Advent Season is upon us and families across the globe are marking the 4 weeks before Christmas by opening Advent calendars and lighting Advent wreaths every Sunday. 

Taken from the Latin adventus for 'coming,' the season is an opportunity for every Catholic to prepare one's heart and mind for the coming of the Christ-child and remember the promise that the Lord will come again. 

And to pray.

The Advent Wreath brings to mind the time before Jesus, when the world was in spiritual darkness. During the season of Advent, we remember the Old Testament days as we anxiously anticipate His Birth at Christmas. 

Pope Francis reflected on the season of waiting reminding the faithful: 

"Advent is a journey towards Bethlehem. May we let ourselves be drawn by the light of God made man."

The Catechism of the Catholic Church speaks of the season saying (Paragraph 524): 

When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the Savior's first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for his second coming. By celebrating the precursor's birth and martyrdom, the Church unites herself to his desire: "He must increase, but I must decrease."

Pope Benedict XVI offered this reflection for the season: 

"In Advent, Christians relive a dual impulse of the spirit: on the one hand, they raise their eyes towards the final destination of their pilgrimage through history, which is the glorious return of the Lord Jesus; on the other, remembering with emotion His birth in Bethlehem, they kneel before the Crib." - Pope Benedict XVI

Saint John Paul II offered a beautiful prayer for this season of hopeful anticipation:

O Mother of our Advent, be with us and see to it
that he will remain with us in this difficult Advent
of the struggles for truth and hope, for justice
and peace: He, alone, Emmanuel.

As we wait in joyful hope for the coming of Christ, entering this world as a babe in a manger, here are Catholic prayers for your entire family to embrace the joyful hope of this season. 

First Sunday of Advent:

Let the hills sing for joy together before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity. (Psalm 98:8-9)

Lord, our God, we praise You for Your Son, Jesus Christ, for He is Emmanuel, the Hope of all people.
He is the Wisdom that teaches and guides us.
He is the Savior of us all.
O Lord,
let your blessing come upon us as we light the first (purple) candle of this wreath.
May the wreath and its light be a sign of Christ's promise of salvation.
May He come quickly and not delay.
We ask this in His holy name. Amen.

Second Sunday of Advent: 

The light of the moon will be like that of the sun and the light of the sun will be seven times greater (like the light of seven days). On the day the Lord binds up the wounds of His people, He will heal the bruises left by His blows. (Isaiah 30:26)

Lord, our God, we praise You for Your Son, Jesus Christ, for He is Emmanuel, the Hope of all people.
He is the Wisdom that teaches and guides us.
He is the Savior of us all.
O Lord,
let your blessing come upon us as we light two (purple) candles of this wreath.
May the wreath and its light be a sign of Christ's promise of salvation.
May He come quickly and not delay.
We ask this in His holy name. Amen.

Third Sunday of Advent: 

Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! (Zephaniah 3:14)

Lord, our God, we praise You for Your Son, Jesus Christ, for He is Emmanuel, the Hope of all people.
He is the Wisdom that teaches and guides us.
He is the Savior of us all.
O Lord,
let your blessing come upon us as we light two (purple) candles and the third (pink) candle of this wreath.
May the wreath and its light be a sign of Christ's promise of salvation.
May He come quickly and not delay.
We ask this in His holy name. Amen.

Fourth Sunday of Advent: 

Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)

Lord, our God, we praise You for Your Son, Jesus Christ, for He is Emmanuel, the Hope of all people.
He is the Wisdom that teaches and guides us.
He is the Savior of us all.
O Lord,
let your blessing come upon us as we light all candles of this wreath.
May the wreath and its light be a sign of Christ's promise of salvation.
May He come quickly and not delay.
We ask this in His holy name. Amen.

Christmas Novena: 

During the last nine days of Advent, Catholics can take part in the Christmas novena. Beginning on December 16th and ending on Christmas Eve, this prayer can help prepare one's heart for the Nativity of the Lord: 

Hail, and blessed be the hour and moment
At which the Son of God was born
Of a most pure Virgin
At a stable at midnight in Bethlehem
In the piercing cold
At that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee,
To hear my prayers and grant my desires (mention request here)
Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother

Prayers for a fruitful Advent season!