Rejoice! Finding Your Place in the Advent Story (Toups)

As Rejoice! Finding Your Place in the Advent Story follows the four weeks of Advent, it will help us appreciate the places, people, and events that complement the story of the very first Advent.

• In week one, we will explore several places in the Holy Land and what they teach us about the environment in which Mary and Joseph lived.
• In week two, we will come to appreciate several people who were preparing for the birth of the Messiah while Mary and Joseph were preparing for the birth of their son.
• In week three, we will look at the events that shaped the circumstances of Jesus’ birth.
• In week four, we will enter into imaginative prayer to personally experience the final preparations for Christ’s birth.

We pray that in deepening our appreciation of the places, people, and events of the very first Advent, we can encounter the Lord in our own lives and hearts during Advent this year. Enjoy Advent. Enjoy the journey. Enjoy the places, people, and events that shaped the story of the very first Advent and shape our own lives now.

Each day, in a few short pages, Fr. Toups provides you with aids to help guide your prayer:

• A word - Focus on a single word each day to draw out the details of the Advent story.
• A reflection - Learn more about the people, places, and events of the first Advent and how they influenced Christ.
• A Psalm - Each day, you’re given a Psalm to pray to help you enter into prayer.
• A prompt - Space is provided each day to journal. Record how the Lord is speaking to you this Advent.