Happy New Liturgical Year!

With the season of Advent, the Universal Church begins another year in her liturgical life. So, Happy New Year to everyone! (at least, in the liturgical sense!)
Advent is a season of waiting. It is very apt that we begin our liturgical calendar with advent, for me a sincerity to Jesus' words in the Gospel "Watch and pray." The first part of Advent (from the 1st Sunday of Advent up to December 16), the Church reminds all of us in the liturgy to be ever ready to meet Christ our Lord in the parousia. We are being exhorted to make our hearts ready for the coming of Christ in the end of times. The second part is the more festive one (from December 17 up to December 24), the Church refreshes our memories of the first Christmas morn, when heaven and earth literally met, the moment when God and Man was united in a very physical sense.
So let us make the most out of this holy season. Our advent wreath symbolizes our preparation -- the three violet candles symbolize sorrow for not being whole-hearted in our efforts to prepare for the Lord's coming, yet the single pink candle symbolizes our joy, the joy in the fact that Jesus is indeed coming. We pray then that this holy season of Advent may make our hearts ready to face our Lord in His daily "comings" to our lives, and that we may be worthy to celebrate the memory of His birth. Amen.