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Advent Daily Lessons and Carols 2024

Each year, I set up an Advent Boot Camp to work people up to half an hour of silent prayer daily, using various readings and devotional practices during Advent. I did it this year, too, but I wanted to offer another option for people who need a little less direction: daily lessons and carols.

For this Advent practice, you’ll figure out your own daily schedule. A good practice would be to spend 5-10 minutes “warming up” by quieting your heart and talking to Jesus about the things that are weighing on you. Then take your time with the daily Scripture (using a real paper Bible if at all possible). You might try lectio divina with it or attempt Ignatian meditation. You can do the same with the Advent and Christmas hymns. Or you could listen to them on this Spotify playlist or sing them or play them on your bassoon. You could read the Bible passage at every meal or make it your lock screen. Really, there’s any number of ways you could approach this. But I felt like I needed something more intentional to guide my meditation right now and I figured you might, too.

(I’ll be sharing these as images on social media as well.)

Day Scripture Hymn
Dec 01 Luke 1:26-29 Let all mortal flesh keep silence,
and with fear and trembling stand.
Ponder nothing earthly minded,
for with blessing in his hand
Christ our God to earth descending
Comes, our homage to demand.
Dec 02 Luke 1:30-33 Rank on rank the host of heaven
Spreads its vanguard on the way,
As the Light of light descendeth
From the realms of endless day,
That the pow’rs of hell may vanish
As the darkness clears away.
(Let All Mortal Flesh)
Dec 03 Luke 1:34-37 Lo, how a rose e’er blooming,
From tender stem hath sprung.
Of Jesse’s lineage coming,
As men of old have sung;
It came, a flow’ret bright,
Amid the cold of winter,
When half spent was the night.
Dec 04 Luke 1:38,
Isaiah 7:14		 Isaiah ’twas foretold it,
The Rose I have in mind.
With Mary we behold it,
The virgin mother kind.
To show God’s love aright
She bore to men a Savior
When half-spent was the night.
(Lo How a Rose)
Dec 05 Isaiah 60:1-3 This Flower, whose fragrance tender
With sweetness fills the air,
Dispel with glorious splendor
The darkness everywhere.
True man, yet very God,
From sin and death now save us
And bear our every load.
(Lo How a Rose)
Dec 06 Matthew 1:18-19 Of the Father’s love begotten
ere the worlds began to be,
he is Alpha and Omega,
he the source, the ending he,
of the things that are, that have been,
and that future years shall see
Evermore and evermore.
Dec 07 Matthew 1:20-21 Oh, that birth forever blessed
when the virgin, full of grace,
by the Holy Ghost conceiving,
bore the Savior of our race,
and the babe, the world’s Redeemer,
first revealed his sacred face
evermore and evermore.
(Of the Father’s Love Begotten)
Dec 08 Matthew 1:22-24 This is he whom seers and sages
sang of old with one accord,
whom the voices of the prophets
promised in their faithful word.
Now he shines, the long-expected;
let creation praise its Lord
Evermore and evermore.
(Of the Father’s Love Begotten)
Dec 09 Isaiah 9:2-4 Come, Thou long-expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel’s strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.
Dec 10 Isaiah 9:5-6 Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all-sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.
(Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus)
Dec 11 Luke 1:41-45 O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.
O come, O Wisdom from on high,
who ordered all things mightily;
to us the path of knowledge show
and teach us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.
Dec 12 Luke 1:46-49 O come, O come, great Lord of might,
who to your tribes on Sinai’s height
in ancient times once gave the law
in cloud and majesty and awe.
O come, O rod of Jesse’s stem,
from every foe deliver them
that trust thy mighty power to save,
and give them victory o’er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.
Dec 13 Luke 1:50-52 O come, O Key of David, come
and open wide our heavenly home.
Make safe the way that leads on high
and close the path to misery.
O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high,
And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.
Dec 14 Luke 1:53-55 O come, Desire of nations, bind
in one the hearts of all mankind.
Bid thou our sad divisions cease
and be for us our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.
Dec 15 Luke 2:3-5 O little town of Bethlehem,
how still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
the silent stars go by;
yet in thy dark streets shineth
the everlasting light.
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.
Dec 16 Micah 5:1-3 For Christ is born of Mary,
and, gathered all above
while mortals sleep, the angels keep
their watch of wond’ring love.
O morning stars, together
proclaim the holy birth,
and praises sing to God the King
and peace to all the earth.
(O Little Town of Bethlehem)
Dec 17 Luke 2:6-7 How silently, how silently,
the wondrous gift is giv’n!
So God imparts to human hearts
the blessings of his heav’n.
No ear may hear his coming,
but in this world of sin,
where meek souls will receive him, still
the dear Christ enters in.
(O Little Town of Bethlehem)
Dec 18 Isaiah 35:4-6 When earth drew on to darkest night,
you came, but not in splendor bright,
not as a king, but as the child
Of Mary, virgin mother mild.
In sorrow that the ancient curse
should doom to death a universe,
you came to save a ruined race
With healing gifts of heav’nly grace.
(Creator of the Stars of Night)
Dec 19 Luke 2:8-14 Angels and archangels may have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;
But His mother only, in her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.
(In the Bleak Midwinter)
Dec 20 Wisdom 18:14-15 Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.
(In the Bleak Midwinter)
Dec 21 Luke 2:15-20 What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart
(In the Bleak Midwinter).
Dec 22 Luke 2:29-32 Why lies He in such mean estate,
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christians, fear, for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading.
Nails, spear shall pierce Him through,
The cross be borne for me, for you.
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.
(What Child Is This?)
Dec 23 Matthew 2:9-12 So bring Him incense, gold and myrrh,
Come peasant, king to own Him;
The King of kings salvation brings,
Let loving hearts enthrone Him.
Raise, raise a song on high,
The Virgin sings her lullaby.
Joy, joy for Christ is born,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.
(What Child Is This?)
Dec 24 Exodus 16:6-7 Oh holy night, the stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth;
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
‘Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn;
Fall on your knees, Oh hear the angel voices!
Oh night divine! Oh night when Christ was born.
Oh night divine, Oh night, Oh night divine.
Dec 25 John 1:14 Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is Love and His gospel is Peace;
Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother,
And in his name all oppression shall cease,
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful Chorus raise we;
Let all within us praise his Holy name!
Christ is the Lord! Oh praise his name forever.
His pow’r and glory, evermore proclaim!
His pow’r and glory, evermore proclaim!
(Oh Holy Night)

