When you teach older students, it’s hard to get them involved with Advent crafts or activities. They do, however, respond well to small group reflection and discussion. Consider these guidelines.

As a catechist, I have always struggled with how to make the most of the season of Advent since it lasts only four weeks (and often not even four full weeks). I have learned from past experiences that at least one of these weeks is lost to me, If a class meets weekly, there is usually no class the fourth week of Advent (because of the Christmas break). And even if a class meets daily, much of that week is spent on Christmas preparations.

Advent is a very rich season, and its potential to enrich us spiritually is tremendous. It is in these weeks that we await our Emmanuel, God with us. As Catholics, we reflect on waiting and anticipating the birth of Jesus. We wait for the celebration and remembrance of his entrance into our world, just as our Advent readings depict Mary and Elizabeth waiting in hopeful expectation for the arrival of Jesus and John the Baptist.

We wait during these days, the shortest and darkest of the year, for the arrival of Christ our Light. And we reflect on what we must do to prepare. In Advent, our Mass readings center on the prophet Isaiah and on John the Baptist, the herald and cousin of Christ who echoed Isaiah’s challenges. We are called to embrace peace, work for justice, prepare the way of the Lord, and make straight his path.

In the years that I worked with elementary-aged students, I always tried to touch on these topics, sometimes by preparing Jesse Trees, sometimes by scripting modern-day applications for the Advent readings, sometimes by collecting straw for the manger for each good deed done, and sometimes by writing our own prayers to be said as we light the candles of our Advent wreath.

Small Group Discussion

When I began working with teenagers, none of these learning activities seemed age appropriate. I discovered instead that small group discussion is an invaluable catalyst for Advent reflection. Discussion flows best when groups are small enough to be non-threatening, but large enough to offer a diversity of perspectives. One problem I have faced with group discussion is that the more outgoing, verbal members of a group may do all of the “discussing,” while more reserved individuals remain silent.

I have addressed this problem by asking Advent questions in four categories: 1) Advent, 2) Waiting, 3)Justice and Peace, and 4) Heralds: Isaiah and John the Baptist.

I write these four categories on four separate folded slips of paper. Each person in the group takes a turn choosing a slip of paper, reading what the category is, and then reflecting on the next question from among that group of questions. They then put the slip back with the remaining ones. The purpose of these questions is not so much to reach “correct” answers as to prompt reflection on the true meaning of Advent.

Following are the questions I use. You can write them on index cards or on poster board. With index cards, place the already-answered question at the bottom of the pile and have the next person take the card from the top of the pile. If you’re writing the questions on one sheet or one piece of poster board, you might need some kind of marker to indicate which question is next in a particular category. Feel free to adapt these questions and add more of your own.

The Season of Advent

1) Advent is the darkest time of the year. Give a specific example of what you dislike most about these dark weeks. What do you like most?
2) Advent means “coming.” What is coming and why is it important?
3) Do you have an Advent wreath at home? Some churches use dark blue instead of purple during Advent to symbolize the darkness of the weeks prior to the light of Christmas. If you have a wreath, what colors are the candles?
4) Advent is a time of preparation, of anticipation. Name one way we can prepare our hearts for Christ.
5) The light from only one candle can shatter even dense darkness. Describe one act or gesture bestowed on you, large or small, that helped to shatter a dark period in your life.
6) During Advent, we reflect on the fact that Jesus descended directly from Abraham, Jacob, Jesse, David, etc. from the Old Testament. Name a trait you believe you share with your relatives.
7) “Emmanuel” means “God with us. Tell of a time you felt God’s presence.
8) The song “0 Come Emmanuel” speaks of God “ransoming” captive Israel. Identify one way in which our current society needs to be ransomed.
9) Of Mary, Elizabeth, Isaiah, or John the Baptist, who pulls at your heart more during Advent? Why?

Advent Waiting

1) What, for you, is the worst part of waiting?
2) What is the most recent thing you have waited for?
3) What is the thing that you have waited the longest for?
4) What makes the period of your waiting pass more quickly?
5) When have you not merely waited, but “waited in hope”? What is the difference?
6) Mary and Elizabeth are examples of those who have waited with expectancy. Share an experience you’ve had waiting for someone to arrive.
7) When has someone waited for you? Is it more difficult to be the one waiting, or the one due to arrive?
8) In these four weeks of waiting, a pink candle marks joy. Describe a moment of joy you have experienced as you waited for something or someone.
9) Have there ever been periods of active waiting in your life, a time of waiting with action instead of passivity?

Advent Heralds
Note: For these questions, be sure a Bible is somewhere handy.
1) Look up Isaiah 11:1. Who, or what, is the “shoot?”
2) Look up Isaiah 7:14. Isaiah wrote this hundreds of years before Christ was born. Make a statement about this.
3) Read John 1:23. John quotes Isaiah. How, today, do we need to make straight the way of the Lord?
4) Read Mark 1:4—8. A diet of grasshoppers and honey; clothing of camel’s fur! John was pretty radical. Are you drawn to John or intimidated by him? Why?
5) Refer to Mark 1:4—8. Heralds and disciples embrace values and lifestyles that can be countercultural. How is John’s message countercultural today?
6) Read Isaiah 9:1. Light would not appear as light without the presence of darkness to contrast it. Describe the difference that occurs in one’s emotions by shifting focus from darkness to a pinpoint of light.
7) Refer to Isaiah 9:1. What or who is the light in your path?
8) Read Mark 6:17—29 out loud.
9) Read Luke 9:9. After hearing of John’s death, Jesus tries to be by himself. Comment on this.

Justice and Peace
Note: Again, be sure a Bible is handy.
1) Read Luke 1:52—53. In this, the “Canticle of Mary,” Mary speaks. What do her words mean to you?
2) Read Isaiah 11:6—9. The prophet suggests that all of these unusual situations would happen if peace reigned. Identify something remarkable that could occur today if peace reigned.
3) We often hear that if we want justice, we must work for peace. In your opinion, is this true? Why or why not?
4) Identify one person in recent memory who has worked for peace and equality. What is one small and practical way we can imitate his or her effort?
5) Read Isaiah 41:17—18. Where in our nation or our world does “need” present itself? What can be done?
6) Read Isaiah 40:4. What “valleys” need to be filled in today? What “mountains” need to be made level?
7) Read Isaiah 10:1—3. Name a current injustice. How do you think Isaiah would react to it?
8) Read Isaiah 11:3—5. Summarize what you have just read.
9) People suffer persecution because of their beliefs and/or their race. Why do you suppose this occurs?

Most important of all, provide a non-threatening and relaxing environment for discussion. Light candles and play a tape (softly) of Advent hymns. And always end this discussion time with prayer that focuses on Jesus.

Norma Kelly is an experienced catechist from Medina, Ohio.

RTJ November/December 1997 12-13