Advent invites us to prepare our hearts...
The four weeks of Advent and the twelve days of Christmas, leading to Epiphany, provide the opportunity to prayerfully and consciously prepare our hearts for the birth of Christ within each of us.
Imagine your heart as your inner sanctuary, a place of welcome for the Christmas miracle, the Love of God made visible through Jesus.
Mary offers us invitations for reflection, as we journey with her through the seasons of Advent and Christmas towards Epiphany and beyond.
We know Mary by many names, Our Lady of Wisdom, Mother of Mercy, Our Lady of the Pillar, Our Lady of the Rosary. The season of Advent invites us to reflect upon the Mother of Jesus in countless ways.
The Advent Journey
This six-week, gently paced study, is offered for your personal reflection and spiritual enrichment throughout the sacred season of Advent, concluding with Epiphany.
The format is simple and prayerful. Each week's reflection will explore Mary's journey from the Annunciation to Jesus's birth and beyond. Mary, Mother of Jesus, will inspire our hearts as we envision and embody our sacred sanctuaries, our oratories, within us. We will reflect with the symbols and mystical/human nature of Mary, as we contemplate the depth of this holy season.
Each week we will journey with Mary through Scripture, poetry, imagery, music and story.
Simple journal reflections will accompany each Marian devotion. Additionally, invitations for sacred creative expression will be provided weekly.
With the arrival of Epiphany, we will consider ways to contemplate and foster our personal spiritual intentions for the New Year
Week One
Mary Says, "Yes!"
Opening the soul to Divine inspiration
Week Two
Mary Visits Elizabeth
Nourishing the sacred imagination
Week Three
Mary's Quickening with New Life
Deepening spiritual awareness through the senses
Week Four
Mary Journeys to Bethlehem and Gives Birth to Jesus
Preparing for life's transitions and birthing your gifts
Week Five
Mary and Jesus
Illuminating the Gift
Week Six
Epiphany and Beyond
Crafting your New Year's sacred intentions
Example Curriculum
- Sibyl's Video Message and Overview of this Advent Study (3:47)
- Week One: Preparing for Advent and Journal Reflection Questions
- Week One: Mary says, "Yes!"
- Week One: Mary, Seat of Wisdom
- Week One: Advent House Image and Prayer
- Week Two: Mary Visits Elizabeth
- Week Two: Mary, Untier of Knots
- Week Two: Invitations for Reflection
- Week Three: Mary's Quickening with New Life (0:28)
- Week Three: Mary, the Virgin of Guadalupe
- Week Three: Music for Contemplation
- Week Four: Mary Gives Birth to Jesus
- Week Four: Mary Queen of Angels
- Week Four: Reflection and Contemplation
- Week Five: Mary and Jesus
- Mary, Theotokos
- Week Five: The Twelve Days of Christmas
- Week Six: Epiphany and Beyond
- Mary Walks With Us
- Crafting Your New Year's Sacred Intentions
Sibyl Dana Reynolds
For thirty-five years, as an author, spiritual director and passionate journaler, I have shared spiritual and creative practices with women through my books, online courses, sacred art-making and residential retreats. As retired bishop and the foundress of a spiritual and contemplative women's global community, Belle Coeur Sisterhood, I believe when a woman creates time and space to contemplate, write, and respond…transformation occurs. It’s the work and joy of my heart to offer sacred, prayerful, study and practices as pathways to discovery for a woman’s personal interior journey.
