Advent is right around the corner (this year it begins November 28th), which means it is time to choose an Advent reflection book to help deepen your prayer life and help you prepare spiritually for Christmas. Adore: A Guided Advent Journal for Prayer and Meditation by Fr. John Burns with illustrations by Valerie Delgado is a wonderful guide to the season.
Fr. Burns offers reflections based on the scripture readings and collects (opening prayers) of the Mass. In addition, he devotes Wednesdays to St. Joseph, Thursdays to the Eucharist, Fridays to penance and the Cross, Saturdays to our Blessed Mother, and Sunday to the Resurrection in accordance with the custom of the Church. Each of the four weeks has a theme. In order, they are Watchfulness, Preparation, Nearness, and Emmanuel. Each day’s entry features a quotation, a meditation, and opportunity to reflect and journal, and a closing prayer. There is space provided in the book to journal, but if you are using the Kindle version, sharing this book in a family, or plan to use it for more than one Advent season, you can certainly use a separate journal or notebook to write in. A nice feature of this book is that it isn’t tied to a particular year, so that it can be used more than once.
One of the entries that spoke most to be was the prayer for Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent. As we end this year of St. Joseph, it seems most appropriate:
St. Joseph, help me imitate your patience when God’s plan for my life diverges from my desires. Intercede for me and ask that God would strengthen me today in virtue, in preparation to receive Jesus, and in the resilience to persevere in whatever task lies before me.
Making use of Adore: A Guided Advent Journal for Prayer and Meditation will help you to keep focused on the spiritual aspects of the Advent season.
The paperback version seems to be out of stock on Amazon, but you can download the Kindle version. You can also order the paperback directly from the Ave Maria Press website.
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