Inspiring Advent Season Quotes to Ignite Your Hope

"When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with the flocks, then the work of Christmas begins: to find the lost, to heal those broken in spirit, to feed the hungry, to release the oppressed, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among all peoples, to make a little music with the heart…"

- Howard Thurman

"It is the beautiful task of Advent to awaken in all of us memories of goodness and thus to open doors of hope."

- Pope Benedict XVI

"At this Christmas when Christ comes, will He find a warm heart? Mark the season of Advent by loving and serving the others with God's own love and concern."

- Mother Teresa

"The word advent means “expectation.” What advent can do for us is create a sense of hope."

- Louie Giglio

"The Lord is coming, always coming. When you have ears to hear and eyes to see, you will recognize him at any moment of your life. Life is Advent; life is recognizing the coming of the Lord."

- Henri Nouwen

"One who has hope lives differently."

- Pope Benedict XVI

"The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come."

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"God gives God. That is the gift God always ultimately gives. Because nothing is greater and we have no greater need, God gives God. God gives God, and we only need to slow long enough to unwrap the greatest Gift with our time: time in His Word, time in His presence, time at His feet."

- Ann Voskamp

"The very purpose of Christ's coming into the world was that he might offer up his life as a sacrifice for the sins of men. He came to die. This is the heart of Christmas."

- Billy Graham

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this."

- Isaiah 9:6-7

"She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."

- Matthew 1:21

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

- John 1:14

"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God."

- Galatians 4:4-7

"I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."

- Revelation 22:16

"The season of Advent means there is something on the horizon the likes of which we have never seen before… So stay. Sit. Linger. Tarry. Ponder. Wait. Behold. Wonder. There will be time enough for running."

- Jan L. Richardson

"At this Christmas when Christ comes, will He find a warm heart? Mark the season of Advent by loving and serving the others with God’s own love and concern."

- Mother Teresa of Calcutta

"Advent is a journey towards Bethlehem. May we let ourselves be drawn by the light of God made man."

- Pope Francis

"In the seasons of our Advent—waking, working, eating, sleeping, being—each breath is a breathing of Christ into the world."

- Caryll Houselander

"God is coming! God is coming! All the element we swim in, this existence, echoes ahead the advent. God is coming! Can’t you feel it?"

- Walter Wangerin, Jr.

"Hills of the North, rejoice: Rivers and mountain-spring, Hark to the advent voice! Valley and lowland, sing!"

- Charles Edward Oakley

"The waiting of Advent teaches us to live in increments, in small pieces rather than large chunks. Waiting also teaches us to measure our progress slowly."

- Reverend Holly Whitcomb

"One of the essential paradoxes of Advent: that while we wait for God, we are with God all along, that while we need to be reassured of God’s arrival, or the arrival of our homecoming, we are already at home."

- Michelle Blake

"Rejoice! Rejoice in this Advent season As we prepare in our hearts a place for Jesus' rebirth. He is the Light, the Truth and the Hope beyond all reason, So let us reach out from our hearts to tell all the earth."

- Fr. Brian Cavanaugh, TOR

"Advent is concerned with that very connection between memory and hope which is so necessary to man. Advent's intention is to awaken the most profound and basic emotional memory within us, namely, the memory of the God who became a child. This is a healing memory; it brings hope."

- Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger

"Advent, like its cousin Lent, is a season for prayer and reformation of our hearts. Since it comes at winter time, fire is a fitting sign to help us celebrate Advent…If Christ is to come more fully into our lives this Christmas, if God is to become really incarnate for us, then fire will have to be present in our prayer."

- Edward Hays

"Take time to be aware that in the very midst of our busy preparations for the celebration of Christ’s birth in ancient Bethlehem, Christ is reborn in the Bethlehems of our homes and daily lives."

- Edward Hays

"Advent is the perfect time to clear and prepare the Way. Advent is a winter training camp for those who desire peace."

- Edward Hays

"During Advent opportunities for works of charity abound calling out for Christians from every side: a sack of food for a needy family, money dropped in a Salvation Army kettle, a donation to an Indian school, a toy for ‘Toys-for-Tots,’ etc."

- Fr. Brian Cavanaugh, TOR

"Each year, God asks us to shed one more coat of awareness, one more dream state and come alive to the vision of God’s plan for each of us and the world-at-large."

- Rev. Alfred McBride, O. Praem.

