Advent wreath · Fourth Sunday
Fourth Sunday of Advent: Lighting the Wreath (Love)
Light the fourth candle of the Advent wreath, the candle of love, on the Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 20, 2026
On the Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 20, 2026, the family lights the last violet candle, the candle of love, so that all four candles of the wreath are burning.
This is the lighting of the Advent wreath, for the Fourth Sunday of Advent. Pray it alone, or with everyone at home. Gather around the wreath, or around any candle.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
This is the last Sunday before Christmas. Three candles have been lit, on three Sundays. Tonight the fourth is lit, the one many homes call the candle of love. From tonight, the whole wreath is alight.
Listen to the word of the Lord from today’s Gospel, from Luke, chapter one. The angel has told Mary that she will be the mother of God’s Son, and Mary answers: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it done to me according to thy word.”
If you have a wreath, light the other three candles, and then the last one.
Take your time.
Four flames. The circle is complete. Love is what makes room, the way Mary made room for Jesus.
Take a moment, looking at the light, to name one way you will make room for Him this week.
Let us pray as Jesus taught us.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Lord Jesus, Mary made room for You, and You came to live among us. Make room in me, and in this house, for You to be born in us this Christmas. Teach us to love the people You have given us, the easy ones and the hard ones. Come, Lord Jesus, and do not delay. Amen.
Let us make the sign of the cross. May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
Below is the AngelGuard app’s own prayer for lighting the wreath that evening, printed in full: the Sign of the Cross, Mary’s answer to the angel from the Sunday Gospel (Luke 1:38), a moment to choose one way to make room for Jesus, the Our Father and a closing prayer. It takes about four minutes.
Go deeper
Fourth Sunday of Advent 2026: December 20, the candle of love
1 min readThe Fourth Sunday of Advent is December 20, 2026, and this year the last week of Advent is a short one: Christmas falls on a Friday, so the fourth candle burns for five evenings before the feast.
The Fourth Sunday of Advent is December 20, 2026, and this year the last week of Advent is a short one: Christmas falls on a Friday, so the fourth candle burns for five evenings before the feast.
Many families call this last violet candle the candle of love; some call it the Angel’s candle. With it the whole wreath is alight, three violet flames and one rose.
The Gospel at Mass, Luke 1:26–38 in Year B, is the Annunciation. The angel greets Mary in Nazareth with news of a son, to be named Jesus, whose kingdom will have no end. She asks how it can happen, is told that God can do what seems impossible, and gives her consent. The Mass of December 8, the Immaculate Conception, had the same Gospel twelve days earlier. The wreath prayer quotes Mary’s answer, and the rest of it reads that answer as a lesson in love: love makes room for someone else, the way Mary did.
Lighting all four candles as a family
1 min readOn the last Sunday before Christmas the whole wreath is lit, and the prayer asks each person, looking at the four flames, to choose one way to make room for Jesus in the days that remain.
On the last Sunday before Christmas the whole wreath is lit, and the prayer asks each person, looking at the four flames, to choose one way to make room for Jesus in the days that remain.
- Light all four in order. The two violet candles, then the rose one, then the last violet candle. On the weeknights that follow, light all four again at dinner.
- Make the room real. For a child it can be clearing a shelf for the Nativity scene, or keeping the manger empty until Christmas; for an adult, an hour given to someone, or a call to a relative who is not easy to love.
- Leave the center candle dark. If your wreath has a white candle in the middle, the Christ candle, it waits for Christmas.
- Then Christmas. On Christmas Eve and at the Christmas table, our Christmas prayers take over where the wreath leaves off.
For the days in between, there is a short Advent prayer for each day, up to Christmas Eve.
The wreath prayers for the earlier Sundays
1 min readIf you are starting late, the prayers for the earlier Sundays of Advent can still be prayed on any evening this week.
If you are starting late, the prayers for the earlier Sundays of Advent can still be prayed on any evening this week.
- First Sunday, November 29: the blessing of the wreath and the candle of hope.
- Second Sunday, December 6: the candle of peace.
- Third Sunday, December 13: Gaudete Sunday and the rose candle of joy.
What each of the four candles means, and the order to light them in, is in our Advent wreath guide.
Questions
What is the prayer for the fourth Sunday of Advent?
On December 20, 2026, a family lights all four candles of the Advent wreath and prays for love. The prayer on this page reads Mary’s answer from Luke 1:38, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord,” gives each person a moment to choose one way to make room for Jesus, and ends with the Our Father and a closing prayer.
What does the fourth Advent candle mean?
Love, in many homes; some call it the Angel’s candle, for the angels who announced Christ’s birth. It is violet, and once it is lit all four candles burn together until Christmas.
Do you light the Advent candles on Christmas Eve?
Yes. Advent lasts until Christmas Eve, so all four candles are lit that evening too. Families whose wreath has a white candle in the middle, the Christ candle, light it for Christmas, on Christmas Eve night or Christmas Day, and some keep lighting the wreath through the Christmas season.
What is the Gospel for the fourth Sunday of Advent in 2026?
Luke 1:26–38, the Annunciation, in Year B of the Sunday readings. The angel brings Mary the news that she is to bear the Son of God, and she answers: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38).
How long is the fourth week of Advent in 2026?
Five days. The Fourth Sunday is December 20 and Christmas falls on Friday, December 25, so the last week runs from Sunday to Thursday, December 24. In a year when Christmas is a Monday, the fourth week lasts a single day.
A prayer from AngelGuard · the app’s wreath lighting; Gospel in the Douay-Rheims
Guided narration · How it’s made
Upcoming · Oct 28
Sts. Simon and Jude
See the full liturgical calendar — every feast this year, and an embed for your parish site.