From this Sunday until Christmas Day, the Advent wreath will be displayed in the sanctuary. At the beginning of the Mass, Fr Antonio will bless it to mark the beginning of Advent.

Have you ever wondered why we have wreaths at Advent? Traditionally, Advent wreaths are constructed of a circle of evergreen branches into which four candles are inserted, representing the four weeks of Advent. Three of the candles are purple and one is rose.

The purple candles symbolise the prayer, penance, and preparatory sacrifices and good works undertaken at this time. The rose candle is lit on the third Sunday, Gaudete Sunday, when the priest may also wear rose vestments at Mass (though sadly, we don’t have a rose chasuble at St Theresa’s). Gaudete Sunday is the Sunday of rejoicing, because the faithful have arrived at the midpoint of Advent, when their preparation is now half over, and they are close to Christmas.

Some wreaths (including ours) have a fifth candle, coloured white to represent Christmas Day itself.

The progressive lighting of the candles symbolises the expectation and hope surrounding our Lord’s first coming into the world and the anticipation of his second coming to judge the living and the dead.