Advent Bootcamp 2024

“It is not particularly difficult to find thousands who will spend two or three hours a day exercising, but if you ask them to bend their knees to God for five minutes of prayer, they protest that it is too long.”-Fulton Sheen

I put out an Advent Boot Camp three years ago and the response was great, so it’s become an annual thing. Just a little tweaking since Christmas isn’t always the same day of the week. Read the intro here or just dive right in and prepare for the Spirit to pump you up.1

This “Advent Boot Camp” is a guideline, not a foolproof plan. Feel free to substitute anything. What’s essential is that you’re spending time in silent prayer–not just prayer but silent prayer–and that you’re easing into it.

Each day’s prayer starts with a 5 minute warmup. It’s hard just to snap from all the noise of the world into prayer, so take some time to slow down, talk to the Lord about what’s weighing on you, and get quiet. Then see what God has to say to you through his Word, his Saints, and the prayers of his Church. Finally, spend some good time in silence, either processing what you’ve read, talking to God, or trying to be still in his presence. If your prayer life has consisted solely of grace before meals and Mass on Sunday, this might be tough. But it will get easier. And what better time to seek silence than in the mad bustle leading up to Christmas?

Week 1: Begin each day with 5 minutes of prayer, make one chapel visit

  • Day 1: 5 minute warmup; Isaiah 40; 5 minutes silence
  • Day 2: 5 minute warmup; Isaiah 9:1-6; one decade of the rosary, 5 minutes silence
  • Day 3: 5 minute warmup; the Office of Readings; 5 minutes silence
  • Day 4: 5 minute warmup; Catechism 522-526; one decade of the rosary; 5 minutes silence
  • Day 5: 5 minute warmup; Luke 1:26-38; 10 minutes silence
  • Day 6: 5 minute warmup; Chaplet of Divine Mercy; 5 minutes silence
  • Day 7: 15 minutes of prayer: your choice

Week 2: Begin and end each day with 5 minutes of prayer, attend one extra Mass

Week 3: Begin and end each day with 5 minutes of prayer, attend two extra Masses

  • Day 15: 5 minute warmup; John 1:1-18; reading from St. Gregory Nazianzen; 10 minutes silence
  • Day 16: 25 minutes of prayer: your choice
  • Day 17: 5 minute warmup; “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”; 15 minutes silence
  • Day 18: 5 minute warmup; the Office of Readings; 15 minutes silence
  • Day 19: 5 minute warmup; full rosary (joyful mysteries); 5 minutes silence
  • Day 20: 5 minute warmup; Isaiah 61-62; 15 minutes silence
  • Day 21: 5 minute warmup; memorize Isaiah 9:5 (“A child is born to us…”); 10 minutes silence

Week 4: Begin and end each day with 5 minutes of prayer, make two chapel visits

I’ve compiled the non-Biblical readings here if you want to print them in advance: Advent Boot Camp readings

This is going to max you out at 30-35 minutes of prayer at one time. If you feel like you can do more than that, go for it. But if you’re a beginner when it comes to non-liturgical prayer, this might be a good way to get started. Whether you’re interested in this approach or not, do spend some time praying about how you’re going to try to grow closer to the Lord this Advent. But don’t stress about it–it’s supposed to be a time of preparation and peace, not frantic anxiety, despite what the mall might do to you this time of year. You might consider starting to read the Bible through in a year using this schedule. Or read Caryll Houselander’s The Reed of God. Just be sure you do something more than bake and shop to prepare for Christmas this year. The Christ Child is coming, after all. Offer him your heart.

How to Pick a Confirmation Saint

Congratulations on your upcoming confirmation! How exciting! In many dioceses, confirmandi are invited to pick a Saint to accompany them on this journey. If you’re hoping to find just the right Saint, here are some thoughts that might help—and might keep you from being one of the eleven kids at your confirmation who pick the same Saint.

First and foremost, remember this: your confirmation Saint is not the be-all and end-all of your Saintly relationships. There’s no pressure here: pick someone you love and then if you find other Saints you love later, you can add them to your Saint squad informally. But there’s no reason to stress about this!

Second, you’ll want to find out the rules for confirmation Saints in your diocese. In most dioceses you can pick a Saint or a Blessed; in some just Saints, in some anyone with an open cause for canonization, and in some any name that isn’t contrary to Christian sensibilities.

