During the four weeks of Advent, we prepare for the celebration of Christ’s birth through prayer and reflection. We contemplate the First Coming of Jesus as Savior, and anticipate his promised Second Coming. And amid the flurry of Christmas preparations, we look for practical ways to observe the holiness of the season in our everyday lives.
Ignatian contemplation and reflective prayer encourage us in the season of Advent. Below we highlight Advent resources in the tradition of Ignatian spirituality.
Arts & Faith: Advent
Enjoy video commentary about works of art inspired by the Sunday Scriptures of Advent. Use these videos to take a new look at this season of preparation through the lens of sacred art. Accompanying dotMagis blog posts offer reflections on using the art as a means of Ignatian prayer.
2024
First Week of Advent, Cycle C
Second Week of Advent, Cycle C
Third Week of Advent, Cycle C
Fourth Week of Advent, Cycle C
Christmas Day
2025
First Week of Advent, Cycle A
Second Week of Advent, Cycle A
Third Week of Advent, Cycle A
Fourth Week of Advent, Cycle A
Christmas Day
2026
First Week of Advent, Cycle B
Second Week of Advent, Cycle B
Third Week of Advent, Cycle B
Fourth Week of Advent, Cycle B
Christmas Day
Advent Weekly Video Reflections
Enjoy these video reflections to help you in your spiritual journey.
Week One: Love Is Coming by Joe Paprocki
Week Two: Waiting by Tim Muldoon
Week Three: How Does Hope Shape Us? by Vinita Hampton Wright
Week Four: Mary Receiving Jesus into Her Arms by Becky Eldredge
More Advent Resources
Sacred Advent
Embrace the Advent season as a sacred space from the ease of your e-mail inbox with Sacred Advent. Each day’s message invites you to slow down for a moment of reflection inspired by the Advent retreat in Sacred Space: Retreats & Reflections for Daily Life by the Irish Jesuits.
Loyola Press Online Advent Calendar
Use an online Advent calendar featuring daily reflections from several sites. Also find other Advent resources from Loyola Press.
Praying Advent
Creighton University’s Online Ministries offers a selection of materials to help people prayerfully enter into Advent, from short prayers to longer reflections and audio retreats.
Advent Examen
By Laurie Marshanke
Marshanke invites seasonal reflection through the lens of the Examen.
Contemplation on the Incarnation Part One: The Trinity Looks Down from Heaven
By Daniel Ruff, SJ
The Contemplation on the Incarnation begins with imagining the Trinity looking down from heaven and responding with the Incarnation. Ruff introduces readers to this aspect of the Spiritual Exercises.
Contemplation on the Incarnation Part Two: Mary’s Human Response
By Daniel Ruff, SJ
The second part of the Contemplation on the Incarnation explores the Annunciation and Mary’s response.
Mary at Her Annunciation as a Model for Growing in the Virtue of Faith
By Gerald M. Fagin, SJ
In contemplating the Annunciation, we see Mary as a model of faith and are called to trust and openness ourselves.