Is Advent Getting Shorter? How to Reclaim the Season

Sister Margaret Kerry, FSP, shares four strategies for intentionally entering the last days of Advent more prayerfully. 

Does Advent feel shorter every year? You’re not imagining it. Our sense of time is being squeezed — and not in ways that help us prepare for Christ. 

Why Advent Feels Short 

Advent seems to grow shorter every year. Is it simply age, or is it something else at work? One candle lit on the wreath becomes lighting four almost overnight. This feels especially unnerving in a season meant for waiting, watchfulness, and deep attentiveness. 

I’m writing this before the second week begins; by the time you read it, we’ll be nearing Christmas. So, I ask myself, how am I decorating my interior life? Is my inner light shining as brightly as the ones I hang in the hallway? Am I using moments of silence to reflect on the gifts I’ve received? Do I ever take the Advent scriptures to my favorite chair to “taste and see the goodness of the Lord,” or am I more likely to be leafing through cookbooks for the next impressive recipe? 

And ultimately: Is there a way to live this season so that Christ can be born more fully within me? 

How Digital Distraction Shrinks Time 

Research across neuroscience, philosophy, and media studies shows that constant digital input — scrolling, notifications, short-form content — interrupts the brain’s ability to form memories. When we can’t recall what has happened, it feels like time has collapsed.  

Attention switching: Constant interruptions force the brain to repeatedly re-engage. It can take 20 minutes to fully refocus. 

Lost time: On average, people lose 36 days a year to scrolling. 

Instant dopamine: Apps are built to reward quick hits of pleasure. Real-life tasks, and real spiritual growth, take time, so our brains gravitate toward the easy escape. 

Fragmentation: Too much information leaves little space for reflection, which makes time feel shorter and creates a sense that you are unfocused. 

As UC Irvine professor Gloria Mark notes, the internet is designed to grab our attention. We feel we must check, respond, and keep up.  

How to Reclaim Advent Time 

The good news: You can slow Advent back down. Here are practical ways to stretch these last days and enter them more prayerfully: 

Make Your Environment Sacred 

• Put your device in another room during prayer or family moments. 
• Use printed prayers whenever possible for Advent candle lighting. 
• If using a digital Advent guide (like Hallow provides), set a timer. 

Build Healthy Phone Habits

• Check your phone only at set times each day. 
• Avoid devices after evening prayer or dinner. 
• Use app blockers that lock distracting apps until the next morning. 

Create Presence-Rich Moments

• Do something together as a family that creates focus: sing Advent hymns, light the wreath together, or pray evening prayer. 
• Try a Cinema Divina night with a family Advent/Christmas film. Guides are available at PaulineMediaStudies.org or Pauline.org/media-studies-resources. 

Live in the Present Moment

• Treat each silent pause as preparation not only for Christmas, but for the Second Coming of Christ. The more present you are, the longer and richer Advent becomes. 

What practices have helped you reclaim time and attention during Advent? 

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Copyright 2025 Sister Margaret Kerry, FSP
Images: Canva