After that, it’s time to start doing some research! I obviously recommend both of my books (Saints Around the World and Pray for Us: 75 Saints who Sinned, Suffered, and Struggled on Their Way to Holiness), but I’ve got some other recommendations here. When I’m helping a godchild pick a Saint, here’s what we do:

  1. Before we meet to talk through it, you have to read both my books and jot down names of Saints you’re interested in. (If a kid is reluctant to be confirmed—or not much of a reader—I can work with that, but so far everyone has been down.)
  2. I’ll ask you what you’re thinking and we’ll talk about the Saints you like, from the books or otherwise.
  3. I’ll draw out some common themes I see in what you highlight, then ask what else you might be looking for.
    -A certain profession? Hobbies? Sports? Academic interests? Personality types?
    -Any health issues (physical or mental) that might be relevant? Family difficulties? Personal struggles?
    -If you’re comfortable sharing, what are some sins you struggle with? What elements of your personality need some purification? Maybe pride or anger?
    (Note: I always make it clear that they don’t have to tell me and I always suggest sins that aren’t so hard to talk about. Often this has already come out by this point, but many people really appreciate a Saint with similar struggles. So we find Saints who had similar struggles and overcame them—or at least continued pursuing holiness in spite of them. We also find Saints who were the opposite, whose natural inclination was to holiness in those areas. We talk about how it’s good to have both kinds of Saint friends, the ones you can admire and try to imitate and the ones who you know understand your struggle.⁣)
  4. Are you looking for a particular gender/race/cultural background/vocation?
  5. What do you want from your Saint long term? Do you want:
    -a Saint with lots of writings you can read?
    -a Saint with lots of books about him?
    -a popular Saint with lots of merch? (Medals, art, t-shirts, etc)
    -a less popular Saint you can introduce to people?
    -a Saint you can learn a ton about or one we don’t know much about whose story is succinct?
    -are you okay with a Saint whose story is mostly legend or do you think that will bother you down the road?
  6. As we go, I tell stories and jot down names of Saints who resonate with you.
  7. Once we’ve got a good solid list, we’ll mark each one yes/no/maybe, crossing off each no.
  8. We’ll research the ones still on the list, finding podcasts and articles and translating websites and even discovering books and music that they wrote and checking those out.⁣ We’ll even look at their pictures to see if any of this helps one Saint take the lead.
  9. Usually at this point we’ll take a break for Mass or dinner, then come back, repeating step seven until we’ve got a very short list. Then we keep talking until there’s a clear front-runner (or take a break for a few days and let things percolate). And then you’ve got your Saint!

This can be trickier if you don’t have a Saint-obsessed godmother, but hopefully reading a few books and doing some good googling (looking for athlete saints here and here or musician Saints here, for example) will help you find just the right Saint for you. Good luck!

Pray for Us Lenten Book Club!

If you’re looking for something low-key with a little bit of a community aspect, I’d love it if you’d join me in reading my newest book this Lent.⁣
⁣
Pray for Us tells the stories of 75+ Saints who had real struggles and brokenness and found God in the midst of their ordinary (or shockingly adventurous lives). It’s chock full of Saints you’ve never heard of—but need to. And it deals with issues of abuse and chronic illness and infertility and dysfunctional relationships and all sorts of hard things that are perfect to take to prayer in Lent (or any time). It’s also full of stories of redemption and mercy and joy, to fix your eyes on Easter Sunday during the long, slow trudge to Calvary.⁣
⁣
Here’s what you have to do to be in the book club:⁣
-decide you’re in the book club⁣
⁣
Here’s what you really should do:⁣
-get a copy of the book⁣
⁣
Here’s what you can do:⁣
-check out the discussion questions I’ll be sharing each week
-get a book club together
-journal your answers
-write a public post using that week’s hashtag and tagging @avemariapress to get free downloadable prayer cards!⁣
-write a public post each week using that week’s hashtag and tagging @avemariapress to enter to win a copy! (7 total winners) You can answer the questions, reflect on the reading, or ask questions to be answered in my weekly lives⁣
-tune in for Instagram lives each weekend where I chat about the reading and answer your questions. You can even say, “That was cool, but what Saint can you give me for xyz?” Free Saint ninjaing!⁣
⁣
This can be as low-key as you want. You can even just scroll the hashtag and see other people’s reflections or join me for the lives. I just want y’all to know Jesus better through these Saints.⁣

You can download the discussion guide here or tune in on Instagram and Facebook each Sunday to see the questions for the week. Here’s our reading schedule:

    • Ash Wednesday: Introduction
    • Week 1: Parts 1&2
    • Week 2: Parts 3&4
    • Week 3: Parts 5&6
    • Week 4: Parts 7&8
    • Week 5: Parts 9&10
    • Holy Week: Parts 11&12
Pray-for-Us-Discussion-Guide_updated

Advent Daily Lessons and Carols 2021

Each year, I set up an Advent Boot Camp to work people up to half an hour of silent prayer daily, using various readings and devotional practices during Advent. I did it this year, too, but I wanted to offer another option for people who need a little less direction: daily lessons and carols.

For this Advent practice, you’ll figure out your own daily schedule. A good practice would be to spend 5-10 minutes “warming up” by quieting your heart and talking to Jesus about the things that are weighing on you. Then take your time with the daily Scripture (using a real paper Bible if at all possible). You might try lectio divina with it or attempt Ignatian meditation. You can do the same with the Advent and Christmas hymns. Or you could listen to them on this Spotify playlist or sing them or play them on your bassoon. You could read the Bible passage at every meal or make it your lock screen. Really, there’s any number of ways you could approach this. But I felt like I needed something more intentional to guide my meditation right now and I figured you might, too.

(I’ll be sharing these as images on social media as well.)

