The Archdiocese of Allentown celebrated the first Sunday of Advent, a time where the church remembers the coming of the messiah in the person of Jesus Christ, marked each Sunday by the lighting of a candle. 

There are four Sundays of Advent, beginning following Thanksgiving and it is an anticipatory season in the church.

“On this First Sunday of Advent, we pray:

Immaculate Mary, mother of my Savior and Queen of Heaven, I ask you to strengthen my faith this Advent. The Lord’s coming found you ready. The angel that announced His coming received a decisive and courageous 'yes' from you: ‘Be it done to me according to Thy word.’

I ask that you pray to your Divine Son so that He may come into the heart of all now waiting in darkness. Give us that same obedience, humility, and trust with which you offered yourself to God, so that we may share in that eternal happiness which you now experience. Amen,” the Diocese of Allentown posted on Facebook.

According to Christianity.com, the word “advent” comes from the Latin “adventus” which means “coming.”

“It originated as a time when early Christians would prepare for the baptisms of new Christians on the Epiphany. The Advent season also anticipated the Magi visiting baby Jesus, Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River and Jesus’ first miracle at the wedding in Cana. Christians used the Advent season as a 40 period of fasting and prayer. Advent was not directly linked to Christ’s birth at Christmas until the Middle Ages.”

On the first Sunday of Advent, the Catholic Church prays for hope and remembers the hope that we have through the promises of God, most clearly through the person of Christ. Throughout the season of Advent, Catholics are encouraged to pray and prepare their hearts for the symbolic coming of Christ.

In the Catholic Church, the Advent wreath features three purple candles, two for the first two Sundays of Advent, followed by a pink candle on the third Sunday and concluding with another purple candle on the final Sunday of Advent. 

According to DailyPress.com, “The purple symbolizes preparation and repentance. The circular wreath symbolizes God’s eternal nature. The pink candle, which is lit on the third Sunday of Advent, signifies that the waiting period is almost over."