Every year after Thanksgiving, it appears that the world goes crazy with anticipation for Christmas.

The month of December is filled with excitement and chaos. There is shopping, decorating, and partying.

All the busyness and confusion of this world leave us lacking hope and joy that we ought to have during this time of the year.

When Christmas arrives, we can take a breath and reflect on the truth of the season.

There is good news: God is the Creator of the universe, and He made everything out of love!

Sadly, as humans, we fell short of God’s glory and lost our union with Him. But God, in His infinite love for us, had a plan!

In Genesis 3:15, He makes a promise to send us a redeemer, and it is through a woman that He will bring about our salvation.

Our first step during Advent and Christmas is to respond to this great gift of Christ.

Every Christmas, we hear the song “O, Holy Night,” and the words echo truer today than ever: “Long lay the world in sin and error pining; then He appeared, and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices.”  

Never have we seen a time when the world is in need of a savior more than in this present moment. We long to know our true worth and hope!

It seems this might be the perfect time to “get back to basics” during Advent and Christmas, not in a nostalgic or secular way, but for true inspiration on what it means to be women and how to respond to God when He invites us to receive Him into our lives.

Across the Diocese of Madison this past Advent, women gathered to take a moment away prior to Christmas in prayer and fellowship to prepare for the coming of Christ.

In some parishes, it was called “Advent by Candlelight,” in others, it was “Lighting the Way,” but in all places, the themes were common: Women inviting other women to pray and prepare their hearts for Christ to be born anew to them this Christmas.

These events offered women an opportunity to invite other women — friends and family — to enjoy fellowship, share food, sing Advent carols, and hear an inspiring talk to prepare their hearts for the beauty of the Incarnation.

In many instances, the talks were reflections on the Blessed Mother, who acts as a model for all women as she prepared for the birth of Christ.  

Mary is the perfect union of receptivity, generosity, maternity, and virginity, and models for us the supernatural vocation that women have been given.  

We look to you, Blessed Mother, this Christmas. You offer us a “thrill of hope,” and we rejoice in your witness of bearing life and healing into the world as we embrace the Incarnation and the birth of your Son, Jesus.