{"id":7215,"date":"2025-12-17T09:10:44","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T08:10:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/generalat-hsosf.de\/?p=7215"},"modified":"2025-12-17T09:13:29","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T08:13:29","slug":"advent-in-our-international-congregation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/generalat-hsosf.de\/en\/advent-in-our-international-congregation\/","title":{"rendered":"Advent in our International Congregation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Advent in our International Congregation<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

For around 2.5 billion Christians worldwide, Advent is a very special time in the Church year: a time full of anticipation and preparations for Christmas, the celebration of the incarnation of our Lord. A time of silence, reflection, and diverse traditions.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We wanted to take a closer look at these traditions and asked the members of our multinational and multicultural community how Advent is celebrated in their home countries. The result: there are many similarities! At all our locations, festive Advent services are celebrated, candles are lit on Advent wreaths, and the doors of Advent calendars are opened every day in December. The wait for Christmas is also used everywhere as a time of prayer and spiritual reflection. And light plays an important role: lights in dark times, the star on the horizon: for the Lord is coming. But there are also differences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Advent with our international Sisters at the Motherhouse in M\u00fcnster, from left to right: Sister M. Laetitia with a poinsettia, which is just as popular in Japan as it is in Germany. Sister M. Lima shows a \u201cStutenkerl\u201d and Sister M. Benedikte a shoe that was filled by St. Nicholas. Sister M. Teresa presents homemade gingerbread from the Polish Province.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Germany<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Germany, on the eve of December 6, children place their nicely polished shoes or boots outside the front door \u2013 and in the morning, they find small gifts and sweets from St. Nicholas. The \u201cStutenkerl\u201d, a traditional German pastry, is also said to represent this Saint. In the past, as a sign of blessing, the pastry was given to the sick or those who were unable to attend church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The beginning of Advent is celebrated in the Motherhouse Church in M\u00fcnster with a particularly solemn vespers service. During the service, a priest lights the first candle on the Advent wreath while the Sisters sing the song \u201cWir sagen Euch an den lieben Advent\u2026\u201d (We announce to you the beloved Advent\u2026). For several years now, a festive charity concert with Christmas carols has also been held in the Motherhouse Church in aid of Johannes Hospice in M\u00fcnster. 400 candles burned at the \u201cChristmas Carols 2025\u201d on December 7, 2025, with the M\u00fcnster Concert Choir; many children also took part. The impressive light show and our organist Markus Schr\u00f6der also contributed to the great success of the concert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I remember a tradition from my elementary school days: during Advent, every child who had done a good deed placed a straw in the manger so that the divine child could be softly bedded at Christmas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sister M. Benedikte<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

What would Advent be without cookies? At our Motherhouse in M\u00fcnster, our Vietnamese Sisters baked lots of cookies with Sister M. Vera and then decorated them with chocolate with Sister M. Rita in the Generalate kitchen. The Sisters also traveled to the convent in Kroge for an Advent visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Poland<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In many areas of Poland, children symbolically bring light to people’s homes, and nativity scenes and Advent cribs are lovingly crafted in monasteries. The Sisters of our Polish Province offer spiritual and material assistance by organizing Christmas packages for the needy, and offering meetings and conversations with socially marginalized people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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One of the most characteristic features of Advent in Poland is the Rorate Mass \u2013 a liturgy celebrated in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the early hours of the morning, usually before sunrise. Participants bring candles or lanterns symbolizing the expectation of the coming \u201cLight of the World\u201d \u2013 Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sister M. Teresa<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In Oldrzychowice in our Polish Province, Sister M. Franciska Wanat and several volunteers organized a visit from St. Nicholas for children affected by the flood disaster of September 2024. Fifty-two children took part in the event and spent a wonderful afternoon together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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USA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the USA, Advent calendars have 25 doors because Christmas is not celebrated on Christmas Eve, but on Christmas Day, December 25.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I love to sing Advent songs to prepare for the coming of our Lord. I discovered Handel’s Messiah about 40 years ago and listen to it often. When I was a child the crib was very special in our home. In the Novitiate we practiced the spiritual building of the crib with special thoughts each day. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Japan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our convent in Himeji, we have been using purple and pink candles for about 20 years, which we brought back from the Korean mission. Purple represents repentance, pink represents joy. As the colors of the candles change from three deep purple to three light purple and then to one pink candle, Christmas draws nearer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our community has adopted the tradition of the Missionaries of creating a \u201cspiritual manger.\u201d We prepare to welcome Christ by building this manger and laying \u201cstraw\u201d in our hearts, gathering prayers, sacrifices, and good deeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sister M. Laetitia<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Indien<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some regions of India, rose cookies, kulkuls, and fruit bread are baked during Advent. Through social media and parish groups, many also take part in charity activities and outreach programs, making Advent a time not only for spiritual preparation but also for sharing love and joy with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In India, a land rich in prayer, color, and celebration, we understand deeply what it means to wait with expectation \u2014 for the monsoon rains, for the harvest, for light to overcome darkness. As we light the Advent candles, I am reminded of the diyas<\/em> (lamp) we light during Diwali \u2014 both shining as symbols of hope and the triumph of light over darkness, of God\u2019s presence in our lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To all my sisters around the world: may this Advent help us rediscover the beauty of waiting \u2014 not with anxiety, but with peace and trust. May our hearts become humble cradles of hope, ready to receive the Prince of Peace. And may our lives, wherever we are, shine like little lamps, spreading the warmth and light of Christ\u2019s love to all we meet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sister M. Renita<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

We would like to thank the Sisters of our international Congregation who sent us information about Advent in their home countries: Sister M. Benedikte (Germany), Sister M. Teresa (Poland), Sister Janelle (USA), Sister M. Laetitia (Japan), and Sister M. Renita (India).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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