Day Scripture Hymn
Nov 28 Isaiah 25:8-9 O come, divine Messiah!
The world in silence waits the day
When hope shall sing its triumph,
And sadness flee away.
Dear Savior, haste! Come, come to earth.
Dispel the night and show your face,
And bid us hail the dawn of grace.
O come, Divine Messiah!
The world in silence waits the day
When hope shall sing its triumph,
And sadness flee away.
Nov 29 Isaiah 61:1-3 O come, Desired of nations,
Whom priest and prophet long foretold.
Come break the captive’s fetters,
Redeem the long-lost fold.
Dear Savior, haste! Come, come to earth.
Dispel the night and show your face,
And bid us hail the dawn of grace.
O come, Divine Messiah!
The world in silence waits the day
When hope shall sing its triumph,
And sadness flee away.
(O Come Divine Messiah)
Nov 30 Isaiah 9:1 And ye, beneath life’s crushing load,
whose forms are bending low,
who toil along the climbing way
with painful steps and slow,
look now! for glad and golden hours
come swiftly on the wing.
O rest beside the weary road,
And hear the angels sing!
(It Came Upon the Midnight Clear)
Dec 01 Luke 1:26-29 Let all mortal flesh keep silence,
and with fear and trembling stand.
Ponder nothing earthly minded,
for with blessing in his hand
Christ our God to earth descending
Comes, our homage to demand.
Dec 02 Luke 1:30-33 Rank on rank the host of heaven
Spreads its vanguard on the way,
As the Light of light descendeth
From the realms of endless day,
That the pow’rs of hell may vanish
As the darkness clears away.
(Let All Mortal Flesh)
Dec 03 Luke 1:34-37 Lo, how a rose e’er blooming,
From tender stem hath sprung.
Of Jesse’s lineage coming,
As men of old have sung;
It came, a flow’ret bright,
Amid the cold of winter,
When half spent was the night.
Dec 04 Luke 1:38,
Isaiah 7:14		 Isaiah ’twas foretold it,
The Rose I have in mind.
With Mary we behold it,
The virgin mother kind.
To show God’s love aright
She bore to men a Savior
When half-spent was the night.
(Lo How a Rose)
Dec 05 Isaiah 60:1-3 This Flower, whose fragrance tender
With sweetness fills the air,
Dispel with glorious splendor
The darkness everywhere.
True man, yet very God,
From sin and death now save us
And bear our every load.
(Lo How a Rose)
Dec 06 Matthew 1:18-19 Of the Father’s love begotten
ere the worlds began to be,
he is Alpha and Omega,
he the source, the ending he,
of the things that are, that have been,
and that future years shall see
Evermore and evermore.
Dec 07 Matthew 1:20-21 Oh, that birth forever blessed
when the virgin, full of grace,
by the Holy Ghost conceiving,
bore the Savior of our race,
and the babe, the world’s Redeemer,
first revealed his sacred face
evermore and evermore.
(Of the Father’s Love Begotten)
Dec 08 Matthew 1:22-24 This is he whom seers and sages
sang of old with one accord,
whom the voices of the prophets
promised in their faithful word.
Now he shines, the long-expected;
let creation praise its Lord
Evermore and evermore.
(Of the Father’s Love Begotten)
Dec 09 Isaiah 9:2-4 Come, Thou long-expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel’s strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.
Dec 10 Isaiah 9:5-6 Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all-sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.
(Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus)
Dec 11 Luke 1:41-45 O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.
O come, O Wisdom from on high,
who ordered all things mightily;
to us the path of knowledge show
and teach us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.
Dec 12 Luke 1:46-49 O come, O come, great Lord of might,
who to your tribes on Sinai’s height
in ancient times once gave the law
in cloud and majesty and awe.
O come, O rod of Jesse’s stem,
from every foe deliver them
that trust thy mighty power to save,
and give them victory o’er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.
Dec 13 Luke 1:50-52 O come, O Key of David, come
and open wide our heavenly home.
Make safe the way that leads on high
and close the path to misery.
O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high,
And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.
Dec 14 Luke 1:53-55 O come, Desire of nations, bind
in one the hearts of all mankind.
Bid thou our sad divisions cease
and be for us our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.
Dec 15 Luke 2:3-5 O little town of Bethlehem,
how still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
the silent stars go by;
yet in thy dark streets shineth
the everlasting light.
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.
Dec 16 Micah 5:1-3 For Christ is born of Mary,
and, gathered all above
while mortals sleep, the angels keep
their watch of wond’ring love.
O morning stars, together
proclaim the holy birth,
and praises sing to God the King
and peace to all the earth.
(O Little Town of Bethlehem)
Dec 17 Luke 2:6-7 How silently, how silently,
the wondrous gift is giv’n!
So God imparts to human hearts
the blessings of his heav’n.
No ear may hear his coming,
but in this world of sin,
where meek souls will receive him, still
the dear Christ enters in.
(O Little Town of Bethlehem)
Dec 18 Isaiah 35:4-6 When earth drew on to darkest night,
you came, but not in splendor bright,
not as a king, but as the child
Of Mary, virgin mother mild.
In sorrow that the ancient curse
should doom to death a universe,
you came to save a ruined race
With healing gifts of heav’nly grace.
(Creator of the Stars of Night)
Dec 19 Luke 2:8-14 Angels and archangels may have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;
But His mother only, in her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.
(In the Bleak Midwinter)
Dec 20 Wisdom 18:14-15 Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.
(In the Bleak Midwinter)
Dec 21 Luke 2:15-20 What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart
(In the Bleak Midwinter).
Dec 22 Luke 2:29-32 Why lies He in such mean estate,
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christians, fear, for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading.
Nails, spear shall pierce Him through,
The cross be borne for me, for you.
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.
(What Child Is This?)
Dec 23 Matthew 2:9-12 So bring Him incense, gold and myrrh,
Come peasant, king to own Him;
The King of kings salvation brings,
Let loving hearts enthrone Him.
Raise, raise a song on high,
The Virgin sings her lullaby.
Joy, joy for Christ is born,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.
(What Child Is This?)
Dec 24 Exodus 16:6-7 Oh holy night, the stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth;
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
‘Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn;
Fall on your knees, Oh hear the angel voices!
Oh night divine! Oh night when Christ was born.
Oh night divine, Oh night, Oh night divine.
Dec 25 John 1:14 Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is Love and His gospel is Peace;
Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother,
And in his name all oppression shall cease,
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful Chorus raise we;
Let all within us praise his Holy name!
Christ is the Lord! Oh praise his name forever.
His pow’r and glory, evermore proclaim!
His pow’r and glory, evermore proclaim!
(Oh Holy Night)

Advent Boot Camp 2021

After a year like this if you need a super low-key Advent, I absolutely get that! But if you feel as though what you need right now is to seek silence and stillness, to make space in your heart for the Christ Child in a very focused way, this Advent Boot Camp might be just the thing. Read the intro here or just dive right in.

