A prayer to begin Advent:
O God,
Grant me your grace as I take up my Advent shovel
to fill in the valleys of neglect
in my prayer and daily life.
May I be zealous in my labors
of straightening out the crooked ways
and leveling the mountains and hills of sin
and false contentment
that block the coming of Christ.
Amen.— Fr. Edward Hays, Make Straight the Crooked Ways