This dog (75) is going to learn a new trick. Thanks for the idea.

In our rite (Byzantine -Ukrainian Greek Catholic) we're currently celebrating St Phillip's Fast. For us, Advent has already begun November 15. This is my first Advent as a catechumen!

I’m going to start a Marian Consecration during Advent with my Bible Study Group. Pray for me that I am drawn closer to Christ through His Holy Mother!

Couldn't agree more. This is one practice which would greatly help focus on the real purpose of Christmas. Advent is to Christmas as Lent is to Easter: preparation. The world needs more of this and less of the cacophony of commercialism.

In Germany the Advent tradition is quite strong, almost every household will have a wreath with four Advent candles, and many people have a calendar with goodies, and use Advent as a time to meet relatives for coffee and cake, as well as going to Christmas markets. Churchgoers are trying to make it less consumerist, by using calendars with religious impulses for every day, and celebrating Rorate masses.

I will be fasting every Monday Wednesday and Friday, and I would like to start the Marian consecration process.

Thank you father. I'm Melkite. It's a mini Lent for us. Thanksgiving is the only day we can eat meat before Christmas day.

Our Parish (Episcopalian) has a cherished tradition. Rather than focusing on “giving up” we gather to make Advent boxes. We wrap simple gifts and toiletries and tag them for every day in Advent with a special gift for Christmas Day. They are delivered to the shut-ins and those who need a “lift” throughout our area. The gathering to pick out something from the pile is great fun. Individually we do reverse Advent boxes where you put either a food item or hats, gloves, underwear or socks and toiletries in the box each day then deliver the completed boxes to food banks and shelters. It certainly has made my Advent more meaningful.

i will be confirmated in the very first day of advent :D

Some of the things I like to do in Advent is pick up a spiritual practice. I pray the St. Andrews novena from Nov. 30 till Christmas Eve. This year I also plan on reading one chapter a day from the book of Luke. His book has 24 chapter so if you start on Dec 1 you will end on Dec. 24

Hello father Casey, I am Muslim, but I love watching your videos❤

Thank you for this Father Casey! I am a Christian who is not specifically involved in the Catholic church, but I have a deep respect for you all. You have convinced me to fast this advent season. I am going to do it on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. God Bless you!

Englishmen Roman rite Catholic here. Convert for less then two years. I fast for advent. But it's nowhere near as extensive as my lenten fast.

I clearly remember Ember Days throughout the year as well as totally abstaining from meat on Christmas Eve and other feast days . We used to consult our Catholic calendar on the kitchen wall.

I will be giving up something and starting to pray more than just Lauds & Vespers. I would like to continue that after Advent.

This is a wonderful idea. I am going to try fasting at least one day a week during Advent. I also plan to follow daily Advent reflections during this important season. So many prayers could be answered by simply offering up small inconveniences to ourselves.

I’m Greek Catholic Also from the American holy land…. Pittsburgh, PA. LOTS of us here in my city… we fast on Wednesday and Friday during Advent or St Philips fast…

Thank you for doing this informative piece on Advent, Father Casey. The watering down of the penitential aspect of Advent is a microcosm for what is happening with the state of Christianity in general. We are moving away from the disciplinary, communal, and self-sacrificial aspects of our faith, and in many cases even minimizing the heart of the faith - the sacrifice of Jesus - for the pageantry and cultural trappings of Christianity. What we are left with is a hollow shell of a practice. Many talk of secular culture's corrosive effect on society, but it is more important to address the enemies within our faith - things like our tendency to favor convenience, comfort, complacency, and conformity over self-reflection, prayer and penance. These are far more pernicious foes.

Advent and Lent are traditional times of fasting and prayer, true; I noticed cradle Catholics, not so much the converts and reverts didn't know this. When I taught CCD to high schoolers I taught it. At least hearing this teaching from Father Casey here, I realize that I taught it correctly -- as in it's not required at Advent, but it is helpful to the soul.

In Austria, They say shrovetide starts at 11.11. Then you hear nothing about it - because advent, New year etc - until the end of January. This Struck me as odd and I talked about it with a friend well versed in church history and he told me this. That Advent was fasting too so they had a big feast with eating the day before too (St.Martin's is celebrated akin to thanksgiving, only with geese instead of turkeys) so when the fasting was cancelled they didn't want to give up stuffing themselves and said .... it is ... ah... uhm... the start of shrovetide and shrove tuesday is the end. So ... there. Little did I know that it originally started with candlemas in my country. But finally it all made sense.

