Archdiocese Of St. Louis

The season of Advent is about hopeful expectation as we await Christ’s birth. This season gives us the opportunity to pause and reflect upon the mystery of Christ’s incarnation through the eyes of Mary, Joseph, John the Baptist, and Elizabeth. This season should also call to mind Christ’s second coming at the end of the world, where we will experience the fullness of the mystery of the incarnation with all the saints. These two comings of Christ remind us that we must strive to live rightly here and now. Advent is a time to prayerfully prepare for living out and cooperating with the grace of God in our daily lives. The first symbol on the Jesse Tree, the Apple in the hands of Adam & Eve, marks the beginning of the story of salvation. Their sin is the reason mankind has had to live with sin, and why we need Our Savior. They rebelled and were disobedient, but God continues to love them as He loves each of us. And so, God began to repair the damage they had done by preparing the world for His Son. This is the