In her book The Privilege of Being a Woman, philosopher Alice von Hildebrand writes that receptivity “is not to be confused with passivity, as Aristotle does when he claims that the male is superior to the female because he is ‘active,’ whereas she is passive.” She says that receptivity is “alert, awakened, joyful readiness,” and while “men and women are both receptive, but “women feel at home in this receptivity and move in it with ease and grace.”

“Alert, awakened, joyful readiness”—doesn’t this phrase perfectly capture the attitude we have during Advent? After all, In the Gospel reading for the First Sunday of Advent (Mark 13:33-37) last year, Jesus told His disciples, “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come.”

We focused on this alertness in our content last Advent, from articles to our podcast. This year, our leadership and writing teams are meditating on receptivity—what it means to be receptive as women, as business professionals, and as Christians during Advent. How do we receive gifts from God? How do we receive the people in our life? Most of all, how do we receive Christ during this period leading up to the celebration of His birth?

We invite you to join us throughout Advent by following along with our content, praying about it and discussing it with your small group or family, and participating in the conversation in our free Facebook group. May God bless you with a fruitful Advent and a merry Christmas!

Taryn DeLong is co-president and editor-in-chief of Catholic Women in Business. Her first book, Holy Ambition: Thriving as a Catholic Woman at Work and at Home, written with her co-president Elise Crawford Gallagher, is out now from Ave Maria Press. She works part time as a freelance editor and writer in between caring for her home and daughters outside Raleigh, North Carolina.