Thank you Fr. Casey. At our parish December involves a Novena before Our Lady of Guadalupe's feast day, the Immaculate Conception, and then the Posadas novena leading up to Christmas. It seems like we're in church almost every day in December. Hardly time to shop or make tamales. :D

Fr Casey, How about doing a video on fasting? Is it 1 meal a day? Or 2 small meals equaling 1 meal? Before sunrise or after sunset? What is allowed in addition to the 1 meal ~ juice, coffee, fruits? Is that considered fasting then if one is snacking? Does fasting mean a vegetarian diet or can one have meat, fish, eggs? Would a liquid diet (protein shakes) be considered fasting? How does one break a fast? What is the proper way to fast? How did people in the early Church fast? Great video! I plan on fasting 3 days a week this advent.

Well taught Father Casey! This is an important reminder and an eye opener, just like the video you did about the real story of Christmas. God bless and strengthen you Father Casey Cole ❤.

Fasting is good for your body and soul.

My family is half Orthodox Christian and half Roman Catholic (myself included) so I've heard about Advent fasting and this year I wanted to fast through the whole Advent season, so I'm grateful for this video! 🕯️ What's interesting I learned about this fast from a cultural tradition. In our country, Bulgaria, the foods on the table on the 24th of December must be no meat, no dairy (and also there must be an odd number of meals on the table, at least 7), but on the 25th typically most foods will contain meat. It is so interesting how religuous traditions seep through into culture!

I definitely think we need more work as a church-you’re right Father! I’m fasting from two of my favorite things this Advent and want to celebrate better by starting the celebrations the 25th and all the days of the Christmas octave instead of beforehand.

Honestly we need to bring back the traditional Advent and Lent. And change “Ordinary time” to “Time After Pentecost.” Some might not agree, but the old Liturgical calendar makes so much more sense.

Such a glorious occasion as the Nativity of Christ is certainly worth preparing for spiritually, so I think there's value in having some form of an Advent fast. Plus, it's a good way to prevent ourselves in getting caught up in the way the culture does December, to focus away from commercialism and what matters most in life, our relationship with God and how we live it out.

TIL about Christmas fasting. 🙂

In before someone says they’re giving up advent for advent. I’d like to give up sardonicism and possibly Coke Zero.

I need to fast, I have been thinking about it, I will do my best 🙏🏼 please pray for us

I'm confused because the USCCB do😮es refer to Advent as a penitential season: Advent also includes an element of penance in the sense of preparing, quieting, and disciplining our hearts for the full joy of Christmas. Maybe not in the fullest sense but it is there. Peace brother.

In the Western rites of the Orthodox Church we abstain from all meat & wine during Advent apart from on Sundays and Holy Days. The timing will be different to Catholics and Protestants of course as for us the first Sunday in Advent is the 10th of December and Christmas Day is the 7th of January. Advent is all about pining.

I agree with this so much! And thanks for the history lesson. That was very interesting.

You nailed this one. We need to bring back some tradition.

Thank you for this video ❤😊

Eastern Churchers in Kerala,India, still fast and abstain for the lesser Lent as they call it

Very cool. Thank you!

Always uplifting

Awesome ideas and suggestions…!!!

Blessings to you, Fr Casey, I have learned so much from you. I will be fasting and abstaining this Advent.

my husband and i started doing this last year because we are always amazed at the benefits that come with lent. amazing that it used to be an ancient practice too!

Interesting to know, I will be trying this.

Loving the history

I feel a revival of the penitential advent is coming 🙏 ♥️

I’m going to start a Marian Consecration during Advent with my Bible Study Group.

Hey Father Casey, I might have an answer to the question your raised about greatness in your recent podcast episode about Whiplash: Greatness is both a burden and a gift. The means is the burden, but the calling and the result is the gift. People do not choose their passion, and few ever even find it, let alone pursue it. It's partially a matter of luck whether your life presents the circumstances that allow you to pursue a calling. Sometimes, life circumstances can even be antagonistic to it. A calling/passion, as mentioned, is not chosen. It falls into your lap. Maybe it's something you're born with, maybe it's a combinatiton of inborn talent, learned and practiced skills, and also the right time in history to be relevant. It's sad to think that so many factors might keep someone from being able to achieve greatness. Those who discover their passion though and pursue it quickly see ahead and know what they are working towards. They have eureka moments and these discoveries are what propell humanity forward. This presents a problem for our hero though. Now they actually have to be a hero because now they need to be a person who doesn't see discovery as a burden of responsiblity but rather a solemn duty. These types of people have already sacrificed so much to get where they are, and now they see it is not for them but to the benefit of all. Some people get to this point, realize they have an ego, and crack. The chosen few press onward. We are often hated, abandoned, ignored, ostracized, ridiculed, betrayed, and worse - but none of us who have a calling do it for ourselves. We do it because it makes tomorrow better than today and we know it's not worth it to stop just because someone commits evil against us. These people who commit evil are not pursuing their passion, and likely they have no direction. Not even responsibility. We do it for them too, because even they're worth it. It's up to them to accept or reject that good. We who have a calling though don't have any choice. We have to do what's right.

Thank you, Father, thank you.

