Advent and Christmas time are always busy, busy, busy. They come and go so quickly, and when the New Year arrives, we always feel like we should have lived them better; we should have given more time and effort to the simple things, the spiritual things, the real meaning of these important liturgical seasons. This Advent Retreat Guide, The Hidden Treasures of Christmas, won’t solve that problem completely, but it will surely help. The hidden treasures of the Christmas season are the rich liturgical celebrations that happen during the weeks following Christmas itself. Those twelve days are packed with ancient, inspiring liturgical memorials, but because of the busyness and fullness of the season, we almost never allow ourselves to enjoy them. So why not use Advent as a time to look ahead, liturgically speaking, to savor some of those liturgical feasts that the Holy Spirit has placed, so to speak, under the Christmas tree? Each of them gives us a fresh and uplifting take on the great mystery of salvation linked to Christ’s birth. Reflecting on them before Christmas arrives will help us enter into spiritual atmosphere of Advent. • In the first meditation, we will contemplate the dramatic lives of two saints whose feast days are celebrated during the Christmas season: St. Stephen and St. Thomas Becket. • In the second meditation, we will contemplate the two feasts that turn our minds to the perennial Christmas value of family life: the Holy Innocents, and the Holy Family. • And in the conference, we will turn our attention to the Christian vision of how to organize human society for peace and prosperity—a vision linked to the Catholic way of celebrating New Year’s Day, which the Church recognizes as the World Day of Peace, as well as the liturgical memorial of Mary, the Mother of God. Let’s begin by opening our souls to God, and humbly asking him, in the quiet of our hearts, for the grace to live this Advent better than ever, by savoring the hidden treasures of Christmas. Below is a preview of “Hidden Treasures.” The full Retreat Guide will be available on Friday, Nov. 20.
The Hidden Treasures of Christmas: A Retreat Guide for Advent
How to Use A Retreat Guide
How to Use A Retreat Guide in a Small Group
Gather together, start with prayer, and then watch the Intro and First Meditation together. At the end of the First Meditation, spend 5 – 10 minutes in silent meditation/prayer with the reflection questions. Then watch the Second Meditation and have 5 – 10 minutes of silent time. Lastly, watch the Conference and use the meditation questions as the springboard for personal prayer or group discussion.
You can use this format to gather in person or virtually. If virtual, someone could run the videos (sharing their screen, e.g., using Zoom or any other video conference platform), pausing for silent reflection.
The Conferences (the last video of each Retreat Guide) are designed as stand-alone videos offering practical applications for living out the Retreat Guide theme. They always work well with the Meditations, but you could use the Conference separately for a shorter gathering to kick off a topic for discussion.
Seasonally, you may want to use a Retreat Guide at home or with a closer group of friends. For Advent or Lent, you could select one Retreat Guide a week, watch one video each night, and discuss it as a family.
These are just some suggestions. Feel free to experiment with a format that works best for your group. With almost 60 Retreat Guides, you have a great library of retreats to pick from.
