The Fourth Week of Advent: Love Draws Near

By the fourth week of Advent, the waiting has changed.

What once felt distant now feels close enough to touch. The candles glow brighter. The story tightens its focus. And love, quiet and steady, steps fully into view.

This final candle points us toward Mary. Toward a young woman who carried Love itself beneath her heart. Not in certainty. Not in comfort. But in trust.

Advent love is not sentimental. It is brave.

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel.”
—Isaiah 7:14

God with us. Not watching from afar. Not intervening only from heaven. But entering fully into the human story, choosing closeness over distance, vulnerability over power.

Love That Chooses to Stay

Love is the reason for the incarnation.

God did not come because the world had become worthy. He came because the world was broken and beloved. He came because love moves toward need, not away from it.

In Mary’s yes, we see the shape of Advent love. A willingness to carry what we don’t fully understand. A courage to trust God’s promise even when the path ahead feels uncertain. A quiet strength that holds steady when everything is about to change.

This week invites us to notice where love is drawing near in our own lives.

Perhaps it’s in reconciliation.
Perhaps it’s in tenderness where there was once fear.
Perhaps it’s simply in the reminder that you are not alone.

Preparing for Love’s Arrival

As Advent nears its end, the preparation shifts from waiting to receiving.

The question becomes not when Christ will come, but whether we are willing to welcome Him as He is—small, vulnerable, and full of grace. Love does not force its way in. It waits to be invited.

This week, we are called to open our hearts just a little wider. To release what hardens us. To allow love to take root in places we may have guarded too carefully.

Because love is already on the doorstep.

A Prayer for the Fourth Week of Advent

God of love, as we draw near to the celebration of Christ’s birth, prepare our hearts to receive You. Teach us to love as You love—fully, humbly, and without fear. Let Your presence dwell with us, now and always. Amen.