![](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/485\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-Y1k1uHhaLJY\/ULe2BnPDPgI\/AAAAAAAAAnk\/n2Lg-_CKDCE\/s1600\/candle-advent.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n\u00a0A woman wrapped in silence and the wait<\/i>
Of silence was her heart that heard<\/i><\/p>\n
These words are from a classic narrative poem by John Lynch.\u00a0\u201cWrapped in silence\u201d is a beautiful phrase to describe Mary but it could also apply to the entire season of Advent.<\/p>\n
Mary was a woman wrapped in silence. Her life was a contemplative response to the action of God in her soul.\u00a0Our Advent is also meant to be wrapped in silence,\u00a0enabling us to respond to God\u2019s love with openness.<\/p>\n
Jesus, in the womb of Mary, was also wrapped in silence. His divinity was clothed in human flesh, given to him from the genetic material of his mother Mary. As an unborn child, Jesus lay in the silence of Mary\u2019s womb, awaiting the moment of his birth.<\/p>\n
In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells Nicodemus that we must be born again in order to see the kingdom of God (Jn 3:3). How are we born again? Nicodemus understands Jesus literally at first, and thinks that we must return to our mother\u2019s womb. But Jesus tells him that we must be born in the Spirit\u00a0in order to see the kingdom of God.<\/p>\n
How can we be born in the Spirit?<\/p>\n
Like Jesus entered the womb of Mary, we can imagine ourselves\u00a0spiritually entering the womb of God.\u00a0As Mary lent Jesus her flesh, God lends us his divinity, allowing us to become like Him.\u00a0We enter the womb of God to be spiritually fed and sanctified. Like a mother feeds her child, God feeds us the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ in the Eucharist. God also feeds us graces through His Word, our prayer and the other sacraments.<\/p>\n
We grow in holiness when, like little children, we live in loving dependence on God, in the silent womb of his loving care.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We can leave the womb of sanctification if we choose. We can eat the forbidden fruits of sin, and pretend that we are adults, that we know what is best. But only God feeds us eternal food. And it is only this food that will satisfy our souls.<\/p>\n
This Advent I have decided to enter the silent womb of God and, like Mary, to wrap myself in silence so that I can grow closer to Jesus. I am doing this by taking a break from blogging and all social media for the season of Advent.<\/p>\n
If you want to join me in an Advent wrapped in silence, here are some ideas:<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0Amp up the Grace<\/b><\/i>: Nothing helps us listen to God more than the sacraments. They increase our union with the Trinity who dwells in us through baptism. Try adding an extra Mass into your schedule<\/a>. Go to confession before Christmas. Pray an hour of adoration every week before the Eucharist<\/a>. Even if you do just\u00a0one of these things, it will be a precious addition to your Advent season.<\/p>\n
2. Take Time for Spiritual Reading<\/i><\/b>: Set aside time during your day or week to read a good spiritual book. Need some suggestions? Advent Grace<\/a> is a wonderful book of daily Gospel meditations for\u00a0Advent,\u00a0written by my sisters at the Daughters of St. Paul.\u00a0A Woman Wrapped in Silence<\/a>, the narrative poem quoted at the beginning of this post, and The Reed of God<\/a>\u00a0are also beautiful Advent books.<\/p>\n
3.\u00a0Take a Break<\/i><\/b>: Integrate a technology break into your day or week, or heck try the entire season of Advent! (e.g. Facebook fast during Advent, no technology on Sundays or in the evenings, put aside cell phone when you come home from work,\u00a0one night a week\u00a0talk or pray with the family rather than watch TV). Some ideas for online time well spent: Listen to Father Barron\u2019s\u00a0weekly homilies<\/a>\u00a0for Advent. Keep up with Father Pontifex\u2019s\u00a0Advent Youtube videos<\/a>.<\/p>\n
4.\u00a0Do What Energizes You:\u00a0<\/b>Do more of the things that make you feel happy to be alive this Advent. Maybe it\u2019s art, writing, reading, sports, service or cooking. \u00a0Pay attention to the activities that leave you feeling energized and the ones that don\u2019t. You may be surprised that the activities that involve pouring yourself out for others, while physically tiring, can be the most energizing. When we actively discern the activities we engage in, we have more psychological space to make good decisions about prayer and our relationship with God.<\/p>\n
5. Moments of Silence: <\/i>We may think that we need to cocoon ourselves from the world in order to have a contemplative Advent, but the truth is that we can find God in our everyday activities, we just need to make the effort! During your day, try to continually fix your gaze on Jesus. If, moment by moment, we make an effort to unify ourselves to the presence of God, (who is right within us through baptism!), our lives will be transformed. And Advent will truly be a season wrapped in the silent peace of God.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
<\/div>\nMay God bless you this Advent, you will all be in my prayers.<\/p>\n
See you on the other side of this sacred season!<\/p><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0A woman wrapped in silence and the waitOf silence was her heart that heard These words are from a classic narrative poem by John Lynch.\u00a0\u201cWrapped in silence\u201d is a beautiful phrase to describe Mary but it could also apply to the entire season of Advent. Mary was a woman wrapped in silence. Her life was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2071,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
