Free Advent Devotional

  

    

Free Today:  Be Vigilant: Daily Meditations for Advent

These brief daily meditations will help you focus on the spiritual side of Christmas. Author Michael Dubruiel died in February 2009. His wife, Amy Welborn, prepared these meditations for publication.

From a reader review:

This is my fourth year to go through this Advent devotional, and it has been truly a blessing to me and contributed to my Advent experience. The devotionals correlate with the USCCB daily readings, so it is best to read the readings and then read the devotional for the day. I myself am not Catholic, but I still get great insight out of these passages, and I can see that the author was a true follower of Christ and loved Christmas. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an Advent devotional. The book was free when I purchased it three years ago, but 99c is still a great value for this!

A Sample: 

Thursday of the Third Week of Advent

O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care. Come and show your people the way to salvation.

Today we have the tale of two sons. Both are commanded by the Father to go and work in the vineyard. The first says he won't, the other says he will. But guess what, the one who refuses relents and does what the Father asked him to do. Yet the one who originally said he would go, in fact doesn't. Jesus asks the chief priests and the elders of the people to tell him which of the two sons did the will of the Father...of course the answer is the one who vocally refused but relented and did it.

Jesus uses the story to illustrate why harlots and tax collectors who repented at the preaching of John the Baptist are headed to the pearly gates, while the "religious" likely are headed in the other direction.

Feast of St. Luke - October 18

      

From Luke, from The holy Bible, Revised Standard version:

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things which
have been accomplished among us, just as they were delivered to us by those who
from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, it seemed good
to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an
orderly account for you, most excellent The-oph'ilus, that you may know the
truth concerning the things of which you have been informed.

Luke 1:1-4

Michael Dubruiel

Books by Michael Dubruiel

Michael Dubruiel on The Infant Jesus of Prague (2)

   The Church's Most Powerful Novenas is a book of novenas connected with particular shrines compiled by Michael Dubruiel .  

Below is part 2 of Michael Dubruiel's introduction to the Novena to the Infant of Prague:

"The more you honor me, the more I will bless you."

History of the Devotion

In 1637, after the Saxons had left, Fr. Cyril of the Mother of God found the statue.

The statue was badly damaged; both arms of the infant had been broken off. It was cloaked in a dirty blue dress. (The cult of dressing the statue goes back to this time.)

Placing the image upright and reverencing it, Fr. Cyril was shocked when the image spoke to him, saying, "Have pity on me, and I will have pity on you. Give me my hands, and I will give you peace. The more you honor me, the more I will bless you."

Inspired by the words of the Infant Jesus to him, Fr. Cyril set out to find a benefactor to cover the costs of the repairs necessary for the restoration of the image. After many failed attempts, Fr. Cyril finally located a Prague citizen who not only donated money for the restoration of the statue but also for the building of a chapel in which the statue of the Infant of Prague would be enshrined.

In 1655, the bishop of Prague crowned the statue on the Feast of the Ascension. Since that time, devotion to the Infant Jesus of Prague has spread throughout the world.

Michael Dubruiel on The Infant Jesus of Prague (1)

  The Church's Most Powerful Novenas is a book of novenas connected with particular shrines compiled by Michael Dubruiel .  

Below is part 1 of Michael Dubruiel's introduction to the Novena to the Infant of Prague:

"The more you honor me, the more I will bless you."

History of the Devotion

The image of the Infant Jesus of Prague originates from Spain, where a copy of a similar wooden statue was commissioned and, in 1556, given as a wedding gift to María Manriquez de Lara, the bride of a Czech nobleman, Lord Vratislav of Pernstyn. Before her death, María bequeathed the Holy Infant statue to her daughter Polyxena, wife of Prince Zdenek Adalbert Lobkowitz. In 1628, the aged Princess Polyxena presented the statue to the friars of the Carmel of Prague, where it was placed in their chapel situated near the Church of Our Lady of Victories in Prague.

In 1631, Saxons invaded Prague and plundered the Carmelite monastery. The statue of the Infant of Prague was discarded in a trash pile behind the high altar of the church.

October 15 - Teresa of Avila

       From the Office of Readings:

All blessings come to us through our Lord. He will teach us, for in beholding his life we find that he is the best example.

What more do we desire from such a good friend at our side? Unlike our friends in the world, he will never abandon us when we are troubled or distressed. Blessed is the one who truly loves him and always keeps him near. Let us consider the glorious Saint Paul: it seems that no other name fell from his lips than that of Jesus, because the name of Jesus was fixed and embedded in his heart.

Once I had come to understand this truth, I carefully considered the lives of some of the saints, the great contemplatives, and found that they took no other path: Francis, Anthony of Padua, Bernard, Catherine of Siena. A person must walk along this path in freedom, placing himself in God’s hands. If God should desire to raise us to the position of one who is an intimate and shares his secrets, we ought to accept this gladly.

Whenever we think of Christ we should recall the love that led him to bestow on us so many graces and favours, and also the great love God showed in giving us in Christ a pledge of his love; for love calls for love in return. Let us strive to keep this always before our eyes and to rouse ourselves to love him. For if at some time the Lord should grant us the grace of impressing his love on our hearts, all will become easy for us and we shall accomplish great things quickly and without effort.

-Michael Dubruiel 

Books by Michael Dubruiel