“O Come Let Us Adore Him. O Come Let Us Adore
Him. O Come Let Us Adore Him, Christ the Lord.”
words to the refrain of one of my favorite Christmas hymns, “O Come All Ye Faithful,” invites us.
We are invited to go out and to adore Christ. How fitting is this imagery to celebrate Advent during
your time of service or after your time of service, no matter how many years you are removed from
the experience.
Through service, we are invited into a relationship. With Christ. With ourselves. With those we serve.
And with those with whom we are serving, our volunteer community. What a beautiful gift it is to
have the opportunity, the privilege to be in relationship with those around us in such an intentional
and intimate way. This intentionality does not always make it easy, though. We must, daily, make the
choice to live in this way, to be open to the relationships with those around us.
This Advent, take the time to make that choice to intentionally spend time in relationship with Christ,
with yourself, and with others. With Christ, take time to pray each day and listen to how he is speak-
ing to you through your prayer. With yourself, tune into what makes you happy and what you need
in order to provide self-care in the midst of our busy lives. With others, be patient with those around
you – whether your community members, those who you are working with, or with strangers – allow
yourself to be in relationship with them and see the great work God is doing inside them.
We hope this reflection guide will help aid you in this time of waiting and of anticipation. Four cur-
rent and former volunteers from Catholic Volunteer Network programs have taken the Gospel read-
ings for each Sunday and thoughtfully reflected on them in light of their service experience. They of-
fer ideas for service and prayer to help your Advent journey of waiting and of anticipation this year.
Please know that the prayers of Catholic Volunteer Network and the Catholic Apostolate Center are
with you during this Advent season as we waiting patiently for the joyful coming of Christ, both at
Christmas and at the end of time.
By Monica Thom Konschnik, Catholic Apostolate Center, Catholic Volunteer Network
Board of Directors
Looking for more? Catholic Apostolate Center hosts an extensive library of Advent resources
on their website: www.catholicapostolatecenter.org/advent-resources.html
Advent 2019