The season of Advent (the four weeks before Christmas) is my favorite season of the year.

The purpose of this liturgical season is to call each of us to spiritually prepare ourselves for Christmas — the anniversary of Jesus’ first coming.

If we are able to free ourselves from the many tasks, responsibilities and distractions of our lives, the Advent season reminds us that Jesus, the Son of God from all eternity, entered our world as a human being.

This is at the center of our celebration of Christmas. By the incarnation — God becoming a human being — Jesus dignified human nature, and he gave us a model of what/who a good human being can be.

The themes that I chose for the four Sundays of Advent, drawn from the Sunday scripture readings, this year are: promise (first Sunday), prepare (second Sunday), rejoice (third Sunday) and fulfillment (fourth Sunday).

The Messiah was promised to God’s people of old, His second coming is promised to all of us, and His presence is promised in our lives now.

The call of John the Baptist to the people of his time was a call to prepare for the first coming, but it is a call that we can apply in our lives, especially during Advent.

The ‘rejoice’ theme voiced by the Old Testament prophet, Zephaniah, and by Paul in the New Testament was based on the experience of God’s grace touching and changing the lives of believers.

The final theme, fulfillment, comes at the end of a long wait for humankind — the expectations of the chosen people are fulfilled in the coming of the Messiah.

I have been struck by the enormous outpouring of kindness, generosity and caring in this city in recent weeks. Public agencies, government bodies, voluntary organizations, community groups, individuals, church congregations and schools have reached out to needy children and families.

Food baskets are prepared that not only give abundance on Christmas Day but will provide staple food supplies for many weeks. I see great care being taken to respect the dignity of the recipients.

A number of large community-wide efforts and numerous small group and individual efforts appear to guarantee that no child will be left without gifts or toys to brighten their Christmas experience.

I see this Christian service being undertaken by people who are already busy with job and family responsibilities. I am grateful for their example.

This touches my spirit. Perhaps, the challenge that arises from this experience is that we strive to live this level of kindness and generosity throughout the year.

My experience shows me that most people do a good job of reaching out “to love their neighbor,” at least in the build-up to Christmas. The great commandment also calls us to love God.

I wonder if we are able to find the time and energy to talk to and listen to God. In my Advent preaching, I searched for insights that might help each of us to be as effective in “connecting” with God as we are in reaching out to our neighbor.

People listening to John the Baptist’s call to repentance (in the Gospel of the third Sunday) asked him what they should do as a follow-up to repentance.

He answered each according to their respective positions — tax collectors were not to extort excessive taxes, soldiers were not to bully people, etc. I considered the same question for me and I suggest it to you the reader.

My hope and prayer for you is that the blessings of Christmas — peace, joy and happiness — will be yours in abundance at Christmas and throughout the New Year.

Father David O’CONNOR is pastor of St. Mary Basilica and Assumption Catholic Church.