What should we be doing spiritually to prepare for Christmas? Dan Burke and Melissa Elson discuss ways we can prepare our hearts for Christmas during Advent with devotional ideas and resources.

Topics/Questions covered in the show:

• Why is Advent so important in the liturgical calendar?
• How does imagery, like icons and manger scenes, help to orient our hearts toward God?
• How does the Old Testament help us understand Advent?
• How can we get the longing for Jesus that we want during Advent?
• Why is Advent considered a penitential season?
• Daily Mass readings and the Liturgy of the Hours as extra devotionals during Advent.
• Preparing your heart before Mass.
• Why is confession so important during Advent?
• What devotional elements are essential in spiritual preparation for Christmas?

Resources:

• Spiritualdirection.com - website
• EWTN Global Catholic Radio
• Avila Institute for Spiritual Formation
• EWTN Religious Catalogue - online
• Discovering Christ - Spiritual growth program, a seven-week experience that invites guests to hear the Good News and personally encounter Jesus Christ
• Divine Intimacy - Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D.
• How do I Set Up a Home Altar? - post on spiritualdirection.com
• iBreviary (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android, Kindle Fire, Windows Phone 7, Blackberry, mobile version, widgets): Contains the Liturgy of the Hours and also all the readings from the Mass
• Magnificat Advent Companion - softcover book
• Magnificat Advent Companion - ebooks
• On The Incarnation - St. Athanasius of Alexandria
• Questions? Send an e-mail to [email protected] or call 818-646-7729. Please leave your name, location, and question(s).