5 Ideas: An Advent Wrapped in Silence<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\" A woman wrapped in silence and the waitOf silence was her heart that heardThese words are from a classic narrative poem by John Lynch. "Wrapped\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/2012\/11\/5-ideas-an-advent-wrapped-in-silence.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Ideas: An Advent Wrapped in Silence\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\" A woman wrapped in silence and the waitOf silence was her heart that heardThese words are from a classic narrative poem by John Lynch. "Wrapped\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/2012\/11\/5-ideas-an-advent-wrapped-in-silence.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pursued by Truth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-11-30T09:13:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/files\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-Y1k1uHhaLJY\/ULe2BnPDPgI\/AAAAAAAAAnk\/n2Lg-_CKDCE\/s400\/candle-advent.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sr. Theresa Aletheia Noble\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sr. Theresa Aletheia Noble\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/2012\/11\/5-ideas-an-advent-wrapped-in-silence.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/2012\/11\/5-ideas-an-advent-wrapped-in-silence.html\",\"name\":\"5 Ideas: An Advent Wrapped in Silence\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-11-30T09:13:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-11-30T09:13:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/#\/schema\/person\/287c774ddd7d41a9da725a74398cce45\"},\"description\":\" A woman wrapped in silence and the waitOf silence was her heart that heardThese words are from a classic narrative poem by John Lynch. \\\"Wrapped\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/2012\/11\/5-ideas-an-advent-wrapped-in-silence.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/2012\/11\/5-ideas-an-advent-wrapped-in-silence.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/2012\/11\/5-ideas-an-advent-wrapped-in-silence.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"5 Ideas: An Advent Wrapped in Silence\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/\",\"name\":\"Pursued by Truth\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/#\/schema\/person\/287c774ddd7d41a9da725a74398cce45\",\"name\":\"Sr. Theresa Aletheia Noble\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4b1ac090c78da9a3dd58e9a926616dfe?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4b1ac090c78da9a3dd58e9a926616dfe?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sr. Theresa Aletheia Noble\"},\"description\":\"Sr. Theresa Aletheia Noble, FSP is a former atheist who, thanks to the grace of God, has returned to the faith she was raised in and now tries to help others bring their loved ones back to the faith. A few years after returning to the Church, she heard God calling her, so she left her job in Silicon Valley to join the Daughters of St. Paul. She is the author of The Prodigal You Love: Inviting Loved Ones Back to the Church. She now lives in Miami where she prays, evangelizes, bakes bread, and blogs.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/author\/tnoble\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"5 Ideas: An Advent Wrapped in Silence","description":" A woman wrapped in silence and the waitOf silence was her heart that heardThese words are from a classic narrative poem by John Lynch. \"Wrapped","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/2012\/11\/5-ideas-an-advent-wrapped-in-silence.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"5 Ideas: An Advent Wrapped in Silence","og_description":" A woman wrapped in silence and the waitOf silence was her heart that heardThese words are from a classic narrative poem by John Lynch. \"Wrapped","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/2012\/11\/5-ideas-an-advent-wrapped-in-silence.html","og_site_name":"Pursued by Truth","article_published_time":"2012-11-30T09:13:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/files\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-Y1k1uHhaLJY\/ULe2BnPDPgI\/AAAAAAAAAnk\/n2Lg-_CKDCE\/s400\/candle-advent.jpg"}],"author":"Sr. Theresa Aletheia Noble","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sr. Theresa Aletheia Noble","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/2012\/11\/5-ideas-an-advent-wrapped-in-silence.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/2012\/11\/5-ideas-an-advent-wrapped-in-silence.html","name":"5 Ideas: An Advent Wrapped in Silence","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-11-30T09:13:00+00:00","dateModified":"2012-11-30T09:13:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/#\/schema\/person\/287c774ddd7d41a9da725a74398cce45"},"description":" A woman wrapped in silence and the waitOf silence was her heart that heardThese words are from a classic narrative poem by John Lynch. \"Wrapped","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/2012\/11\/5-ideas-an-advent-wrapped-in-silence.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/2012\/11\/5-ideas-an-advent-wrapped-in-silence.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/2012\/11\/5-ideas-an-advent-wrapped-in-silence.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"5 Ideas: An Advent Wrapped in Silence"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/","name":"Pursued by Truth","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/#\/schema\/person\/287c774ddd7d41a9da725a74398cce45","name":"Sr. Theresa Aletheia Noble","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4b1ac090c78da9a3dd58e9a926616dfe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4b1ac090c78da9a3dd58e9a926616dfe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Sr. Theresa Aletheia Noble"},"description":"Sr. Theresa Aletheia Noble, FSP is a former atheist who, thanks to the grace of God, has returned to the faith she was raised in and now tries to help others bring their loved ones back to the faith. A few years after returning to the Church, she heard God calling her, so she left her job in Silicon Valley to join the Daughters of St. Paul. She is the author of The Prodigal You Love: Inviting Loved Ones Back to the Church. She now lives in Miami where she prays, evangelizes, bakes bread, and blogs.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/author\/tnoble"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2071"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}