Advent 2025

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

As I plan to enter the holy season of Advent, I am still basking in the glow of the National Catholic Youth Conference. During the three days of that conference (Nov. 19-22) I was in Indianapolis with more than 360 young people from the Diocese of Covington and more than 16,000 from around the country.

We all loved participating in the live digital dialogue with Pope Leo who confirmed for us that he only wears “White Sox.” (Maybe the only joke I’ve every heard from the Vicar of Christ. Certainly, the first baseball joke.) Participants attended workshops on topics like how to distinguish God’s voice from our own thoughts and outside noise, living life as a vocation, and the blessing and challenge of family life. They exchanged funny hats, played games, and tried to secretly tag one another with decorated clothespins sporting favorite Bible verses or fervorinos.

When I asked young people about their favorite part of the weekend, some mentioned the dialogue with the Holy Father as impressive and helping them feel seen and loved by the Church. However, 100 percent of the young people I talked to put Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, the holy Mass, or the sacrament of Reconciliation at the top of their list of most meaningful moments. Connecting with Jesus through the sacraments of the Church was the highlight of these days of celebration. I heard it from every young person I spoke with.

This answer inspires me as I start to think about how to enter my own Advent journey this year. It is a season during which we will prepare and send Christmas cards, shop for gifts, and wrap them with care. It is important for me to remember that all these activities and traditions have developed to remind us of one truth — the greatest gift we have ever received and ever will receive is the opportunity to encounter Jesus. He is the reason, not just for the season, but for everything.

I have been re-reading a document produced by CELAM (the bishop’s conference of Latin America). In 2007, they met in Aparecida, Brazil. The meeting began with a visit by Pope Benedict XVI and produced this document under the editorial guidance of Cardinal Gorge Bergoglio (later, Pope Francis). Gift is a key theme of the document. The Latin American bishops speak of the gifts of the Church in Latin America. They highlight the gifts of life itself, the Christian faith, the Eucharist, God’s grace and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The ultimate gift that gives life and a new horizon to Christians, they say, is the encounter with Jesus Christ. This meeting and knowing Jesus — friendship with Him — is the source of new life and joy. “Knowing Jesus is the best gift that any person can receive: that we have encountered Him is the best thing that has happened in our lives, and making him known by our words and deeds is our joy” (Aparecida 29).

These two witnesses — the crowds of NCYC participants who find meaning in giving their full attention to Jesus, along with the teaching of my brother bishops Jesus Himself is the ultimate gift — sets the tone for my own Advent preparations this year. To prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, I must make room for him and rededicate myself to spending time with him at significant moments of each day. From that relationship — that encounter with the Lord — is born the joy and urge for peace that my life and our community so desperately need.

Months ago, diocesan staff helped me pick a picture for this year’s Christmas card. It is a picture of the Baby Jesus in the manger taken at the Cathedral Basilica last year. He fills the whole front of the card. It is a reminder to me to let Jesus fill my life. Whatever greetings, gifts, or meals we prepare and share, the love and joy we find in encountering Jesus motivate it all and are the only things of value we have to offer. He is the greatest gift we have received, the only gift that matters, and the only gift of any consequence that it is our joy to share with our neighbors.

May your Advent season be a time of drawing close to Jesus, the only and ultimate source of goodwill toward all.

+Bishop John Iffert