Advent and the Four Last Things

For those who even celebrate Advent these days, it has become the season to lead up to Christmas.  As such, it’s happy and anticipatory.  It used to be a sober time of penitence, like Lent.

And the four Sundays of Advent, with its four candles in the Advent Wreath, were not all about Hope, Preparation, Joy, and Love.  They were about “the Four Last Things”:  Death, Judgment, Hell, and Heaven.

I don’t begrudge the happy Advent.  I’m glad to find it anywhere I can.  But wouldn’t it be good for us to contemplate those Four Last Things?

See Advent—Let’s Hold Back the Christmas Cheer » First Thoughts | A First Things Blog.