Advent Calendar 2009: INTRODUCTION

Gates, lift high your heads,

raise high the ancient gateways,

and the king of glory shall enter.

Psalm 24: 7 (New Jerusalem Bible)

Today is the First Sunday of Advent. As I have done for the past two years, I will again offer a blog version of an Advent Calendar. I remember enjoying Advent Calendars as a child and I shared them over the years with my own kids, Emily and Peter. Each day in December we looked forward to opening a little door and revealing a picture, and sometimes a verse, relating to Christmas.

The theme for 2009 is Roman Gates. For each of the twenty four days before Christmas you will find a photo of a different gate here in Rome along with a brief Advent prayer. I hope these images and thoughts will help you prepare for the celebration of Christmas and I hope you will enjoy these Roman gates.

The Advent Calendar will begin on December 1st with the first gate.
While you are waiting...


Here is the gate to our apartment building on Piazza Oderico da Pordenone in the Garbatella neighborhood of Rome.

Anglican Collect for First Sunday of Advent

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of
darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of
this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit
us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come
again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the
dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and
for ever. Amen.
1979 Book of Common Prayer

Here are some more gates in our neighborhood of Garbatella.

You can check December in the blog archives for previous Advent Calendars:
Doors of Rome (2008)
Windows of Rome (2009)