"Dear friends,
Advent is the season of the presence and expectation of the eternal. For
this very reason, it is in a particular way a period of joy, an
interiorized joy that no suffering can diminish. It is joy in the fact
that God made himself a Child. This joy, invisibly present within us,
encourages us to journey on with confidence. A model and support of this
deep joy is the Virgin Mary, through whom we were given the Infant
Jesus. May she, a faithful disciple of her Son, obtain for us the grace
of living this liturgical season alert and hardworking, while we wait."
- H.H. Benedict XVI, Homily November 28, 2009
About the Season of Advent