{"id":942,"date":"2016-11-18T11:26:29","date_gmt":"2016-11-18T16:26:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/?page_id=942"},"modified":"2022-02-24T08:39:47","modified_gmt":"2022-02-24T13:39:47","slug":"discovering-joy-advent-advent-2016","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/discovering-joy-advent-advent-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"Discovering the Joy in Advent &#8211; Advent 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div align=\"center\" class=\"youtube-responsive-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qL4L9RK9OI8?rel=0&amp;modestbranding=1\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"564\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Sarah talks about the meaning of Advent and shares her personal experiences and her sentiment on how sometimes Advent can be really difficult to prepare for especially if we are not conscious of where we are.&nbsp;&nbsp;She gives us three questions we can ponder on and pray about to help us see and know where we are spiritually in this season.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thank you for watching and participating in this retreat!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Not Registered, yet? Don\u2019t miss the rest of the talks! Register for the Pray More Retreat!&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-horizontal is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-layout-1 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link\" href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/2016-lent-retreat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Click Here to Register!<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">Downloads<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Audio MP3<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/17%20-%20Sarah%20Reinhard%20-%20Discovering%20the%20Joy%20in%20Advent.mp3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Click&nbsp;here&nbsp;to download the audio file.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Printable Study Guide PDF<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Discovering-the-Joy-in-Advent-Study-Guide.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Click here to download the printable study guide.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Printable Transcript PDF<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Discovering-Joy-in-Advent-Transcript.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Click here to download the transcript of the video presentation.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">Reflective Study Guide Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>\u201cFirst do what\u2019s necessary; then do what\u2019s possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.\u201d  <\/p><cite><em>Attributed to St. Francis of Assisi<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>What do Advent and joy mean to you? What do they look like concretely in your life? Where do you discover the joy in Advent? In what ways are you more intentionally joyful? How is joy different from happiness for you?<br><br><\/li><li>Are you overwhelmed by busyness of the <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/isaiah-prophet-christmas-advent-2016\/\">Advent season as you prepare to celebrate Christmas<\/a>? Can you let go of some things or and slow your impulse to multi-task so you can approach Christmas with wonder, joy, and gratitude?<br><br><\/li><li>What is your, \u201cseason in life\u201d spiritually, emotionally and physically? List three ways that you can \u201clighten up\u201d on yourself and show yourself the tenderness of God\u2019s mercy this Advent.<br><br><\/li><li>Do you find it difficult to pray during this hectic time in life? If so, try to set aside a few minutes of silence every day to allow the Holy Spirit to work within your heart.<br><br><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/what-does-the-song-of-songs-have-to-do-with-advent-advent-2018\/\">Does the Advent<\/a> season make you stressed? Are you too busy? Challenge yourself to spend more quality time with your family and friends and with God in prayer.<br><br><\/li><li>How do you remain open to the work of the Holy Spirit?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">Text: Discovering the Joy in Advent<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Hi. I\u2019m Sarah Reinhard, You know what Advent is, right? Because when I grew up, I wasn\u2019t Catholic, but we still had Advent. And I remember an aunt of mine loving Advent, and I don\u2019t know why. She wasn\u2019t Catholic, and it seems to be an almost Catholic thing to observe Advent, or at least that\u2019s what it seems to me now that I\u2019m a Catholic, but we used to always light an Advent wreath. And for me, when I think of the joy in Advent, I really think of that Advent wreath that Aunt Charlotte used to light, and I think of the light of those candles, and how by the end of Advent there was a lot more light at the end than there was at the beginning. And I think that that\u2019s a good model for us to use as we talk about discovering joy in Advent. Because let\u2019s face it, Advent happens at what may possibly be the worst time of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Busiest Time Of The Year<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>If you were planning the busiest thing, you\u2019d plan it in December, or in May, but that\u2019s a different conversation. December is so incredibly busy. Everybody wants a piece of you. The stores have sales, and you have to have all of these things purchased before Christmas. You have to go to Christmas parties, you have to get together with family, you have to&#8230; Anyway, I\u2019m getting stressed just thinking about it. And I\u2019m not even talking about the people who are emailing me in August to say \u201cHey, let\u2019s talk about Christmas\u201d, which&#8230; that\u2019s usually the start for me of the stress is in August. So here we are in October, I should be way ready for it now. And by the time you\u2019re watching this it\u2019s December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So we\u2019re in the midst of Advent. How do you discover the joy in the midst of this busy craziness? Well, first of all, let\u2019s go back and talk about Advent. What is Advent? What are we doing in