Have you ever thought of Advent as “work” time? The priest who gave the homily in the parish where I celebrated the first Sunday of Advent gave a simple but helpful homily about Advent waiting, which he called “work waiting.” He reminded us that this special time of the church year is full of anticipation, of hopeful waiting. It is a time of promise, but according to him it is a time of work-waiting, not idle waiting. The words jarred me as I usually think of Advent as a time of silence, of restful waiting, of emptying, the goal of which is less activity so as to be more ready and open for God’s coming.

As the homilist developed his theme he explained that the waiting of Advent is like preparing for company. You clean the house. You prepare the meal. Maybe you lay the fire. You pick up and get everything in order. Everybody in the house gets ready in some way. When company is coming you don’t just sit at the window and look out. You prepare. And the more important the company, the more you do to prepare inside and out. You work at receiving the company joyfully and graciously.

Advent waiting includes preparation, clearing out the old ways and sharpening skills of mind and will, so that our faith is better informed, our hope stronger, our love more tender and inclusive. Advent gives us time to work on our interior spirit. The homily went on to discuss Scripture and spiritual reading as two of the practices that enrich everyday, but are especially helpful to Advent and the preparation time it invites.

I was especially interested in the idea of spiritual reading because not long before I had talked with some friends and we had had a hard time coming up with suggestions for good spiritual books. As a result of that conversation I had asked several Religious of the Sacred Heart and some Sacred Heart Associates for recommendations of good spiritual reading. Much to my delight and surprise I received over 125 recommendations, including four web sites! So that we might all have an opportunity to do a bit of intentional “Advent work-waiting” or just have more resources available to us, I include here some of the readings suggested by a number of respondents. These are merely authors and titles, with some comments. The entire list of recommended books will gradually appear on this web page (some are available now just click below.) May you find here some helpful companions as you prepare to receive God’s coming at Christmas and everyday!

Books for Advent
WATCH FOR THE LIGHT
A CHILD IN WINTER
AN ADVENT/CHRISTMAS SOURCEBOOK
ADVENT JOURNEY/LENTEN JOURNEY obtained from Editions du Signe
NATIVITIES AND PASSIONS
TRACKS IN THE STRAW: TALES SPUN FROM THE MANGER
THE VIGIL: KEEPING WATCH IN THE SEASON OF GOD’S COMING Wendy Wright
THE COMING OF GOD Maria Boulding
FATHOMING BETHLEHEM Robert Morneau

Most often Recommended
THE HOLY LONGING: THE SEARCH FOR A CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALITY and other books by Ronald Rolheiser
THE IMPACT OF GOD: SOUNDINGS FROM ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS Ian Matthews
LYING AWAKE Mark Salzman

Special Interest Recommendations
ROSE PHILIPPINE DUCHESNE: A PROFILE CARED IN HOPE Maria Cecilia Rondon Amarante, RSCJ, trans. Marion Duffy, RSCJ
EVOLUTIONARY FAITH Diamuid O’Murchu
SPIRIT OF FIRE: THE LIFE AND VISION OF TEILHARD DE CHARDIN Ursula King
JAYBER CROW a novel by Wendell Berry
EYE OF THE SPIRIT Ken Wilber
GAVIOTAS story of a nonviolent community in Colombia
ZEN GIFTS TO CHRISTIANS Robert Kennedy S.J.
SILENT VOICES: MYSTICISM AND RESISTANCE Dorothee Soelle
A TESTAMENT OF DEVOTION Thomas R. Kelly
LET YOUR LIFE SPEAK Parker Palmer
PRIMARY SPEECH: A PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER Ann and Barry Ulanov
THE ASIAN SYNOD Peter C. Phan, editor
A NEW CHRISTIANITY FOR A NEW WORLD John Shelby Spong
RECOVERING THE RICHES OF ANOINTING: A STUDY OF THE SACRAMENT OF THE SICK Genevieve Glen, OSB, editor
THE INNER VOICE OF LOVE Henri Nouwen
THE POWER OF NOW Eckhart Tolle

Web Sites
www.wccm.org World Community for Christian Meditation
www.biospiritual.org “interactive tool for learning a body-spirit process called focusing”
www.jesuit.ie/prayer Irish Jesuits’ prayer site called Sacred Space

Hopefully these resources will enrich our Advent work-outs! For additional “Spiritual Resources for Advent and Beyond” download the document as a Word doc or PDF below. More to come in the near future.

Spiritual Resources for Advent and Beyond

• Resources
•  Resources