This year as been a weird year. I find myself repeating the phrase, “The days are long but the months are short,” in reference to things happening in my life. And being aware of where we are liturgically in the Catholic Church is no exception. How can we be so close to Advent already!? It begins on Sunday!
With so much of our normal disrupted or different, and despite doing weekly pre-Mass prep of reflecting on the readings mid-week (which have been about the end times as the liturgical year comes to a close), my mind is still somewhat stuck in June and late Easter Season / early Ordinary time. So the shift into thinking and preparing myself for Advent is hard.
To help with that mind shift, I will be participating in several Advent traditions I have every year, and try a new thing or two so I can immerse myself a little more into the Advent season.
For me, integrating some new Advent efforts (such as sidewalk chalk art catechesis being one of them, which I have been doing periodically with saints and Sundays), and mixing in the normal-for-me traditions of Christmas movie watching, decorating our home for Christmas, daily Advent reading reflections, and the Catholic Sistas Advent Photo Challenge, I feel like I can at least somewhat move into the Season of Advent; of waiting and anticipating for the joy of Christ’s birth.
The Catholic Sistas Photo Challenges are always a way for me to be a little more aware of God’s presence in my daily life. And during this time of uncertainty and disruption due to Covid, I’m hoping and planning to use the Photo Challenge as a way to root me a little more into the Advent season; letting it draw me more into the season of preparation for Christ. I won’t be out doing as much (because of safety and there’s just not as much to go out and do right now!) so this year’s Photo Challenge is an excellent way to look around me, my home, family, small Covid safe-interactions and reflect on where I see Christ, as well as where I am lacking Christ and need growth.
Join Us!
So if you need something to help root you a little bit more into reflecting on the Season of Advent, or you just enjoy reflecting on your faith visually, consider joining us at Catholic Sistas for our 2020 Advent Photo Challenge. Joining me in sharing photos and reflections this Advent Season are Allison, Anna, Celeste, Kristin, Laura, Mandi, and Rosemary.
And because it’s fun to share your photos and reflections with others and see what others share, it’s nice to be a part of at least one of our main social media platforms- Facebook or Instagram– but you don’t have to be. As long as the Advent Photo Challenge provides you with an opportunity to reflect during the season of Advent and prepare for Christmas, that’s what matters.
To help you in your challenge, below you’ll find the whats, hows and hashtag info for joining the 2020 Advent Photo Challenge. Advent starts THIS Sunday, November 29! I’m excited to see how the Holy Spirit moves us during Advent as we prepare for Christmas. Happy photo snapping (and screen tapping)!
How the 2020 Advent Photo Challenge works
• Each day has one word associated with it. Most of these words are from the readings for the day, some are about the saint of the day, and some are just related to the season of Advent. Snap a photo or find an old photo related to that word. The photo does not have to be faith-themed, as the goal of our photo challenges is for us to see God in our everyday lives and reflect on Him.
• Use the hashtag #CSAdvent and any other appropriate hashtags (#charity, #beloved, #joy, etc) when you post your Photo Challenge photos. This allows us all to search Instagram and other social media platforms for other participants. You can even follow the hashtag on Instagram so you’ll see all the photos posted from everyone participating. We will be sharing participant photos throughout the Photo Challenge, and the way we find them is through the #CSAdvent hashtag.
• While our main platforms for the 2020 Advent Photo Challenge are Instagram, and Facebook, we are present on many other platforms. Tag us with @CatholicSistas on INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST and FACEBOOK. And if you’re blogging about your Lenten Photo Challenge, link back to us or comment below with a link to your post.
• When you use the hashtag #CSAdvent on Instagram, it will enable us to find you on Instagram and possibly feature you in our stories!
• Click the graphic below to download the 2020 CS Advent Graphic for quick reference. Note that the dates of the weekends are a different color to help visually break up the days.
• Lastly, consider joining us on Facebook in our group CATHOLIC SISTAS – THE COFFEE HOUSE. Here we can share pictures of the challenge and we get to know each other in a private setting. Please request to be added and answer the group questions, and you will be approved as soon a moderator is able to add you.
