A Season of Little Sacraments: Christmas Commotion, Advent Grace

The lament swells every December, as perennial as the jingle of Salvation Army bells: the season of Advent is lost in the secular trappings of Christmas preparation. For those aspiring to a reverent Advent but caught up in twenty-first-century to-do lists, offers a fresh perspective on the secular-sacred December divide.         Susan Swetnam invites readers along on an ordinary woman’s day-by-day walk through Advent, demonstrating that the very “distractions” accused of taking Christ out of Christmas can become “little sacraments”—occasions for grace to break through and faith to deepen—if approached with mindful reflection. For readers who want to experience a truly sacred Advent without fleeing completely from contemporary society, will be a welcome source of nourishment and delight.