This “Advent Boot Camp” is a guideline, not a foolproof plan. Feel free to substitute anything. What’s essential is that you’re spending time in silent prayer–not just prayer but silent prayer–and that you’re easing into it.

Each day’s prayer starts with a 5 minute warmup. It’s hard just to snap from all the noise of the world into prayer, so take some time to slow down, talk to the Lord about what’s weighing on you, and get quiet. Then see what God has to say to you through his Word, his Saints, and the prayers of his Church. Finally, spend some good time in silence, either processing what you’ve read, talking to God, or trying to be still in his presence. If your prayer life has consisted solely of grace before meals and Mass on Sunday, this might be tough. But it will get easier. And what better time to seek silence than in the mad bustle leading up to Christmas?

Week 1: Begin each day with 5 minutes of prayer, make one chapel visit

  • Day 1: 5 minute warmup; Isaiah 40; 5 minutes silence
  • Day 2: 5 minute warmup; Isaiah 9:1-6; one decade of the rosary, 5 minutes silence
  • Day 3: 5 minute warmup;Luke 1:26-38; 10 minutes silence
  • Day 4: 5 minute warmup; Catechism 522-526; one decade of the rosary; 5 minutes silence
  • Day 5: 5 minute warmup; Chaplet of Divine Mercy; 5 minutes silence
  • Day 6: 5 minute warmup; the Office of Readings (on your iBreviary app or click here for the second reading from today’s memorial); 5 minutes silence
  • Day 7: 15 minutes of prayer: your choice

Week 2: Begin and end each day with 5 minutes of prayer, attend one extra Mass

  • Day 8: 5 minute warmup; Isaiah 11; two decades of the rosary; 5 minutes silence
  • Day 9: 5 minute warmup; Luke 2:1-21; one decade of the rosary; 10 minutes silence
  • Day 10: 5 minute warmup;reading from St. Bernard of Clairvaux; 10 minutes silence
  • Day 11: 5 minute warmup; the Office of Readings; 10 minutes silence
  • Day 12: 20 minutes of prayer: your choice
  • Day 13: 5 minute warmup; Stations of the Cross
  • Day 14: 5 minute warmup; “In the Bleak Midwinter”; 1 John 4; 10 minutes silence

Week 3: Begin and end each day with 5 minutes of prayer, attend two extra Masses

  • Day 15: 5 minute warmup; John 1:1-18; reading from St. Gregory Nazianzen; 10 minutes silence
  • Day 16: 25 minutes of prayer: your choice
  • Day 17: 5 minute warmup; “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”; 15 minutes silence
  • Day 18: 5 minute warmup; Isaiah 61-62; 15 minutes silence
  • Day 19: 5 minute warmup; full rosary (joyful mysteries); 5 minutes silence
  • Day 20:
  • 5 minute warmup; make a good examination of conscience, asking God to cast light into all the areas of sin in your life and to make you truly repentant and grateful for his love and mercy; go to confession; 15 minutes silence
  • Day 21: 5 minute warmup;the Office of Readings; 15 minutes silence

Week 4: Begin and end each day with 5 minutes of prayer, make two chapel visits

  • Day 22: 5 minute warmup; memorize Isaiah 9:5 (“A child is born to us…”); 10 minutes silence
  • Day 23: 5 minute warmup; Jeremiah 31; 15 minutes silence
  • Day 24: 5 minute warmup; 15 minutes journaling on why you need the incarnation; 10 minutes silence
  • Day 25: 5 minute warmup; Isaiah 35; reading from St. Augustine; 20 minutes silence
  • Day 26: 5 minute warmup; Matthew 1:18-2:23; G.K.Chesterton “The House of Christmas”; 20 minutes silence
  • Day 27: Half an hour of prayer: your choice

I’ve compiled the non-Biblical readings here if you want to print them in advance: Advent Boot Camp readings

This is going to max you out at 30-35 minutes of prayer at one time. If you feel like you can do more than that, go for it. If you’re a beginner when it comes to non-liturgical prayer, though, this might be a good way to get started. Whether you’re interested in this approach or not, do spend some time praying about how you’re going to try to grow closer to the Lord this Advent. But don’t stress about it–it’s supposed to be a time of preparation and peace, not frantic anxiety, despite what the mall might do to you this time of year. You might consider starting to read the Bible through in a year using this schedule. Or read Caryll Houselander’s The Reed of God. Just be sure you do something more than bake and shop to prepare for Christmas this year. The Christ Child is coming, after all. Offer him your heart.

A Litany of Lament

A litany of lament praying for those wounded by people who claim the name of Jesus. Please pray with me.

Christians love to honor our martyrs, the men, women, and children who died in imitation of their Savior, refusing to betray the one who laid down his life for them.

