By Fr. Sean McDermott
Each year within the APA (Anglican Province of America), the Deanery of the Appalachia has published an Advent devotional for parishioners to use each day throughout the Advent season. These have been wonderful resources to help personal devotion at the start of the new liturgical year. Many thanks to Fr. Paul Rivard for compiling and making this happen each year! Here is the prolouge from the devotional:
Advent is one of the two major penitential seasons of the
Church kalendar, and along with the later Lenten fast of
spring, these wintery weeks are meant to serve as a time of
preparation for a feast. It is Christmastide when awestruck
souls should open wide to contemplate the mystery of the
incarnation and spiritually feast upon the endless love of
God displayed in that incomprehensible act of
condescension that blessed all creation in a tiny stall in
Bethlehem. Adventtide, on the other hand, is a time to
prepare. In Christmas we hope to feast on the fruits of the
Spirit - love, joy, and peace. The heart sings of love divine,
joy to the world, and peace on earth with more savor and
sincerity after it has been purified with earnest penitence.
In Advent we intentionally take the time to till and tend to
the soil of our souls in preparation for a plentiful harvest.
Offering to God the daily offices of Morning and Evening
Prayer according to the 1928 Book of Common Prayer is a
fantastic way for Anglicans to add discipline to the Advent
season.
Meditations in this devotional have been contributed by
the APA Deanery of Appalachia along with APA Area Deans,
Canons, Archdeacons, and Bishops. The works follow the
passages appointed in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer
lectionary for Morning and Evening Offices and are meant
to enhance your rule of life for the next weeks. As you
cooperate with the Holy Spirit this Advent, it is my hope
that these meditations serve their intended purpose — to
help you fast in preparation for the feast of Christmastide.
In daily preparing yourself to embrace Christ on the feast of
the Incarnation, may your soul also be set to receive the
Lord at His final advent whenever that day may come.
Father Paul Rivard
Dean of Appalachia, Rector of Saint George the Martyr
Simpsonville, SC