"But we would forget the lesson of the Incarnation, of the enfleshing of God—the lesson that we who are followers of Jesus do not run from the secular; rather we try to transform it. It is our mission to make holy the secular aspects of Christmas just as the early Christians baptized the Christmas tree. And we do this by being holy people—kind, patient, generous, loving, laughing people—no matter how maddening is the Christmas rush…"

- St. John Paul II

"The mystery of the Holy Night, which historically happened two thousand years ago, must be lived as a spiritual event in the ‘today' of the Liturgy. The Word who found a dwelling in Mary's womb comes to knock on the heart of every person with singular intensity this Christmas."

- St. John Paul II

"The liturgy of Advent…helps us to understand fully the value and meaning of the mystery of Christmas. It is not just about commemorating the historical event, which occurred some 2,000 years ago in a little village of Judea. Instead, it is necessary to understand that the whole of our life must be an ‘advent,' a vigilant awaiting of the final coming of Christ."

- St. Pope John Paul II

"Let's allow ourselves to be ‘infected' by the silence of St. Joseph! Silence is so lacking in this world which is often too noisy, which is not favorable to recollection and listening to the voice of God. In this time of preparation for Christmas, let us cultivate interior recollection so as to receive and keep Jesus in our lives."

- Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

"The traditional 'Christmas tree' is a very ancient custom which exalts the value of life, as in winter the evergreen becomes a sign of undying life. The message of the Christmas tree, therefore, is that life is 'ever green' if one gives: not so much material things, but of oneself: in friendship and sincere affection, and fraternal help and forgiveness, in shared time and reciprocal listening."

- St. John Paul II

"At the beginning of a new yearly cycle, the liturgy invites the Church to renew her proclamation to all the peoples and sums it up in two words ‘God comes.' These words, so concise, contain an ever new evocative power."

- Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

"Joy is the true gift of Christmas, not the expensive gifts that call for time and money. We can communicate this joy simply: with a smile, a kind gesture, a little help, forgiveness. And the joy we give will certainly come back to us."

- Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

"What good is it that Christ was born 2,000 years ago if he is not born now in your heart?"

- Meister Eckhart

"Christmas is the one day of the year that carries real hope and promise for all mankind. It carries the torch of brotherhood. It is the one day in the year when most of us grow big of heart and broad of mind."

- Edgar Guest

"Christmas is not just a season, Christmas is not just a day, Christmas is more than a reason For parties, presents and play. Christmas is truly the essence Of joy that the Savior brings; Christmas is surely the presence Of Jesus, the Kings of Kings!"

- William Arthur Ward

"At the dawn of the new Millennium, we wish to propose once more the message of hope which comes from the stable of Bethlehem: God loves all men and women on earth and gives them the hope of a new era, an era of peace."

- St. Pope John Paul II

"We need to ‘set out anew from Christ,' with the zeal of Pentecost, with renewed enthusiasm. To set out from him above all in a daily commitment to holiness, with an attitude of prayer and of listening to his word."

- Pope St. John Paul II

"Man is lost but not abandoned. Had men not been lost, no Savior would have been required. Had they been abandoned no Savior would have come."

- A. W. Tozer

"The message of Christianity is, instead, ‘Things really are this bad, and we can’t heal or save ourselves. Things really are this dark—nevertheless, there is hope.’"

- Timothy J. Keller

"Christ comes right to your Christmas tree and looks at your family tree and says, ‘I am your God, and I am one of you, and I’ll be the Gift, and I’ll take you. Take Me?’"

- Ann Voskamp

"Somehow, not only for Christmas But all the long year through, The joy that you give to others Is the joy that comes back to you. And the more you spend in blessing The poor and lonely and sad, The more of your heart's possessing Returns to you glad."

- John Greenleaf Whittier

"A man is at his finest towards the finish of the year; He is almost what he should be when the Christmas season is here; Then he's thinking more of others than he's thought the months before, And the laughter of his children is a joy worth toiling for."

- Edgar Guest

"The day of joy returns, Father in Heaven, and crowns another year with peace and good will. Help us rightly to remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds, and the worship of the wisemen."

- Henry Van Dyke

"Let Mary's soul be in each of you to proclaim the greatness of the Lord. Let her spirit be in each to rejoice in the Lord. Christ has only one mother in the flesh, but we all bring forth Christ in faith."

- Saint Ambrose

"I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year."

- Charles Dickens

"You can never truly enjoy Christmas until you can look up into the Father’s face and tell him you have received his Christmas gift."

- John R. Rice

"There is a better thing than the observance of Christmas day, and that is, keeping Christmas."

- Henry Van Dyke

"The experience of the magi reminds us that all who make the tedious journey to the truth will finally encounter it and be changed in the process."

- Father Thomas Rosica

"A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes – and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent."

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"God became man, not so that he might be with us, but so that we might be with him. In other words, the incarnation is the starting point of our divinization.…It comes about so that, having become in a sense ‘divine,' we may be capable of effectively working with Christ to rebuild the world for the glory of the father."