Advent? In the Catholic Church, we have these seasons in the liturgical year, and Advent is one of them. In fact, it\u2019s the beginning of the liturgical year. So, it\u2019s the new year. With the first Sunday of Advent, we\u2019re starting the church year. So it\u2019s a beginning, but it\u2019s also a time of preparation. That\u2019s why you see purple vestments, and purple throughout the liturgical set up in the church, is to remind us that this is a penitential season, because we\u2019re preparing for the most exciting event in the history of the world: The coming of our savior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Coming of Our Savior<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>I know, I\u2019ve heard this story so many times that it\u2019s just about now exciting anymore. So the way I get excited about it is I think about telling it to my children, who are rather young right now. And I used to tell it to other children as well. And I think about how excited I used to get as a kid. Because Christmas is exciting as a kid, and not just because you get presents. In fact, the presents are fun, let\u2019s not deny that, but what\u2019s really fun about Christmas is that there\u2019s a baby, and people love babies. I have a confession \u2013 I\u2019m not really a baby person. I know, I know. Don\u2019t tell anybody \u2013 But there is something about a new baby. There\u2019s something exciting, there\u2019s something really&#8230; there\u2019s potential in a baby. And that\u2019s how Jesus came to us, that\u2019s how our savior came to us, as a baby. So in Advent, we\u2019re preparing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019ve ever known anybody who\u2019s pregnant, or you\u2019ve been pregnant, then you can maybe put Advent in the context of preparing for a baby. There\u2019s so much excitement, there\u2019s so much to do, there\u2019s nervousness, there\u2019s all kinds of things, just like Advent. That preparation, it\u2019s so stressful. But let\u2019s go back to&#8230; this talk is about discovering the joy in Advent. So we\u2019ve talked about what Advent is; let\u2019s talk about what joy is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Joy isn&#8217;t Happiness<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Joy isn\u2019t happiness. Happiness is something our culture seems to be obsessed with capturing and getting. We\u2019re all supposed to want to be happy, and to seek happiness, and to want happiness more than anything else for our children, for our spouses, for our loved ones. But you know what? It\u2019s like a no-win situation, because, I mean, one morning with my kids will ruin my happiness for the rest of the day if I\u2019m not careful. They won\u2019t put away their clothes, they won\u2019t help me fold laundry, they make a mess. Okay, I\u2019m having a bad mom day, it\u2019s true. But, even on a good mom day, I can stub my toe, I can run over a cat. Okay, that really happened. There are all kinds of things where our happiness becomes this thing that\u2019s controlled by outside forces. Joy is not happiness; joy is an act of the will. So, you can be really unhappy and yet have joy. Have it deep inside of you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But how do you find that joy? That decision in the midst of Advent? When we are so busy and so pulled. I always feel during Advent, during December, like I\u2019m pulled. Like I\u2019m a piece of silly putty, of Play-Doh, or clay, and people are just trying to get the most out of me. And they might be people I love and people who love me. They don\u2019t want to hurt me. And it\u2019s not that they are hurting me. But how do we find the joy? Well, I\u2019ve thought of 3 ways to discover the joy in Advent. And discovery, let\u2019s look at that word as well. Discovery is the kind of thing where it\u2019s like a present, right. You\u2019re opening it up, and you discover what\u2019s inside, but you can\u2019t discover until you open it. You don\u2019t get the gift until you open it. You have to receive the gift. So we have to discover that there\u2019s a lot of intentionality and decisions and choosing in discovering the joy of Advent, and I think maybe that\u2019s what makes Advent so difficult. It\u2019s short too. By the time I feel like I\u2019m observing Advent correctly, or well, it\u2019s Christmas morning, and I mean I fail every year. And yet I feel like there\u2019s a lesson in those failures for me, because the failures are different every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Three Ways to Discover the Joy in Advent<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>And so let\u2019s talk about 3 ways to discover the joy in Advent. First of all, you need to acknowledge where you are. Where are you in your life? Where are you in your spirituality? Where are you in your maturity? Spiritually, emotionally, physically? If you\u2019re young and just married, that\u2019s a completely different place than being married for 10 years with 4 kids. Or being married for 10 years with no kids. Or being in college. Where are you in your life? What does joy look like in your life? That\u2019s something you really have to stop and pray about, and think about. Where are you? What are your limitations? What are your strengths? What\u2019s your capability?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Okay, so we\u2019re going to acknowledge where you are, then we\u2019re going to move on. And the second way to discover joy in Advent is to lighten up on yourself. Now, maybe I\u2019m just speaking to myself here, and if so then I\u2019m giving this talk for myself, and that\u2019s totally fine. But I don\u2019t know. I put these expectations every year. I want to do an Advent calendar, I want to do the Advent wreath, I want to light everything every night at dinner, I want to do devotions, I want to read the bible more, I want to have perfectly angelic faces surrounding me, I want to go to daily mass, I want go to&#8230; do you hear what\u2019s happening here? I\u2019m busy before Advent comes, and now I\u2019m going to put all of this on myself. So I really need to lighten up, and I bet you do too. You\u2019ve got a life, and it\u2019s very full in all kinds of great ways. So lighten up. There is no such thing as a perfect Advent. Or maybe your definition of perfect and God\u2019s definition of perfect for you are different, and you need to reconcile them. In my experience, that\u2019s a very painful process, but I suspect that has to do with my pride more than anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alright. So you\u2019re going to start off, you\u2019re going to acknowledge where you are, you\u2019re going to lighten up on yourself, and third, you\u2019re going to remain open to the work of the Holy Spirit. I know, I\u2019m rolling my own eyes at myself, but as I prayed over this talk, and I really thought about \u201cWhat does it mean to discover the joy in Advent?