Why not create a family Advent Calendar of Kindness?

Published by Keith Morris on November 2, 2024

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In this month’s Faith in the Home column, Helvi Moore, member of Marriage and Family Life Commission, proposes an Advent Calendar of Kindness.

This year the joyous season of Advent begins on Sunday, December 1 and concludes on Tuesday, December 24. Let us take advantage of Advent not just to prepare food and gifts, as important as they are, but more importantly to remember the preparation of our heart, making it a more beautiful place for Jesus.

One lovely idea for the family is to create a family Advent Calendar of Kindness. All that this entails is creating a chart, detailing the days of Advent, with a gentle suggestion for a task, spiritual or otherwise, for each day.

Every family will have its own challenges, taking into account personality, family traditions and customs, struggles with certain virtues and other variables. A focus on the virtues is a good place to start: patience, generosity of spirit, laziness, complaining, humility… any virtue or vice that your family is clearly struggling to achieve or overcome. It is important that the calendar be specific to your own family’s needs. This has to be YOUR family’s calendar.

Have a “family conference” and allow all the family members to contribute their suggestions. It is important to allow all family members, old and young, to contribute their tuppence ha’penny worth. The little ones will feel included and motivated if their suggestions are adopted. The important thing is that each of these tasks is a sacrifice between the person and Our Lord. This, therefore, should include prayer, each day, for the grace to accomplish the task. There is no need to speak about the accomplishment of the task. The only conversation that needs to happen is between each soul and Our Lord.

And, on Christmas morning, a charming conversation can take place from soul to Christ that goes something like this: “Dear Jesus, I have tried to prepare for Your coming. There have been some days in Advent when, perhaps, I have not been so successful. However, I have tried to welcome Your coming and I am so glad that You were born for me!”