Preparing for the Beginning of a New Liturgical Year
Advent is a time to prepare for Jesus’ coming. Recently I heard on The Simple Show podcast that Saint Francis of Assisi talked about the three-fold preparation: remembering Mary’s pregnant preparation to welcome the Son of God into the world, preparing our hearts for Jesus to come to us this Christmas season, and in preparation for Jesus’ promised coming in the future. How perfect is that to tie into the Catholic ideas regarding conversion: we have been saved, we are being saved, and we will continue to be saved. Advent also marks the beginning of the new liturgical year.
One thing that I like to do before Advent every year is to attempt to get all of my holiday shopping done. This is no easy task considering that within Advent and Christmas we celebrate a handful of birthdays in addition to Saint Nicholas Day and Christmas. We do go crazy with gifts in our family and I loathe shopping, so getting this done so that we can actually enjoy the season is important to me.
A Short Guide to Responsible Shopping
The reality is that many of us do still partake in the consumerist aspect of the Northern American traditions of Christmas, but something that I have found that helps me better line up my shopping with my Catholic faith is to be intentional about where I spend my money.
As my much cooler than me friend-from-college, Rani, reminded me: let’s support small, local, organic artists and makers. Let’s try to support companies committed to social and environmental justice, sustainability, and our Earth. Apart from finding small shops and artisans on social media, the Internet, or local craft fairs, you can also support B Corps businesses. If you haven’t heard of B Corps businesses, I highly recommend reading up on it here!
Two B Corps and/or organic companies that I love and trust and frequently buy from (and some have already started their Black Friday sales):
PACT ORGANICS (Men, Women, and Children Apparel)
Click here to get $20 off your first order
I love their socks, leggings, and shirts and children’s shirts and PJs. They always have great deals and bundles going and the products are well made and super soft!
COTOPAXI (Outdoor/Adventure Wear and Outdoor Gear)
Click here to get $20 off your first order
I first came across Cotopaxi on Instagram as a sponsored ad and after a year I finally purchased one of their bags as I kept tracking great reviews. And then I purchased another bag for myself, one for my husband, and some just to have. I just ordered a pair of their joggers ad a puff jacket. The quality of everything is fantastic and the layouts of all the bags are perfect. I love, love this company.
I also love supporting shops of small independent artists/craftspeople. I have either found them on Instagram or I know them in real life and I think you might like them, too:
Rani Ban– screen printed shirts and other art
Be A Heart– hand lettering, posters, baby swaddles, bandanas, and all things pretty
Brass and Mint Co– hand lettering, prints, mugs, and more things pretty
Rose Harrington– beautiful prints, floral rosaries, mugs, and even more things pretty
Quail Lane Press– beautiful topographic prints
If you want to learn more about living out the Catholic liturgical year, here are some great resources!
Haley from Carrots for Michaelmashas two cookbooks, an autobiographical account of living more simply in The Grace of Enough(which is on my current reading list)
Kendra Tierney’s blog Catholic All Yearand she has a new book, The Catholic All Year Compendium, out that compiles and adds to what is included in her blog
Listen to this three episode series of The Simple Show podcast:
I hope this offered some help in preparing for a purposeful Advent!
coyotesandsaints.com 