Advent Lamaze Classes: Trusting the Process of Spiritual Birth

'Stories and Other Things Holy' Episode 8:

​

Watch 'Stories' on YouTube or Spotify​

Listen to "Stories' Here, or on your favorite podcast app

Support 'Stories' with Buy Me A Coffee​

Help Grow the Podcast:
​Subscribe to Our ​YouTube​ Channel

An Advent Reflection:
​Mother of God . . . ?!

Gregory Boyle, S.J., offers a provocative challenge: “We are either participants—or we are the audience.” This week’s podcast makes a case for all of us to risk stepping out of the audience and into full participation in the incarnation—the crescendo of Advent and the birth of God into the world.

Traditionally, we’ve left the responsibility for the entirety of this holy work to Mary, with perhaps a polite nod to Gabriel. But poet and spiritual companion Joyce Rupp parabolizes this notion, better yet, she turns this idea on its head, suggesting that the incarnation is not just a historical event but a contemporary one. God is still being born into the world and is counting on us to participate—this year, this Advent, yes, today.

Our response? Let it be bold, joyful, and full of faith: “Put me in, Coach!”

- Terry Nelson-Johnson

Grace-ercises

1. Risk Participation:
   Pray for the courage to step out of the audience and into the sacred work of bringing God into the world. Ask, “Where am I being called to participate in the incarnation today?”
   ​
2. Create Space for Birth:
   Reflect on the areas of your life that feel overcrowded or distracted. Ask God to help you create space for something new to be born within you.
   ​
3. Trust the Process:
   Pray for patience and trust as you navigate the “birthing process” of spiritual growth. Ask, “God, help me to endure the contractions of transformation and to celebrate the new life You are bringing forth in me.”

May this Advent be a time of courage, trust, and joyful participation as we welcome the birth of God into the world—not just historically, but here and now. †yout

​storiesandotherthingsholy.com​

​​​​​​​​