But we forget that historically, we aren’t always the oppressed. We have all too often been the oppressors. Nations have committed atrocities in the name of Jesus. Christian cultures have victimized those who don’t embrace our creed or who break moral or even cultural norms. Those who represent the Church have abused children and adults, sometimes secretly and sometimes to public acclaim.

On this account, I generally highlight the heroes, the ones who remind us who we ought to be and who show us how to fight against evil within the Church as much as without.

But we can’t ignore the atrocities perpetrated in the name of Jesus, in our names. We can’t gloss over the evils of the past (and, Lord have mercy, the present) with a glib statement that racism and misogyny and rape and murder were never *Church teaching* as though the wickedness doesn’t matter because we have doctrines against it.

These were our people.

These were our ancestors.

We share a name, a heritage, a faith.

And when we look away from the evil, we take their side. When we brush off the ugliness committed in our name, we stand with the aggressors. When we say, “Yes, but…” and hold up our own examples of oppression or our human rights heroes or our doctrine that decries the actions that were still praised or accepted or ignored—then we further wound the marginalized and abused.

Praise God that we can do something. We can learn about the atrocities. We can refuse to look away. We can donate to groups that are doing the work of bringing healing.

We can fast and pray, offering reparations for the ways the Church and her members have wounded the people so deeply loved by God, the people Jesus died for. We can enter into the burning, wounded, beating Sacred Heart of Jesus and hold our brothers and sisters there, begging the Lord for mercy, for healing, for justice.

Let us pray.

A Litany of Lament

For Native children stolen from their families and poisoned against their people, for the cultures destroyed and the souls driven from Jesus, we pray,

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, bring healing.
Lord, let there be justice.

For the people kidnapped and enslaved, abused by Christians and told that resistance was a sin, we pray,

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, bring healing.
Lord, let there be justice.

For the Jewish people discriminated against, forced to convert, abused, and murdered for sharing a faith with Jesus and his mother, we pray,

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, bring healing.
Lord, let there be justice.

For all people who have suffered at the hands of Catholics because they were not themselves Catholic, for fellow Christians disdained or killed, for Muslims and Hindus and Buddhists and pagans and every member of every religion abused, oppressed, robbed of their faith, forced to convert, or killed, we pray,

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, bring healing.
Lord, let there be justice.

For the children and vulnerable adults abused by priests and religious and others who claimed the name of Jesus, for those who lost peace and innocence and trust in God’s Church, we pray,

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, bring healing.
Lord, let there be justice.

For those women in crisis pregnancies who were vilified, who were lied to, who were forced or coerced into making an adoption plan, who were sent away, whose babies were stolen, who were advised to abort, who were abandoned, we pray,

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, bring healing.
Lord, let there be justice.

For people denied access to the Sacraments, barred from religious orders, made to receive communion last, forced into segregated churches, othered, excluded, not represented, and made to feel like they don’t belong because of their race, we pray,

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, bring healing.
Lord, let there be justice.

For the people excluded, ignored, rejected, vilified, taught to hate themselves, or taught that God hates them for their sexuality, their gender identity, their mental illness, their disability, their poverty, their addiction, their marital status, their infertility, their chronic illness, their bereavement, or the circumstances of their birth, we pray,

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, bring healing.
Lord, let there be justice.

(Feel free to print and share)

Advent Boot Camp 2020

This has been a miserable year for just about the whole world, so if you need a super low-key Advent, I absolutely get that! But if you feel as though what you need right now is to seek silence and stillness, to make space in your heart for the Christ Child in a very focused way, this Advent Boot Camp might be just the thing. Read the intro here or just dive right in.

This “Advent Boot Camp” is a guideline, not a foolproof plan. Feel free to substitute anything. What’s essential is that you’re spending time in silent prayer–not just prayer but silent prayer–and that you’re easing into it.

Each day’s prayer starts with a 5 minute warmup. It’s hard just to snap from all the noise of the world into prayer, so take some time to slow down, talk to the Lord about what’s weighing on you, and get quiet. Then see what God has to say to you through his Word, his Saints, and the prayers of his Church. Finally, spend some good time in silence, either processing what you’ve read, talking to God, or trying to be still in his presence. If your prayer life has consisted solely of grace before meals and Mass on Sunday, this might be tough. But it will get easier. And what better time to seek silence than in the mad bustle leading up to Christmas?

Week 1: Begin each day with 5 minutes of prayer, make one chapel visit

  • Day 1: 5 minute warmup; Isaiah 40; 5 minutes silence
  • Day 2: 5 minute warmup; Isaiah 9:1-6; one decade of the rosary, 5 minutes silence
  • Day 3: 5 minute warmup;Luke 1:26-38; 10 minutes silence
  • Day 4: 5 minute warmup; Catechism 522-526; one decade of the rosary; 5 minutes silence
  • Day 5: 5 minute warmup; the Office of Readings (on your iBreviary app or click here for the second reading from today’s memorial); 5 minutes silence
  • Day 6: 5 minute warmup; Chaplet of Divine Mercy; 5 minutes silence
  • Day 7: 15 minutes of prayer: your choice

Week 2: Begin and end each day with 5 minutes of prayer, attend one extra Mass

Week 3: Begin and end each day with 5 minutes of prayer, attend two extra Masses

  • Day 15: 5 minute warmup; John 1:1-18; reading from St. Gregory Nazianzen; 10 minutes silence
  • Day 16: 25 minutes of prayer: your choice
  • Day 17: 5 minute warmup; “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”; 15 minutes silence
  • Day 18: 5 minute warmup; Isaiah 61-62; 15 minutes silence
  • Day 19: 5 minute warmup; full rosary (joyful mysteries); 5 minutes silence
  • Day 20: 5 minute warmup;the Office of Readings; 15 minutes silence
  • Day 21: 5 minute warmup; make a good examination of conscience, asking God to cast light into all the areas of sin in your life and to make you truly repentant and grateful for his love and mercy; go to confession; 15 minutes silence

