ADVENT WREATH is made of various evergreens, signifying continuous, everlasting life. The laurel signifies victory over persecution and suffering. Holly’s prickly leaves remind us of the crown of thorns and the red berries, the blood of Our Saviour. The circle of the wreath, which has no beginning or end, symbolizes the eternity of God, the immortali- ty of the soul and the everlasting life offered by Christ. Any pine cones, nuts or seedpods used to decorate the wreath also symbolize life and resurrection. All-together, the wreath of evergreens depicts the immortality of our soul and the new, everlasting life promised to us through Christ, the eternal word of the Father, who entered our world becoming true man and who was victorious over sin and death through His own passion, death, and Resurrection. The four can- dles represent the four weeks of Advent. While the number of weeks and days of Advent preparation varied in the early centuries of the church, St. Gregory VII (d. 1095) set the number of Sundays in Advent to four, with the first Sun- day marking the beginning of the liturgical year. Three candles are purple, and one is rose. The purple candles sym- bolize the prayer, penance and preparatory sacrifices and good works undertaken at this time. The rose candle is lit on the third Sunday, Gaudete Sunday, is the Sunday of rejoicing, because the faithful have arrived at the midpoint of Advent, when their preparation is now half over and they are close to Christmas. The progressive lighting of the can- dles symbolizes the expectation and hope surrounding Our Lord’s first coming into the world and the anticipation of His second coming to judge the living and the dead. The light again signifies Christ, the Light of the world.