How to prepare for Advent: a simple plan for each week

Advent 2026 begins on Sunday, November 29, four Sundays before Christmas. The best way to prepare for Advent is to choose a few simple practices before it starts: a short time of prayer each day, an Advent wreath at home, Confession before Christmas, and some quiet you protect from the holiday rush. Below is what the season is for and a plan you can follow one week at a time.

What is Advent for?

Advent prepares for two comings of Christ. The first is his birth at Bethlehem, which we celebrate at Christmas. The second is his return in glory at the end of time. When the Church keeps Advent, she relives Israel's long wait for the Messiah, and by sharing in that wait, Christians renew their longing for Christ's second coming (CCC 524).

So Advent looks both back and ahead. The early weeks turn your attention to the end of time and being ready for Christ. From December 17, the readings turn to the events just before his birth: Mary, Joseph, John the Baptist.

Advent isn't a second Lent. There's no required fasting, and the mood is hopeful waiting rather than mourning. But it is a season of preparation, and preparing a heart works a lot like preparing a house: you clear some things out to make room. That's why Confession, small sacrifices and quiet fit so well in these weeks.

When does Advent start in 2026?

• Sunday, November 22: Christ the King, the last Sunday of the Church's year. A good day to make your Advent plan.
• Sunday, November 29: First Sunday of Advent. The new Church year begins.
• Sunday, December 6: Second Sunday of Advent.
• Tuesday, December 8: the Immaculate Conception, a holy day of obligation in the United States.
• Sunday, December 13: Third Sunday of Advent, called Gaudete ("rejoice") Sunday. The rose candle.
• Sunday, December 20: Fourth Sunday of Advent.
• Friday, December 25: Christmas.

Because Christmas falls on a Friday, Advent 2026 is close to its longest: almost four full weeks.

How do Catholics prepare for Advent?

You don't need all of these. Pick two or three and keep them.

An Advent wreath

A circle of greenery with four candles: three purple and one rose. Light one candle the first week, two the second, and so on, with the rose candle added on the third Sunday. Light them at dinner each evening and say a short prayer together, even a single Our Father. Children love this, and it gives the whole family a visible sign of the weeks passing.

Daily prayer

Ten minutes a day is enough. Read the next Sunday's Gospel slowly a few times during the week, or pray with the daily Mass readings, which in Advent draw heavily on the prophet Isaiah. If you can get to a weekday Mass once a week, Advent is a lovely time to start.

Confession before Christmas

Many Catholics go in Advent so they can receive Christ at Christmas with a clean heart. Parishes often hold penance services with several priests. More on timing below.

Almsgiving

Give something away in secret: to a parish giving tree, a food bank, a family you know is struggling. Advent remembers that God came to us poor.

Quiet

December is loud. Choose one small way to protect some silence: no phone in the first hour of the morning, the radio off in the car, a walk without headphones. Waiting needs room.

A simple plan for each week of Advent

Each week adds one thing. Keep what you started the week before.

Week 1 (from November 29): begin

Set up your wreath and light the first candle. Choose your daily prayer time and keep it, even when it's short. Advent 2026 begins Year B of the Sunday readings, and the first Sunday's Gospel tells you to be watchful and alert, because you don't know when the Lord will come (Mark 13:33-37). Ask yourself one question this week: if Christ came today, what would I want to have set right?

Week 2 (from December 6): clear out

John the Baptist appears in the Sunday Gospel, calling people to repent and prepare the way of the Lord (Mark 1:1-8). This is the week to plan your Confession. Look up your parish's schedule or penance service, put a date on the calendar, and start an honest look at your conscience. On Tuesday, December 8, go to Mass for the Immaculate Conception.

Week 3 (from December 13): rejoice

Gaudete Sunday is a turn toward joy: the waiting is more than half done. In the Gospel, John says plainly that he isn't the Christ, only a voice pointing to the one already standing among them (John 1:6-8, 19-28). Go to Confession this week if you haven't yet. Then do one act of kindness for someone who finds Christmas hard: a call, a visit, a card.

Week 4 (from December 20): wait with Mary

The readings are now about the days just before Jesus' birth. This year the Sunday Gospel is the Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38). Read it again during the week and stay with Mary's yes. Keep the last days as calm as you can. If the shopping isn't finished, let it be imperfect. On Christmas Eve, light all four candles one last time before the Christmas Mass.

Should I give something up for Advent?

You can, though the Church doesn't require it. A small sacrifice can sharpen the waiting: skipping sweets until Christmas, giving up a show, saving a favorite song or a Christmas movie for the Christmas season itself. Choose something that makes room for prayer or for other people, not something that just makes you miserable.

One gentle caution. If you're surrounded by parties, a strict Advent fast can turn into a running battle with everyone around you. Charity comes first. Eat what your host serves, enjoy it, and keep your sacrifice for the days at home.

And when Christmas comes, celebrate. The Christmas season runs from Christmas Day through the Baptism of the Lord in January, so the feasting gets its own weeks too.

When should I go to Confession before Christmas?

Go early, ideally in the second or third week. Lines in the last days before Christmas can be long, and priests are stretched thin. Many parishes hold an Advent penance service with several priests hearing confessions at once, which makes it easier to get in.

To prepare, spend some quiet time with an examination of conscience a day or two before. If it's been years, don't let that stop you; Advent is a good time to come back, and our guide to going back to Confession after years walks you through it.

What if Advent gets away from you?

It happens to almost everyone. Work, travel, school concerts and parties fill the calendar, and suddenly it's December 18. Don't give up on the season or try to make it all up at once. Pick one thing from the plan above, the one that matters most to you right now, and do it today. Christ comes to people who are ready, and also to people who are late and a little behind. He came to a stable, after all.