an Advent like no other

[Note: these holy women are all part of my saint posse, 

the ones I call on and depend on to walk with me. 

They are all found at Clear Creek Abbey in Eastern Oklahoma]

It’s been a long time… I’ve missed chatting with you all. I’ll write more about the past few months soon, but today, let me put in a plug for ADVENT…

There is so much about the season of Advent that I have always loved. Waiting. Anticipation. Grace. Beautiful feast days. Incarnation. We are the only religion who make this bold radical claim. The son of God became flesh, like us, within a human mother. And He entered the world as a humble, fragile baby.

In the midst of this bizarre pandemic year, where nothing is familiar and everything feels unsteady, where the future is a mystery and it is impossible to predict or prepare for what comes next… I invite you to be still. 

Talk walks outside. Sit and feel the sun on your face. Break the usual habits and find space, time, silence to just be. 

 

To this end, I want to suggest two resources that you don’t want to miss!

 

·      I pray with the beautiful Magnificat Magazine daily. And this year, as they have in the past, the generous folks at Magnificat have sent me several FREE Advent apps to give away to my readers. Interested?  Just leave me a message here, or email me directly: mymaria@me.com

·      In the past few years, I have written biographies about three modern saints, and each one enriched and transformed my life in a very personal way. 

 

I humbly suggest, for your Advent reading… or as a gift for a friend, the stories of these amazing holy people:

 

Rosemary Nyirumbe: Sewing Hope in Uganda (Liturgical Press)

Sister Rosemary is a Sister of the Sacred Heart of Jesus ministering, to this day, in a special way to the women and children of her homeland in northern Uganda. Read her story. It will enrich your heart!  In Sister Rosemary's own words, “Love is the key!” [click here]

 

The Shepherd Who Didn’t Run: Blessed Stanley Rother, Martyr from Oklahoma (Our Sunday Visitor)

Father Stanley Rother, a priest from my home Archdiocese of Oklahoma City is the first American martyr. He was killed in 1981 at the Oklahoma mission to Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala. But the gem of Blessed Stan is not how he died, but how he lived. We are all called to be saints, and he can show us the way through the ordinary living of our lives.

 

This book is available in Spanish and in English now! Please, help me spread his amazing story! [click here for Spanish] [click here for English]

 

Edith Stein, the Life and Legacy of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Sophia Institute Press)

Perhaps you have heard about this brilliant, prolific, gifted woman philosopher. But I fell in love with her heart, through her letters written to friends, colleagues and family, as she shared with them her own conversion story. Always seeking the God, she could not see, she finally felt Him deep inside.   I’ll give you a hint, she read the biography of Teresa of Avila, put it down and said, “This is Truth!” [click here]

Whatever you decide to do for your Advent, just pick one thing. Please join me! And I’d love to hear about it once you decide!

 

Blessings to each of you from the Heartland.  I am thankful for YOU!