Recognizing the potential of our own hearts this Christmas
Growing up, one of my favorite Advent and Christmas traditions was reading from “The Advent Book” with my family. It was through this beautifully illustrated board book that I returned…
Getting to know St. Elizabeth of the Trinity during Advent
A year ago, I really didn’t know much about St. Elizabeth of the Trinity. Then I read Claire Dwyer’s book “This Present Paradise: A Spiritual Journey with St. Elizabeth of…
Should I fast during Advent?
What kind of Advent are you dreaming of? The season of Advent is just around the corner, but it can be difficult to know how to approach it. Perhaps you’re…
A king(dom) not of this world
As a child, I was never really interested in princess movies. Perhaps that was because the stories were too predictable or the characters were unrelatable. Or maybe even in my…
Becoming empty like Mary this Advent
In the darkest hours of the morning when it seems that even the moon has gone to sleep, I am often awake with my daughter. As my tired arms hold…
What the Incarnation means for a bride of Christ
During my college years, the mystery of the Incarnation ceased to be just a historical event and instead became a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. I would have never dreamed…
To find Jesus, we must first be found ourselves
“I found Him! I found Jesus!” A few years ago, I was praying in a small chapel during Christmas when a toddler ran right up to the manger and triumphantly…
The Advent book every woman should read
How many Christmas cards portray an image of the Holy Family as the snow falls gently at Jesus’ Nativity? And there we see Mary, the Mother of God, nestled right…
Come, let us adore with song
In a year when we are unable to worship in our churches in the same vibrant and musical way of seasons past, making time for liturgical music may just be…
Embracing failure in Advent
Every year, Christmas comes. It may find me kicking and screaming, curled up in the corner frantically wrapping and sweating and wondering how it happened to come so fast. In…