- Adrian Nocent, OSB

"Luke’s Gospel account of the Christmas event is full of activity…And yet, in the middle of the frenetic action, here is this woman wrapped in mystical silence…She demonstrates the necessity of a quiet place within ourselves at Christmastime—that place where we are most ourselves in relation to God."

- William Freburger

"The birth of Jesus made possible not just a new way of understanding life but a new way of living it."

- Frederick Buechner

"The twelve days of Christmas come to an end on January 6, and the season of the Epiphany begins. But Epiphany not only ends Christmas, it also fulfills it by celebrating the revelation of the Christ to the whole world."

- Phyllis A. Tickle

"You shall give yourself with your gift. This will increase its value a hundred fold, and the one who receives it shall treasure it forever."

- Anonymous

"When you have Christ in your heart, when you know what Christmas is really all about, when you don't get trapped in the trappings, something changes inside of you, and a melody starts to form that you can't really control."

- David Jeremiah

"In the silence of a midwinter dusk, there is a sound so faint that for all you can tell it may be only the sound of the silence itself. You hold your breath to listen. You are aware of the beating of your heart. The extraordinary thing that is about to happen is matched only by the extraordinary moment just before it happens. Advent is the name of that moment."

- Frederick Buechner

"The season of Advent means there is something on the horizon the likes of which we have never seen before… .What is possible is to not see it, to miss it, to turn just as it brushes past you. And you begin to grasp what it was you missed, like Moses in the cleft of the rock, watching God’s [back] fade in the distance. So stay. Sit. Linger. Tarry. Ponder. Wait. Behold. Wonder. There will be time enough for running. For rushing. For worrying. For pushing. For now, stay. Wait. Something is on the horizon."

- Jan L. Richardson

"This is the residue of sin on planet earth. Things are broken. People are hurting. The night is here. Darkness is upon us. Yet shining in the night is a Savior, and He has come to shine on you."

- Louie Giglio

"Let me not wrap, stack, box, bag, tie, tag, bundle, seal, keep Christmas. Christmas kept is liable to mold. Let me give Christmas away, unwrapped, by exuberant armfuls."

- Linda Felver

"You shall not leave ‘Christ’ out of Christmas, making it ‘Xmas.’ To some, ‘X’ is unknown."

- Anonymous

"Optimism and hope are radically different attitudes. Optimism is the expectation that things—the weather, human relationship, the economy, the political situation, and so on—will get better. Hope is trust that God will fulfill God’s promises to us in a way that leads us to true freedom. The optimist speaks about concrete changes in the future. The person of hope lives in the moment with the knowledge and trust that all of life is in good hands."

- Henri Nouwen

"Look up, you whose gaze is fixed on this earth, who are spellbound by the little events and changes on the face of the earth. Look up to these words, you who have turned away from heaven disappointed. Look up, you whose eyes are heavy with tears and who are heavy and who are crying over the fact that the earth has gracelessly torn us away. Look up, you who, burdened with guilt, cannot lift your eyes. Look up, your redemption is drawing near. something different from what you see daily will happen. Just be aware, be watchful, wait just another short moment. Wait and something quite new will break over you: God will come."

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"We thank you for this place in which we dwell, for the love that unites us, for the peace accorded us this day, for the hope with which we expect the morrow, for the work, the health, the food and bright skies which make our lives delightful for our friends in all parts of the earth."

- Robert Louis Stevenson

"You shall prepare your soul for Christmas. Spend not so much on gifts that your soul is forgotten."

- Anonymous

"You could more easily catch a hurricane in a shrimp net that you can understand the wild, relentless, passionate, uncompromising, pursuing love of God made present in the manger."

- Brennan Manning

"You shall not let Santa Claus replace Christ, thus robbing the day of its spiritual reality."

- Anonymous

"The Christmas story reminds us once again it was not man’s idea that the Son of God should be born in a stable. And so the first thing we learn from Jesus’ birth is that the Lord will not always be found where we expect to find Him."

- James F. Colaianni

"O Father may that Holy Star Grow every year more bright, And send its glorious beams afar To fill the world with light."

- William Cullen Bryant

"A novice master once responded when asked about a life lived in Christian authenticity, said that to be a Christian was not to know the answers but to begin to live in the part of the self where the question is born.…He was speaking of an attitude of listening, of awareness of presence, of an openness to mystery."

- Wendy M. Wright

"During Advent, we occupy our greatest longings."

- Ruth Haley Barton

"I want a Christmas that whispers ‘Jesus’."

- Ann Voskamp

"Into this world, this demented inn in which there is absolutely no room for him at all, Christ comes uninvited."