Week 4: Begin and end each day with 5 minutes of prayer, make two chapel visits

  • Day 22: 5 minute warmup; memorize Isaiah 9:5 (“A child is born to us…”); 10 minutes silence
  • Day 23: 5 minute warmup; Jeremiah 31; 15 minutes silence
  • Day 24: 5 minute warmup; 15 minutes journaling on why you need the incarnation; 10 minutes silence
  • Day 25: 5 minute warmup; Isaiah 35; reading from St. Augustine; 20 minutes silence
  • Day 26: 5 minute warmup; Matthew 1:18-2:23; G.K.Chesterton “The House of Christmas”; 20 minutes silence
  • Day 27: Half an hour of prayer: your choice

I’ve compiled the non-Biblical readings here if you want to print them in advance: Advent Boot Camp readings

This is going to max you out at 30-35 minutes of prayer at one time. If you feel like you can do more than that, go for it. If you’re a beginner when it comes to non-liturgical prayer, though, this might be a good way to get started. Whether you’re interested in this approach or not, do spend some time praying about how you’re going to try to grow closer to the Lord this Advent. But don’t stress about it–it’s supposed to be a time of preparation and peace, not frantic anxiety, despite what the mall might do to you this time of year. You might consider starting to read the Bible through in a year using this schedule. Or read Caryll Houselander’s The Reed of God. Just be sure you do something more than bake and shop to prepare for Christmas this year. The Christ Child is coming, after all. Offer him your heart.

A Trinity Sunday Homily on Racism

Dear Fathers,

I know that many of you haven’t spoken out on racism because you’re not sure what to say. Or because you think it’s too political an issue. Or because you think it goes without saying. But our Church is filled with people who unthinkingly benefit from oppressive structures, with people who are openly or subtly racist, with people who mean well but are unaware of the need to stand with the oppressed and marginalized right now.

Your Black parishioners need to know that you will fight for them. Your other parishioners need your prophetic voice to call them out of sin (sins of omission and sins of commission). So I wrote this homily for Trinity Sunday for those who might benefit. Use it as a jumping-off point or just read it from the pulpit—no need to attribute anything to me.

******

Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, the feast that celebrates the central mystery of our faith: that God is one God in three persons, distinct but not separate.

It’s a truth of the faith that we often ignore. We acknowledge that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and mutter something about a shamrock, feeling rather uncertain about what seems to be a faulty mathematical equation. And once a year you hear about the Trinity from the pulpit and the rest of the year we all go about our lives.

But the mystery of the Trinity reveals something powerful to us about God: that God is communion. When we say God is love, we don’t just mean that God is nice or that he loves you, but that he is love. He has always been love and will always be love, because he in himself is a communion of love.

Since before there was time, the Father has been pouring himself out in love to the Son and the Spirit, the Son pouring himself out in love to the Father and the Spirit, the Spirit pouring himself out in love to the Father and the Son. And when God so loved the world that he sent his only Son to live and die and rise for us, Jesus called on his follower to love in the same way. Not just to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Not just to “love your neighbor as yourself.” So much more than that: to love as he loves you (Jn 13:34). And how does Jesus love you? He tells us at the Last Supper: “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you” (Jn 15:9).

As the Father has loved him.

That makes the dogma of the Trinity rather more practical than theoretical. The Father loves the Son wildly, ceaselessly, eternally. Which means God loves you wildly, ceaselessly, eternally. And you have to love others wildly, ceaselessly, eternally.

It’s not enough just not to hate. You have to love, to pour yourself out, to sacrifice.

Imagine if God the Son had looked down on his people trapped in sin and plagued by the devil and said, “That’s not my problem.” Imagine if he had seen children abused and said, “Well, I didn’t abuse any children.” Imagine if he had murmured something about “human-on-human crime” and allowed every one of us to wend our way to damnation.

It’s a horrifying image, isn’t it?

God doesn’t love like that. God doesn’t ignore your pain.

My friends, there is a plague in this country. There has been since our founding: a plague of racism and injustice. And let me be very clear: racism is evil. It is a grave sin.

Now I know that many of you don’t hate Black and Brown people. Lots of you don’t even discriminate against them. That’s not enough. You have to fight for them, as Jesus fought for you. You have to listen to their stories. You have to learn about the systems of injustice that have oppressed people in this country for centuries. You have to examine your own areas of prejudice and beg the Lord to make you more like him, with a heart that pours itself out in love.

When Paul talks in the second reading about mending our ways and living in peace, he says that this fighting for justice and unity is the only way that our God who is love will truly be with us. Ignoring suffering and division doesn’t build up the body of Christ, even if you genuinely had nothing to do with it. Loving suffering people, listening to them, fighting for justice in our schools, in our justice system, in our Church—that’s what builds up the body of Christ.

God’s nature teaches us about our nature. He has made us to be like himself: merciful, gracious, slow to anger, rich in kindness. He has made us to pour ourselves out in love. But unlike God’s love, our love is not a pure gift of mercy. It’s demanded by justice. We have to recognize the ways we’ve been complicit, the jokes we shouldn’t have laughed at, the suffering we shouldn’t have ignored. And if we’re going to call ourselves Christians, we have to follow the Spirit’s prompting to grow and learn and love better.

To my Black brothers and sisters1: I’m sorry. I don’t just mean some vague expression of sympathy. I mean I apologize. I apologize on behalf of Church leadership that has failed so many times over the centuries to honor your dignity and fight for your freedom. I apologize on behalf of people who wear the name of Christian while harboring the sin of racism in their hearts. And I apologize for my own behavior, for the ways I’ve been complicit, for failing to listen to you, to fight for you. I’m so sorry.