Thank you fr Casey. What about church decorations? Should we have the Christmas tree lit on the first Sunday of Advent? Should the crib be distracting us through the season? Please advise. Thank you

Awesome. Well said. God bless 🙏 Father Casey 🙏🙏.

I’ll take this into consideration

I love advent. It's very sad that it's come to be so commercialized the whole december is generally treated like "christmas season" and it seems like the whole "point" of christmas is buying lots of stuff and eating lots of food. i would need to look into my own country's history of observing advent fast, i don't think it's that obsolete as you say for USA... i certainly do treat it as little lent, but i'm not entirely sure where i got that from (there's several possible options), the liturgical color of advent is purple. the liturgical color of lent is also purple. this is not a coincidence, as we were reminded in liturgy class in college. So watching the video I was actually more surprised about the history of its observation than the simple concept of advent being a fasting period. In my country we also had this neat version of advent calendars provided at religion lessons (this is i guess kinda like sunday school in america? not necessarily on a sunday tho), anyways those calendars were basically paperback books. For each day of advent there was a short story (roughly a page long), thematically connected to advent/christmas and the daily reading (didn't have full excerpts just info about which book/chapter/verses to read) and prayer suggestions. ocassionally there'd be an activity suggestion/instructions, and there was an envelope for donations (missionary purposes iirc). every evening in advent the family would gather round the advent wreath, light up the candle(s), and pray together (and read from the Bible and the advent calendar). It was really neat, and captured the point of advent really well.

Can you explain a little bit more on why some churches do not encourage fasting during advent? When is the ideal time to fast during advent?

It would have been interesting to see the evolution of secular Western culture in December, if the Latin Catholic Church persisted in encouraging (if not necessarily mandating) the Advent Fast (be it four weeks or after Martimas). This, along with the locally/universally important feast days in that period (e.g. Immaculate Conception on Dec 8th, Dec 6th for St. Nicholas) & some degree of folk traditions on the days

I usually require slowing this time of year. But ill try pulling a 180° on that.

Oh, I hate this commercialisaton of Advent and Christmas.😢 First of all, shops are full of Christmas merch since mid-September. Secondly, Christ is forgotten during all this chaos. We don't know what is all celebration for and for whom. Imagine, my Grandma in Poland (born 1925, died 2020) fasted ALL the Wednesdays during year.😮 I think we should do any good practices during Advent, like the holy mass at dawn called Roraty in Polish tradition.

I'm just not going to open any gifts until Christmas day.

Please explain fasting on mondays and why some churches consider it important

I'm really surprised that the advent fast isn't well known. Maybe my family are religious loonies, or maybe it's a Northern Irish thing, but I honestly thought everyone was aware of it (just mostly not doing it.) Any other Irish people hereto clarify? Is my family weird, or is the advent fast known here?

Father God Bless you. I am having a problem with confession. I work nights. My sleep and days, are very different. Please help me.

Amen ✝️ 🙏 ❤️‍🔥

For advent, I am giving up advent.

How did they fast?

Every year I give up monogamy for the season. The problem is it never works out. I am still monogamous! ;-)

God Bless you Fr! Wonderful!!

... you mean, like.... observing the Sabbath?

We see this problem in Orthodoxy as well. Monastics and lay people who are fans of monastics alike trying to make laypeople monastics. It's not a penitential season like you said and it was only a season of penitence and fasting because the church was being overrun with converts. Just fast regularly and pray the Rosary. If you're a monk or something, then you can go into overdrive.

I’m already homeless, been so since Christmas day 2018, is that enough or should I do more?

Can I choose My job?

When did this occur? 1:28

Great presentation!!!

im giving up my bestfriend for advent

Can you please describe how to fast?

When one do not have much, there ain't much to sacrifice.

When is advent?

Rorate mass every day ftw

Oh, now you want to follow tradition?

We Orthodox still hold this fast 😊

It isn't lent season & won't be giving up something during it advent season.

Jesus does not ask for sacrifices by depriving yourself of food and fasting before Christmas but a heart glued on those who suffer. Leave the college where you assist the young students and go to meet people without shelters like did Saint Francis : it is the heart that must sacrifice itself for God, then prayer and of course attendance at the Eucharist. But charity is superior to prayer. You don't feed homeless people with prayers.

Classic Catholic. Guilt everybody the day before Thanksgiving. Nice.

I’m giving up trying (jk) 🤣

In PH and in my parish, the common Advent practices are: lighting of Advent candles every Sunday Masses for 4 Sundays before Christmas and Christmas Novena Masses starting 16 Dec, which we call Simbang Gabi or Misa de Gallo. We also have parish Advent recollection followed by the sacrament of Reconciliation for the parishioners. We love Christmas and the Baby Jesus so much, so our Christmas starts quite early (-ber months, commercially) and ends when we celebrate the Feast of the Santo Nino in January. With all these non-stop celebrations, I guess, fasting is in order 🤔