Duc in Altum

Advent is a fairly big season in our family.  We have already brought out the Jesse Tree, the Advent calendars, and various other Advent related items.  You can see some of the ways in which our family celebrates Advent here. 

We really enjoy opening the Advent calendars each day throughout the season.  We have at least 4 calendars that we use each year.  (All of these are re-usable; we only used the chocolate or candy variety for a year or two.) The oldest Advent calendar we own is a simple card stock one with a picture of the Nativity.  There is a Scripture reference behind each door which takes you through the Christmas story.  The latest Advent calendar is from Caspari.  It is a large Christmas tree, and it has fun Christmas-themed pictures behind each window.  No matter what the calendar contains, we enjoy opening them each day to see what surprise is behind the window as we count down the days of Advent toward Christmas.

I have always wanted to find a good online Advent calendar, and I think that I have found one.

The online Advent calendar which I am excited about is provided by the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America.  These are the Franciscans who are Custodians of the various Shrines of the Holy Land.  Their monastery in the United States is in Washington, D.C., and it is definitely worth a visit if you are in the area.  We have had the privilege of being able to visit the monastery several times.


The gardens are absolutely beautiful.  Inside the main building, they have built replicas of some of the shrines of the Holy Land including the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Outside the lower garden area, they also have a replica of the grotto at Lourdes.  It is quite impressive.  From what I understand, the Franciscans are prepared for their assignment in the Holy Land at this monastery.

I just came across their Advent calendar.  There seems to be a video with a meditation on the readings for each Sunday and the rest of the days of the week provide information about the liturgical significance of the day.  If you are looking for a way to "count down" to Christmas and prepare your heart for Christ's coming at Bethlehem, this might be a good option for you.  It can be found here.