The Jesse Tree Tradition
We hope you will tune in daily and hear our Advent Jesse Tree Reflection. Our Jesse Tree spots run twice daily between 6:55am-7am and then again around 7pm.
During Advent, Christians prepare their hearts for the coming of the Lord at Christmas. It’s the perfect time to reflect on how God prepared the world for the coming of Christ over 2,000 years ago. When you think about the time before Christ was born, many stories come to mind: Abraham numbering stars in the sky, Isaac climbing a mountain with an armful of wood, Jacob fashioning a colorful coat for his son…. All these stories (and more) are foreshadowing the coming of Christ and lead us from Creation to Christ.
The Jesse Tree is an Advent tradition dating from the Middle Ages that helps lead us through the Old Testament to the birth of Christ on Christmas. Each day we reflect on a different person or event from the Old Testament to Jesus. The story is told visually with a corresponding ornament hung on a small tree each day. This is a great refresher course on salvation history in a fun and simple way!
A beautiful little book we enjoy for this season is "Keeping Advent and Christmastime" from Liturgy Training Publications.
Make Your Own Jesse Tree Ornaments
We have created some Jesse Tree ornaments that you can download for free and create your own Jesse Tree at home.
You will find that there are some variations between different sources because the length of Advent changes each year, as well as some versions include the O'Antiphons and some do not. On Armor of God Catholic Radio, we use the version with the O'Antiphons. Singing together each night during this last week leading up to Christmas is a wonderful way to bring families together and prepare our hearts to receive Our Lord Jesus Christ on December 25. We hope you will enjoy these free resources.
Several sources were used, including the book, “The Jesse Tree, An Advent Devotion” by Eric & Suzan Sammons and the Catholic Culture website.