During the season of Advent, we spend time contemplating Jesus’ coming to us in the flesh as a little baby after being carried in His mother’s womb for nine months. We also contemplate what it means to prepare for His second coming. We are still going to think about those things, but we’ll do it a little bit differently this season.

Earlier this year, the bishops of the United States called for a 3-year period of Eucharistic Renewal in which we intensely focus on the Eucharist and the true presence of Jesus Christ within the Sacrament. For each week’s Advent reflection, I have selected one word that links the mystery of the Incarnation to the mystery of the Eucharist, showing how the Eucharist we consume at every Mass is one and the same as the Jesus that was born in the flesh to a virgin in Bethlehem.