ADVENT

Beginning the Church's liturgical year, Advent (from, "ad-venire" in Latin or "to come to") is the season encompassing the four Sundays (and weekdays) leading up to the celebration of Christmas.


The Advent season is a time of preparation that directs our hearts and minds to Christ’s second coming at the end of time and to the anniversary of Our Lord’s birth on Christmas. From the earliest days of the Church, people have been fascinated by Jesus’ promise to come back. But the scripture readings during Advent tell us not to waste our time with predictions. Advent is not about speculation. Our Advent readings call us to be alert and ready, not weighted down and distracted by the cares of this world (Lk 21:34-36). Like Lent, the liturgical color for Advent is purple since both are seasons that prepare us for great feast days. Advent also includes an element of penance in the sense of preparing, quieting, and disciplining our hearts for the full joy of Christmas.


As we prepare for Christmas, the General Instruction of the Roman Missal notes some differences to the Mass that should be observed during the season. For instance, the priest wears violet or purple during Advent, except for the Third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday) when rose may be worn (GIRM, no. 346). Aside from what the priest wears, other aesthetic changes in the Church can include a more modestly decorated altar.


The final days of Advent, from December 17 to December 24, we focus on our preparation for the celebrations of the Nativity of our Lord at Christmas. In particular, the "O" Antiphons are sung during this period and have been by the Church since at least the eighth century. They are a magnificent theology that uses ancient biblical imagery drawn from the messianic hopes of the Old Testament to proclaim the coming of Christ as the fulfillment not only of Old Testament hopes, but of present ones as well.


Advent devotions including the Advent wreath, remind us of the meaning of the season. Our Advent calendar (linked below) can help you fully enter into the season with daily activity and prayer suggestions to prepare you spiritually for the birth of Jesus Christ. 


Welcome to the Immaculate Conception Church Advent Calendar!

We are so glad you’re here.


As the seasons change and the world prepares for the celebration of Christmas, we are reminded that Advent is more than just a countdown it is a sacred time of waiting, watching, and wonder. It is a season of quiet expectation, of preparing our hearts and homes to receive Christ anew.


At Immaculate Conception Church, we invite you to walk this Advent journey with us. Through our online Advent Calendar at iccmadison.com, you will find daily resources to help you grow closer to God and experience the beauty and depth of this holy season.

Each day, we encourage you to:


  • ✝️ Join us for Daily Mass – watch online and unite your heart with Christ in the Eucharist.
  • 📖 Read the Daily Scripture Readings – let God's Word guide your thoughts and actions.
  • 🙏 Pray with Us – discover special prayers, reflections, and devotions to bring peace to your day.


Whether you are new to the faith, returning after time away, or deeply rooted in your spiritual walk, this Advent Calendar is a space for you. A space to pause. To reflect. To remember that in the darkness, a great Light is coming.


Let this be a time not of stress or hurry, but of holy anticipation. With Mary as our guide and model of faith, may we learn to wait with trust, to hope with confidence, and to love with joy.


Come back each day throughout Advent. Be nourished. Be inspired. Be ready.


“Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths.” — Mark 1:3


From all of us at Immaculate Conception Church:
 Welcome. We’re glad you’re here. Let’s journey together toward the joy of Christmas.

JOY!

“The liturgy of Advent…helps us to understand fully the value and meaning of the mystery of Christmas. It is not just about commemorating the historical event, which occurred some 2,000 years ago in a little village of Judea. Instead, it is necessary to understand that the whole of our life must be an ‘advent,’ a vigilant awaiting of the final coming of Christ. To predispose our mind to welcome the Lord who, as we say in the Creed, one day will come to judge the living and the dead, we must learn to recognize him as present in the events of daily life. Therefore, Advent is, so to speak, an intense training that directs us decisively toward him who already came, who will come, and who comes continuously.” – St. John Paul II

Advent invites us to a commitment to vigilance, looking beyond ourselves, expanding our mind and heart in order to open ourselves up to the needs of people, of brothers and sisters, and to the desire for a new world.

Traditionally, Advent wreaths have four candles that represent the four weeks of the season. The subsequent lighting of the candles symbolizes the expectation and hope of our Lord’s coming into the world at Christmas

History of the Nativity Scene

In its present form, the custom of displaying figures depicting the birth of Christ owes its origin to St. Francis of Assisi, who made the Christmas crèche for Christmas Eve of 1223.