The Franciscan spirituality of Advent may seem a lot like any Catholic's approach to the season, but that's because the Franciscan way has infiltrated the mainstream.

"The incarnation of God in the ordinary of our lives, that would be the heart of the matter for Franciscan spirituality," said Capuchin Brother Ignatius Feaver.

St. Francis of Assisi invented the most generally recognized custom of the Advent season — the Christmas crèche. Francis set up hillside nativity scenes to teach local peasants about the nativity in the 12th century. The practice has been repeated in parishes, family homes, schools and public places ever since.

"It's not just a display," said Sr. Ana Castandeda of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary. "It talks to us about how God loves us and how He wants to reclaim us."

From her first year in a Franciscan convent in Korea, Sr. Rita Kim has been taught there is a deeper meaning to the crèche in Franciscan spirituality. She remembers her novice mistress challenging young novices to "create a crib in our hearts."

As they learned to approach Advent in the spirit of St. Francis, the young Franciscans were told to find ways of creating space for Jesus in their own lives, so they would be ready to welcome Him on Christmas day, Kim said.

"When I think about Francis, and how much he loved Jesus Christ, Franciscan life is about living the Gospel," she said.

One particularly Franciscan way of looking at Advent has been the close association Francis made between the incarnation and Christ's crucifixion, said Franciscan Missionary of Mary Sister Claire-Monique Lerman.

"That this God would love us so much that He would become this weak, helpless child — that's connected to the Paschal mystery," Lerman said.

Once people see the connection between incarnation and crucifixion it has implications for Christian life, especially for Franciscans, said Lerman.

"We are supposed to be moments of incarnation," she said.

When it comes to really entering the spirit of the season, people have to ask themselves some questions, said Franciscan spiritual director Feaver.

"How willing am I, in the daily ordinary of my life, to make relationships real for me? What am I doing in my life that alienates me from others? How do I nurture in my daily life broken relationships?" asked Feaver.

Rather than a heroic spiritual quest, a Franciscan spirituality would encourage people to approach Advent with an everyday, conscious awareness of their relationships with people around them, said Feaver.

"The way we live our Christian life is the way we birth Christ," he said. "In a sense that carrying Him within us, through love, that's really an Advent stance."

Franciscan Missionary of Mary Sister Lucy Valookaran has a simple measure that tells her whether she has caught the Franciscan spirit of Advent — joy.

"Joy can only come from detachment, from reaching out to others," Valookaran said.

Kim greets each Advent with excitement.

"Because I can do something. I am part of this incarnation," she said.

"God comes every day," said Valookaran. "Advent is a time to fine tune our senses."