\u201d I couldn\u2019t get over the feeling that the Holy Spirit\u2019s got to have a place. That means that you\u2019re going to be listening to Him, which means you\u2019re going to have to be in prayer. I don\u2019t know what prayer looks like for you. And this goes back to step one, acknowledging where you are and lightening up on yourself. Maybe your Advent gift to Jesus, the way you prepare for the coming of the Lord, is that you pause every day, take a deep breath, and pray in Our Father, a Hail Mary, and a Glory Be. Before you look at me and say \u201cThat sounds way too much\u201d, or you say \u201cThat sounds way too easy\u201d. If it sounds like too much, dial it back. If it sounds too easy, maybe it doesn\u2019t have to be hard. Because maybe finding joy means that we need to stop a little bit and pause in the midst of all of the chaos, and the crazy, and just be with Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, I\u2019m interested to hear how you discover the joy in Advent. So, do you want to drop me a line? Or do you want to leave comments on this? I would love to have a conversation about what discovering the joy in Advent means for you. So let\u2019s wrap things up with a prayer, but first I want to just remind you what those 3 things were, so that you can be thinking about them and praying about them as well. First, you want to acknowledge where you are. What\u2019s your season of life? What are your expectations for Advent? But also, what are your limitations? Number 2, you\u2019re going to lighten up on yourself. And number 3, you\u2019re going to remain open to the work of the Holy Spirit. God bless you. Let\u2019s end in prayer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Closing Prayer<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><em>In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Lord, thank you for this time together. Pleases guide us as we discover the joy in Advent, and prepare for the coming of your Son on Christmas day. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Our Father<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">About Sarah Reinhard<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:26% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"310\" height=\"382\" src=\"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Sarah-Reinhard-Headshot-1.jpg\" alt=\"sarah-reinhard-headshot\" class=\"wp-image-966 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Sarah-Reinhard-Headshot-1.jpg 310w, https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Sarah-Reinhard-Headshot-1-243x300.jpg 243w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 310px) 100vw, 310px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/speaker-sarah-reinhard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sarah Reinhard<\/a><\/strong> is a Catholic wife, mom, writer, parish worker and catechist, and coffee drinker. You\u2019re just as likely to find her hiding out back with a book as you are to discover her playing in the yard with a few farm animals (or wait \u2014 are those her kids?) She is the author of many books, the most recent of which is <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.avemariapress.com\/product\/1-59471-661-7\/The-Catholic-Moms-Prayer-Companion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Catholic Mom\u2019s Prayer Companion<\/a><\/em>. She\u2019s online at <a href=\"http:\/\/snoringscholar.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SnoringScholar.com<\/a> and writes online at the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncregister.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">National Catholic Register<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/catholicmom.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CatholicMom.com<\/a>, and the <a href=\"http:\/\/integratedcatholiclife.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Integrated Catholic Life<\/a>. Reinhard holds a master\u2019s degree in marketing and communications and has worked for many years in corporate and nonprofit organizations. She lives in central Ohio with her husband and four children.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Discovering-the-Joy-in-Advent.jpg\" alt=\"discovering-the-joy-in-advent\" class=\"wp-image-962\" width=\"652\" height=\"652\" srcset=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Discovering-the-Joy-in-Advent.jpg 800w, https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Discovering-the-Joy-in-Advent-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Discovering-the-Joy-in-Advent-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Discovering-the-Joy-in-Advent-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 652px) 100vw, 652px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"701\" height=\"316\" src=\"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/The-Pray-More-Retreat-image.jpg\" alt=\"the-pray-more-retreat-image\" class=\"wp-image-969\" srcset=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/The-Pray-More-Retreat-image.jpg 701w, https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/The-Pray-More-Retreat-image-300x135.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 701px) 100vw, 701px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Summary Sarah talks about the meaning of Advent and shares her personal experiences and her sentiment on how sometimes Advent can be really difficult to prepare for especially if we are not conscious of where we are.&nbsp;&nbsp;She gives us three questions we can ponder on and pray about to help us see and know where [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":962,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"plain-container","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.8 - 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