Waiting

Abbey Dupuy
Nov 21, 2025
2 min read

As the year winds to a close, all around us the signs of celebration are appearing...lights on rooftops, wreaths on doors and lightposts, displays in store windows. Our inboxes and mailboxes fill with notices of sale prices and shipping deadlines. The restaurants and coffee shops start offering pumpkin spice lattes and peppermint-flavored everything.

Everywhere we go, we can hear the sounds of the season...Rudolph and Silver Bells and It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas (Even Though It Is Still Weeks Away), from pretty much the day after Halloween.

It's a predictable rhythm, and there's something almost comforting about it. People seem to smile a little more this time of year, and maybe the familiar music has something to do with that.

The Church has its own rhythm in this season, and it calls us to something different.

As we begin a brand-new liturgical year with the First Sunday of Advent, the readings speak of repentance, of conversion of heart, of renewal and rejoicing and preparation. While they might not be as warm and cozy as songs about chestnuts roasting on an open fire, the Church has a soundtrack, too - hymns and chants that call us into that spirit of preparation and waiting.

There's no prohibition for Catholics against listening to Christmas music at any time of year. The Incarnation is always worth celebrating. If you find yourself wanting something else this year, though...if you'd like to be surrounded by music that lines up with what we are praying in the liturgy in this season, try out our Advent playlists. There are links below to playlists on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Music.

As you listen, join our community in praying this Advent prayer together:

Emmanuel,

Creator of the Universe,

You stepped out of eternity to be born in time.

Surrounded by the same stars you numbered and set in their courses,

you could have kept your distance

But instead, you came among us, as one of us,

to free us from all that separates us from you.

As we invite you in, again, to expand our hearts,

give us the courage to put aside anything

that takes up the space

that you should fill.