We know the birth of the Lord is an accomplished fact. What we do in Advent is prepare to celebrate his Incarnation—and thus our salvation—and to reflect on how Christ’s reign is still to be fulfilled.

Action heroes, credit cards, and Christmas Day. What do these three things have in common? They provide instant gratification for our chronic desire to see results.

James Earl Jones has one of the most distinctive voices in Hollywood (think Darth Vader in Star Wars, Mufasa in The Lion King, and “This is CNN”). Yet you might be surprised to learn that as a child he stuttered terribly and dreaded public speaking.

We knew eventually it would happen again, but we never knew exactly when. When we moved into our bungalow we soon discovered that most of the basements on our block would flood whenever the rains fell too quickly—including ours.

My mother never had difficulty staying awake—she would wait up for every family member until they were home safe in their beds.

Gathered together to rejoice in the house of the Lord, we beg pardon for our sins.

It is Advent again. We call this time Advent because it reminds us what comes from God for the creation of his Kingdom on Earth.