Advent Arrives!

At Vespers this evening, the season of Advent begins. For many of us, it seems as though we’re still living through a long Lent. Francine and I have more or less been locked down since March, only venturing outside for our daily walks, store expeditions, and church.

Yesterday we pulled the “Advent box” out of the garage and began decorating the house. I’ll be figuring out where to put an Advent wreath in the chapel later today. I’ve come to the end of my breviary’s 2020 Ordo. And yet, none of it seems real, somehow. The days since lockdown began drag interminably, but the months have flown by.

Since 2015, our (former) parish of Holy Rosary in Tacoma celebrated chanted solemn Vespers on Sunday evenings during Advent. With the closure of our “non-viable” parish, there is now nowhere in our county that celebrates Advent Vespers. Well, that’s progress I guess. It’s just another moment of heartbreak in this long horrible process we’ve had to endure. More grieving.

Instead, I’ll be saying Vespers in my chapel on Sundays, or possibly in the pews of Saint Patrick Church as we wait for the 7pm Sunday Mass to begin.

Behold, the Name of the Lord comes from afar, and His glory fills all the earth.

(Magnificat Antiphon for I Vespers on the First Sunday of Advent, Monastic Diurnal)

Not sure exactly what Advent is? Here’s a two-minute snapshot.