Get to know Mary as you never have before

How well do you know Mary? Imagine . . . you’re visiting with Mary. The Blessed Mother brings you a small cup of milk and a rough clay plate with a piece of bread on it, still warm from the oven. She touches your hand as she serves you and invites you to tell her how you’ve been. Imagine . . . you’re walking beside Mary on the journey to Bethlehem. The sand shifts beneath your feet with each step, so you lose a little of the progress you make with every stride. There is an ache in your legs from having walked so far. The donkey she rides on smells reassuringly of manure, and you can feel the heat radiating off of its body. Imagine . . . you’re kneeling in the cave where Christ was born. Mary, Jesus, and Joseph lie there, surrounded by silence, each of them in awe of what has just happened. The world has changed. The universe is different. And for the moment, the only people who know are right here, in the quiet of this cave. God has become man, and he is lying here making soft infant sounds. God gave us imaginations. But how often do we use them when we pray? For years now, Fr. Mark Toups has been teaching others about imaginative prayer. He refers to it as “a way of praying that allows the Holy Spirit to guide your spiritual senses.” This Advent, we’d like to invite you to meet the Blessed Mother as you never have before. Our new Rejoice! Advent Meditations with Mary Journal will help you draw close to Mary in a whole new way. Get the Rejoice! Journal Each day, in a few short pages, Fr. Toups provides you with aids to help guide your prayer: A word - We focus on a single word each day to draw out the details, the specifics of who Our Lady is. A reflection - Here, we learn more about Mary, the culture in which she was raised, and the world in which she lived. A Psalm - Each day, we’re given a Psalm to pray (just as Mary herself would have prayed) to help us enter into our prayer. A reading - In reading Scripture, we find the Word of God, bringing us closer to Mary, who carried the Word in her body. A prompt - Space is provided each day to journal. Here, we can record how the Lord is speaking to us this Advent. Get the Rejoice! Journal Imagine . . . this Advent, instead of waiting for a day, waiting with a person. Imagine joining Mary in joyful anticipation of the coming of her son at Christmas. Imagine an Advent more peaceful, more joyful, and more meaningful than ever before.