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Book Review: O Radiant Dawn
O Radiant Dawn: 5-Minute Prayers Around the Advent Wreath by Lisa Hendey Notre Dame: Ave Maria Press, 2012 It’s hard to believe but Advent is right around the corner. Are you searching for a meaningful Advent practice to bring more faith and spiritual growth into this busiest of seasons? “O Radiant Dawn: 5-Minute Prayers Around […]
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The Wait is Almost Over!
“I can’t take waiting any more!” My nine-year-old son emphatically announced. “I want to open my presents.” “But that is what Advent is for. It is a time of waiting,” I responded, attempting to reinforce a bit of religious instruction in the midst of the whining. “Advent is twenty-eight days of torture!” I don’t think […]
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Book Review: Christmas is About Jesus
Christmas is About Jesus: An Advent Devotional by Mukkove Johnson Tate Publishing, 2009 It might seem a bit early to be thinking about Christmas, but Advent will be here before we know it, along with all the hustle and bustle that goes along with that time of year. “Christmas is About Jesus” is a lovely […]
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Where is the Urgency?
It is strange to talk about a lack of urgency during Advent. If anything, December is full of too many things to do and too little time to do them in. There are parties to plan and decorations to put up and cookies to bake, Christmas pageants to get ready for, presents to buy and […]
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A Time to Wait
Can you remember the excitement of being a child waiting for Christmas? The days of December seemed to drag on forever. There were Christmas pageants to prepare for and activities at school to fill the days. Letters to Santa had to be written. Anticipation built daily with dreams of what presents might be under the […]
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Balancing the Sacred and Secular
I still believe in Santa Claus, not the whole North Pole concept complete with Rudolph of course, but the idea of Santa Claus as the spirit of giving. There have been times in my life when presents have just appeared anonymously in unlikely places. These gifts from secret Santa Clauses have often been the most […]
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Time to Get Ready
As presented in scripture, John the Baptist is quite the imposing character. He was not exactly the most “normal” of people, living in the desert as he did, dressed in camel skin and subsisting on locusts and wild honey, shouting at people to repent. Honestly, when one encounters someone equally non-conformist today, one is most […]
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Keep Christ in Christmas
Here are some traditions you may want to incorporate into your family or practice on your own as a means of keeping the focus of Christmas on the birth of Christ. Advent Calendar: An advent calendar is a way of marking the days until Christmas. There are many commercially made which often have small doors […]
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The History and Symbolism of the Advent Wreath
The lights of the candles on the Advent Wreath break through the darkness, reminding us of the Light of Christ that we anticipate during this holy season. Where did this tradition come from, of lighting four candles in an evergreen wreath to mark the weeks preceding Christmas? Like many of our Church traditions, the use […]