The Advent of Christ (Servant Books)

We're quickly approaching my favorite Church Season, Advent. I know I'm unusual, as most people prefer Christmas, but I'm okay with that. Last Friday, I reviewed a wonderful Orthodox book for Advent. Click here in case you missed it. I figured it was only appropriate to review a Catholic book for Advent too, and boy, do I have a good one for you! This book is written by my favorite Catholic author, Dr. Edward Sri, and is entitled The Advent of Christ.

The Advent of Christ is laid out like your standard daily devotional. It spans from the First Sunday of Advent to the Feast of the Epiphany. Each day includes a Scripture reading, a meditation on the Scripture, a reflection question to apply to your daily life, and a closing prayer. The commentary is mostly drawn from one of Dr. Sri's other books, Dawn of the Messiah. If you have never read this book, then you will be in for a treat. Dr. Sri breaks down the story leading up to Jesus' birth into manageable daily bites.

I particularly enjoyed the readings in the First Week of Advent. People always focus solely on Jesus and Mary, and OCCASIONALLY Joseph during Advent, which is very appropriate for the season. However, in focusing on only the Holy Family, one misses out on the story of Zechariah, Elizabeth, and John the Baptist. Apart from just being an interesting story about an aged wife becoming pregnant and a husband who can't speak throughout the whole pregnancy, these people are all key players in Salvation History! It was also interesting to read about Gabriel's appearance in the Old Testament, particularly Daniel 9, compared to Gabriel's appearance to Zechariah.

If all the hustle and bustle in the month leading up to Christmas is making it hard for you to focus on the real reason for the season, then you will want to pick up this book. Each meditation is approximately two pages and takes at most five minutes to read. Surely, we can all give God five minutes a day. In addition to being a short read, it is easily understood and can be read aloud to the whole family. Lastly, the closing questions and prayer put a nice bow on the package and serve a two-fold purpose of preparing us for Christmas and improving our spiritual health. It's a 5-star book that I plan on reading not only this Advent, but future ones as well.

I received this book for free from Franciscan Media in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click here, and hit Yes!