My friends, this is not a political homily. This is not about police. This is not about protests. This is about a God who is love and is calling you to love sacrificially, even when it’s uncomfortable. I’m just not sure how we can mark ourselves with the sign of the Cross if we’re unwilling to share in the Cross, even in the smallest way, for love of our brothers and sisters.

Ask the Holy Spirit to make you uncomfortable. Ask the crucified Son of God to lead you to love sacrificially. Ask the Father for mercy, mercy, mercy. Pray for justice. Pray for peace. But do the work.

Let us love one another. Whatever it costs.

  1. If I were delivering this address, I would livestream it. And if there weren’t any Black people in the church, I would turn to the camera and say, “To my Black brothers and sisters listening here or online. I would not omit this paragraph. [↩]

Advent Bootcamp 2019

“It is not particularly difficult to find thousands who will spend two or three hours a day exercising, but if you ask them to bend their knees to God for five minutes of prayer, they protest that it is too long.”-Fulton Sheen

When I first came to know Christ, I was as eager as any other woman in love. I was going to read the whole Bible, I decided, and the Catechism. I was going to go to daily Mass once a month1 and watch Touched by an Angel. Clearly I was all in.

On top of that impressive list, I was also going to do something that I felt was almost saintly: I was going to pray for 10 minutes a day. To that point in my life, I’d prayed very little. In the few previous years, you could probably add up all my prayer time and not get ten minutes. So ten minutes was a pretty good goal.

The trouble was, I had no idea how to pray. So I collected a litany of prayers and maybe asked for some stuff. If you had asked me at the time to spend an hour with Jesus, I might have wondered if you were on drugs. A whole hour? I would have had no idea what to do.

In fact, it wasn’t until twelve years later–when I entered the convent–that I realized that regular silent prayer was an essential component of the Christian life. I’d been praying in all kinds of ways, but I only sat still with the Lord when I had something to say. It’s hard to grow in a relationship when you only talk to a person every once in a while when you feel like it. And when I finally started praying in silence, it was hard. I had no attention span. None. I would literally pray for 3 of my intended 30 minutes and check my watch.

You may be in the same boat. Maybe you try to spend time in adoration but you just get antsy–or bored out of your mind–and leave. If you’ve got the discipline to stick it out, that’s great. But some of us need a little more direction. So I put together a spiritual plan for those of you who want to step up your prayer game this Advent but aren’t quite sure how to.

This “Advent Boot Camp” is a guideline, not a foolproof plan. Feel free to substitute anything. What’s essential is that you’re spending time in silent prayer–not just prayer but silent prayer–and that you’re easing into it.

Each day’s prayer starts with a 5 minute warmup. It’s hard just to snap from all the noise of the world into prayer, so take some time to slow down, talk to the Lord about what’s weighing on you, and get quiet. Then see what God has to say to you through his Word, his Saints, and the prayers of his Church. Finally, spend some good time in silence, either processing what you’ve read, talking to God, or trying to be still in his presence. If your prayer life has consisted solely of grace before meals and Mass on Sunday, this might be tough. But it will get easier. And what better time to seek silence than in the mad bustle leading up to Christmas?

Advent boot campWeek 1: Begin each day with 5 minutes of prayer, make one chapel visit

  • Day 1: 5 minute warmup; Isaiah 40; 5 minutes silence
  • Day 2: 5 minute warmup; Isaiah 9:1-6; one decade of the rosary, 5 minutes silence
  • Day 3: 5 minute warmup; the Office of Readings; 5 minutes silence
  • Day 4: 5 minute warmup; Catechism 522-526; one decade of the rosary; 5 minutes silence
  • Day 5: 5 minute warmup; Luke 1:26-38; 10 minutes silence
  • Day 6: 5 minute warmup; Chaplet of Divine Mercy; 5 minutes silence
  • Day 7: 15 minutes of prayer: your choice

Week 2: Begin and end each day with 5 minutes of prayer, attend one extra Mass

Week 3: Begin and end each day with 5 minutes of prayer, attend two extra Masses

  • Day 15: 5 minute warmup; John 1:1-18; reading from St. Gregory Nazianzen; 10 minutes silence
  • Day 16: 25 minutes of prayer: your choice
  • Day 17: 5 minute warmup; “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”; 15 minutes silence
  • Day 18: 5 minute warmup; the Office of Readings; 15 minutes silence
  • Day 19: 5 minute warmup; full rosary (joyful mysteries); 5 minutes silence
  • Day 20: 5 minute warmup; Isaiah 61-62; 15 minutes silence
  • Day 21: 5 minute warmup; memorize Isaiah 9:5 (“A child is born to us…”); 10 minutes silence

Week 4: Begin and end each day with 5 minutes of prayer, make two chapel visits

I’ve compiled the non-Biblical readings here if you want to print them in advance: Advent Boot Camp readings

This is going to max you out at 30-35 minutes of prayer at one time. If you feel like you can do more than that, go for it. But if you’re a beginner when it comes to non-liturgical prayer, this might be a good way to get started. Whether you’re interested in this approach or not, do spend some time praying about how you’re going to try to grow closer to the Lord this Advent. But don’t stress about it–it’s supposed to be a time of preparation and peace, not frantic anxiety, despite what the mall might do to you this time of year. You might consider starting to read the Bible through in a year using this schedule. Or read Caryll Houselander’s The Reed of God. Just be sure you do something more than bake and shop to prepare for Christmas this year. The Christ Child is coming, after all. Offer him your heart.

  1. Give me a break–I didn’t have my driver’s license yet. [↩]