Advent is a period of grateful anticipation and an invitation for Christians everywhere to spend time contemplating the profound gift of the Incarnation. It offers us the opportunity to develop our spiritual lives and to listen to our deepest longings.

Advent should not, as Anna Burke explains in the introduction to Candles in the Night, be spent impatiently ‘counting down the days on the calendar’, but embraced for what it is: a unique period in the Church year to prepare for the arrival of Christ.

The reflections in this book – which explore themes such as ‘waiting’, ‘giving’, ‘announcing’ and ‘transforming’ – are offered as a resource to be used during Advent, be it for personal use, prayer groups or otherwise. Each advent word invites us to behold the presence of God-with-us and to breathe in the holy breath. We will not ‘skip’ Advent. We will wait and watch as the rising sun comes to visit us.