By C. C. Pecknold, First Things -
Advent is like this too. It is a grace that prepares us for grace. It is a “prevenient” movement within the life of the Church through which God prepares us to receive what we cannot receive by ourselves. At the heart of Advent is Mary’s Song, the Magnificat: “My soul magnifies the Lord.” And the last seven days of Advent resound not only with the prophecies of old, but with the mysteries of eternity. I am speaking, of course, of the great O Antiphons, which “ring in” the final days of Advent.