“Hallow” (hallow.com) is a popular Catholic online site that offers practical ways to pray and stay focused on our relationship with Christ in the midst of our busy lives. As we make room in our hearts for Christ who comes at Christmas, I found Hallow’s short Advent prayers to be very helpful. I’m sharing them with you because I believe that they may provide a way to keep us centered and hopeful in these days when the world is so restless.

• Dear Lord, please allow me to embrace Advent in the way the Church intends: as a way to prepare for Your arrival. May everything I do–every gift I send, every party I attend, every meal I share–remind me to prepare space in my heart for You. Amen.
• Heavenly Father, heal my heart during this season of Advent. Help me to love more fully. To forgive more generously. To wait more patiently for Christmas, embracing each day and hour knowing the joy that awaits. In Your name I pray. Amen.
• Lord, send down Your Spirit to guide me during Advent this year. May the Holy Spirit help me journey closer to You and lift me up when I feel down and lead me when I feel lost. I may stumble at times, but I know my ultimate journey is to draw closer to You and build Your kingdom here on earth–a kingdom that Jesus’s birth, life and death helped secure. Amen.
• I pray for focus today, dear God, because during Advent, my mind and attention tend to wander. There are so many distractions, many of them well-meaning. But nothing gives my heart rest like resting in You. I pray that keep You at the focus of my day today, because I know the peace that only You offer. Amen.

May our Advent prayers help us to welcome Christ at Christmas and every day.

Yours in Christ,