  It is a time to wait, watch and experience Christ breaking into our ordinary lives  How can we observe Advent and wait for Christ while growing in faith?  Years ago our previous parish priest gave us five simple ways to experience Advent.  These 5 ways stuck with me (Lisa) because they were attainable in the midst of what can be a crazy, busy time leading up to Christmas.  I wanted to share them with you just in case you, like me, need a little boost to get us through these last weeks of Advent.
1) Attend Mass.  In addition to attending Sunday Mass, Advent is a good occasion to try and add an additional Mass to your week.  Daily mass times are varied, so it might be possible to find a mass time near your home or close to work that you can carve out time to attend.
2) Spend time with the Word of God.  A great place to start is with the daily readings.  They can be found online in a missal or reading on an app on your phone or tablet.  During Advent, there are an abundance of devotionals, email lists and apps to help you spend a few minutes daily with the Word.
3)  Make space in your day to Breathe.  Find a moment, maybe when when you are already waiting for something else, driving or folding laundry to invite the Holy Spirit to be with you.  Take a deep breath, remember that God is always with us and watch for Him moving in your life.
4) Pray as a family.  Make a point to pray at mealtime or at night together with a specific intention towards waiting or light your Advent candles on Sunday as a family while you offer a prayer.  My personal favorite is to find a short Advent devotional to pray daily with the kids.
5)  Be surprised in the morning that you wake up.  If you accomplish nothing else on this list for Advent, do this.  When you wake up each morning, be thankful for the simple gift of life every day.
Advent is the most difficult season of the year for me, so these five simple ways to experience Advent really work in my day to day life.