Bishop Paolo Martinelli, Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia, has issued a message to the faithful at the beginning of the Advent Season.

For the Catholic Church, Advent is a time of preparation for Christmas, the birth of Jesus, and a moment to renew our expectation and “blessed hope” for His second coming.

In his message, Bishop Paolo explains that the word Advent means “to come”: God comes to us!

This year, Advent carries an even deeper significance as it leads the faithful toward the fulfillment of the Great Jubilee of Hope.

“Let us get ready to welcome Jesus, our hope, the One who accompanies us on the journey of life. I invite you to prepare your homes,” he says, encouraging the faithful to set up the Nativity scene and the Christmas tree. “And I appeal to you to prepare yourselves interiorly,” through prayer and the Sacraments.

“May the desire to meet Jesus fill your heart, together with the longing for peace and love, the yearning for justice and goodness, as Jesus’s coming will answer the deepest questions we carry within our hearts.”

“‘Come, Lord Jesus, our hope’: may this Advent prayer for this Jubilee of 2025 become the personal prayer of each of us always.”