1. Decorate your home with seasonal reminders.

Display an Advent wreath with candles to mark the four weeks of Advent. Praying at the family table is a time-honored tradition. Or mark the time with a religiously themed Advent Calendar.

Set up a Nativity display. This can be as simple or elaborate as you wish. With children in the home, it can be as simple as paper drawings of the people and animals in the story of the first Christmas. Or display the family stable with an empty manger that is waiting for Jesus. Slowly increase your home’s decorations as the season progresses toward the birth of Jesus.

2. Schedule more time each week to seek Jesus. Advent begins a new Church Year. Make a resolution to review your use of time. Make an appointment with Jesus every day. Use this scheduled quiet time to pray with Scripture or to silently pour your heart out to God. Need a place to start in Scripture? The first two chapters of both the Gospels of Matthew and Luke will help you meditate on Jesus’ infancy narratives.

Attend one extra Mass a week outside of Sundays. (It’s also a great goal to attend daily Mass.) But, either way, start small and strive to keep your commitment. Add a quiet time before or after Mass to focus on Jesus. You might also find silence at a local adoration chapel. Or visit Jesus in the tabernacle at a church outside of the scheduled Mass times.

Learn and pray the “O” Antiphons that pray for the coming of Christ. They are prayed from December 17-23, (just before the Magnificat at Vespers or Evening Prayer). You may recognize their prophetic titles of Jesus from the hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.”

3. Walk a penitential path.Make a good confession. The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation is a healing sacrament that helps us get our hearts right with God. Practice the discipline of fasting from excesses of food, drink or entertainment. Finally, almsgiving opportunities abound in Advent, so be generous with those in need. Try to find more sustained efforts for charitable giving of your time, talent and treasure all year long.

Watch a video and download this resource at LivingFaith.com/prayer-prompt, and find Advent resources at Catholic.CreativeCommunications.com.