(LifeSiteNews) — On this week’s episode of The Bishop Strickland Show, Bishop Joseph Strickland shares how to best prepare our hearts and minds this Advent for the celebration of our Savior’s birth and for His second coming, which will happen at “an hour you do not expect.”
Since Advent kicks off the beginning of a new liturgical year, Bishop Strickland advises us to treat it as such by considering a “spiritual New Year’s resolution,” going to confession, and asking ourselves how to live closer to Christ.
His Excellency reminds us that Advent is a penitential time, an occasion to “back off from the usual routines of life, [do] a little penance, pray more.” Just as we undertake penance during Lent to prepare for our Lord’s resurrection, so should we undertake penance during Advent to prepare for His birth and eventual second coming.
“I would really encourage, especially with all the concerns that we have in the nation and the world, in the Church, … to emphasize prayer and fasting during this Advent season,” Bishop Strickland says. “The Church doesn’t have a lot of requirements [for] fasting, but you can always make your own decision to, maybe even for Advent, don’t eat meat on Fridays. It’s not mandated by the Church, but [it’s important] to really look at things like that for us individually and for our families, for our parishes, for any group of people …”
For more in this week’s episode of The Bishop Strickland Show, watch the video above or click here.
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