ADAM AND EVE
December 1
Symbols: Tree, Man and Woman
Adam and Eve are the first ancestors of the human
race. Christ is called the "second" or "new Adam" because
He ushered in the new creation by forgiving sin and restoring humanity to the
grace of God's friendship lost by original sin. Mary, because she is the mother
of the eternal Son of God made man, is called the "new Eve," the
"mother of the living" in the order of grace.
Recommended Readings: Genesis 2:7-9;
18-24
http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/overviews/seasons/advent/jesse_tree_day1.cfm
CREATION
November 30
Symbols: Sun, Moon,
Stars, Earth
During this Advent season we review our salvation
history, meditating on God's promise of a Savior. We begin with Creation, the
birth of life, beginning of time.
In the creation of world and man, God gave the
first and universal witness to His almighty love and His wisdom, the first
proclamation of the "plan of His loving goodness," which finds its
goal in the new creation of Christ.
Recommended Readings: Genesis 1-2
ADAM AND EVE
December 1
Symbols: Tree, Man and Woman
Adam and Eve are the first ancestors of the human
race. Christ is called the "second" or "new Adam" because
He ushered in the new creation by forgiving sin and restoring humanity to the
grace of God's friendship lost by original sin. Mary, because she is the mother
of the eternal Son of God made man, is called the "new Eve," the
"mother of the living" in the order of grace.
Recommended Readings: Genesis 2:7-9;
18-24
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 FALL OF
MAN
December 2
Symbols: Tree with Fruit
or Apple
The parents of the human race, Adam and Eve,
disobeyed God's command in the Garden of Eden, thereby commiting the original
sin, resulting in the closing of the gates of Heaven to mankind.
Even after this sin, man was not abandoned by
God. God promises a Messiah and Redeemer: "I will put emnity between
thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and
thou shalt lie in wait for her heel (Gen 3:14)." He tells us of a
"New Adam" who will have victory over sin.
This victory of Christ has given us greater
blessings than those which sin had taken from us. God permits evil in order
to draw forth some greater good: "O Happy Fault, whereby we have merited
so great a Redeemer (Exsultet)."
Recommended Readings: Genesis 3:1-7, 9, 14-29, 23-24
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NOAH
December 3
Symbols: Animals, Dove,
Rainbow
When Noah finally left the Ark and settled on dry
land, he built an altar to worship the Lord who had saved him. God placed a
rainbow in the sky as token of his resolve to never visit such a disaster
over the face of the earth again.
Noah was a savior, preserving the natural life of
all within the Ark; Christ bring supernatural life to mankind and preserves
that life within His Mystical Body, the Church.
Recommended Readings: Genesis 6:5-8; 7:11-16; 8:15-16; 9:12-13
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December 4
Symbols: Torch, Sword, Mountain, Tent, Stars
Abraham is our father in faith. He is the man of faith and patriarch of Israel with whom God made a covenant which promised him land in which to live and many descendants, a great people for whom the Lord would be their God. Through Abraham God formed the people to whom he would later give the law by revelation through Moses. With the advent of Christ, the people of Israel would serve as the root to which the Gentiles would be grafted by their coming to believe.
Recommended Readings: Genesis 12:2-3; 17:4-6
ADAM AND EVE
NOAH
The Jesse Tree is a centuries-old family Advent devotion that has enjoyed a resurgence of popularity in recent years. It has particular value since it helps both kids and adults a like to locate Jesus, the Messiah, within the lineage of the shepherd boy who became King of Israel--David, son of Jesse.
