Love is the opposite of hatred. Love is a selfless desire to do good. Hatred is a self-centered desire to do harm. The "Christmas spirit" of love can camouflage the real hatred in our hearts. But Advent reorients us to real love.
Bethlehem
Advent 2024 Third Sunday: Truth
The trappings of the holidays try to convince us that all is well when in reality it is not. But Advent reminds us that these are but falsehoods. Truth, instead, is embodied in the baby born to Mary of Nazareth in the town of Bethlehem in Judea.
Advent 2024 Second Sunday: Light
Light is the opposite of darkness. Light symbolizes all that is good. Darkness all that is evil. Life can look pretty dark these days so Advent invites us to first acknowledge darkness that we might realize how desperately we need light.