- Thomas Merton

"Advent: the time to listen for footsteps – you can’t hear footsteps when you’re running yourself."

- Bill McKibben

"Faith is salted and peppered through everything at Christmas. And I love at least one night by the Christmas tree to sing and feel the quiet holiness of that time that's set apart to celebrate love, friendship, and God's gift of the Christ child."

- Amy Grant

"This Christmas, you have a decision to make. It’s not about toys or gifts of what you’re going to have under the tree. It’s a decision about God’s grace. What are you going to do with the goodness of God that He bestowed on you this past year, and that you look forward to in the year that is to come?"

- Tony Evans

"Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the town, St. Joseph was searching, walking up roads and down; Our Lady was waiting, so meek and so mild, While Joseph was seeking a place for the Child;"

- Sister St. Thomas, B.N.D. de N

"There is not enough darkness in all the world to put out the light of one small candle…"

- Arthur Gordon

"Give us, O God, the vision which can see Your love in the world in spite of human failure. Give us the faith to trust Your goodness in spite of our ignorance and weakness."

- Frank Borman

"WARNING……WARNING: ADVENT VIRUS Be on the alert for symptoms of inner Hope, Peace, Joy and Love."

- Anonymous

"Love stops the cooking to hug the child. Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the husband. Love is kind, though harried and tired."

"I believe in prayer and quietness as a way of appropriating Christmas—that if I wait in silence I will experience the presence of the one born in the manger, for he lives today as surely as he lived then."

"May the forgiving spirit of Him to whom we dedicate this season prevail again on earth. May hunger disappear and terrorists cease their senseless acts. May people live in freedom, worshiping as they see fit, loving others. May the sanctity of the home be ever preserved. May peace, everlasting peace, reign supreme."

"I believe in going away from Christmas as the wise men went: 'another way.' I want to be different when these days are past—more centered, more thoughtful, more caring."

"Here are a few suggestions for special gifts: a firm handshake to a shaky soul, a kind word to a lonely person, a warm smile to the disheartened, a sincere concern for someone troubled, a feeling of compassion for the neglected, a comforting thought for the bereaved, a respect for the dignity of others, a defense of the rights of individuals, a word of witness to help a seeking soul, a Merry Christmas to all."

"It's sharing your gifts, not purchasing gifts; It's not wrapping presents, it's being present and wrapping your arms around the ones you love; It's not getting Christmas cards out on time, It's sending any card, anytime, at the right time; It's not having the biggest and best Christmas light display, It's displaying the Christ light that comes from your heart; It's not Santa coming down the chimney, It's Jesus coming down from heaven, and giving us the gift of eternal life."

"The angel's message that we should not be afraid—that the Child of Bethlehem is able to overcome all anxieties and insecurities."

"Long after the angels disappear into the heavens, the shepherds return to their flocks, the magi journey home and the great star sets, Jesus remains."

"Fear less, hope more; Eat less, chew more; Whine less, breathe more; Talk less, say more; Hate less, love more; And all good things will be yours."

"The lights are so bright, they would say And hesitate to walk away. The tree stood proud ablaze with light For every light was burning bright."

"On Christmas Eve, a young boy with light in his eyes Looked deep into Santa’s, to Santa’s surprise And said as he sat on Santa’s broad knee, "I want your secret. Tell it to me.""

"Christmas is a gift of love wrapped in human flesh and tied securely with the strong promises of God."

"It is easy to think Christmas, and it is easy to believe Christmas, but it is hard to act Christmas."

"A candy maker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would be a witness, so he made the Christmas Candy Cane. He incorporated several symbols for the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ."

"I believe that Christmas is more than a time for parties and ornaments; it is a time for remembering Christ and the incarnation of God's love in human flesh."

"Let’s approach Christmas with an expectant hush, rather than a last-minute rush."

"We are called to be witnesses of God's by the love we extend to others; precursors of his justice by our unfailing commitment to what is right and good; lamps reflecting the light of God's Christ in our forgiveness, mercy and compassion; harvesters of souls through our humble and dedicated servanthood."

"Christmas celebrates the dawn of the Light of the World. The powers of darkness are overcome by his coming to share our life. The long reign of sin is ended and grace has been poured out upon the earth."

"Life is a constant Advent season: we are continually waiting to become, to discover, to complete, to fulfill. Hope, struggle, fear, expectation and fulfillment are all part of our Advent experience."

"The gift I give to you is half an hour of quality conversation each night right after the dishes are done."

"It might be easy to run away to a monastery, away from the commercialization, the hectic hustle, the demanding family responsibilities of Christmas-time. Then we would have a holy Christmas."