December 5, 2013 – Excerpted from “Put Out Into the Deep,” Bishop DiMarzio’s column in The Tablet:

“We have begun the new Liturgical Year with the beginning of Advent. It is a time when not only do we look forward to the birth of Christ at Christmas but also to His final coming at the end of time. It is a time of anticipation, a time when we can give free reign to our human desire for a better future.

…Advent can be a special family time of powerful liturgical practices. The Advent wreath is one of the most popular family observances of Advent. It envisions the family around the dinner table in the evening to light the appropriate candle, the three purple and one pink, which signify the anticipation for the coming of the Light of the World.”

Read the full text of the Bishop’s column on The Tablet website.