I put out an Advent Boot Camp three years ago and the response was great, so it’s become an annual thing. Just a little tweaking since Christmas isn’t always the same day of the week. Read the intro here or just dive right in and prepare for the Spirit to pump you up.1
This “Advent Boot Camp” is a guideline, not a foolproof plan. Feel free to substitute anything. What’s essential is that you’re spending time in silent prayer–not just prayer but silent prayer–and that you’re easing into it.
Each day’s prayer starts with a 5 minute warmup. It’s hard just to snap from all the noise of the world into prayer, so take some time to slow down, talk to the Lord about what’s weighing on you, and get quiet. Then see what God has to say to you through his Word, his Saints, and the prayers of his Church. Finally, spend some good time in silence, either processing what you’ve read, talking to God, or trying to be still in his presence. If your prayer life has consisted solely of grace before meals and Mass on Sunday, this might be tough. But it will get easier. And what better time to seek silence than in the mad bustle leading up to Christmas?
Week 1: Begin each day with 5 minutes of prayer, make one chapel visit
- Day 1: 5 minute warmup; Isaiah 40; 5 minutes silence
- Day 2: 5 minute warmup; Isaiah 9:1-6; one decade of the rosary, 5 minutes silence
- Day 3: 5 minute warmup;Luke 1:26-38; 10 minutes silence
- Day 4: 5 minute warmup; Catechism 522-526; one decade of the rosary; 5 minutes silence
- Day 5: 5 minute warmup; Chaplet of Divine Mercy; 5 minutes silence
- Day 6: 15 minutes of prayer: your choice
- Day 7:5 minute warmup; the Office of Readings ((Click “Office of Readings” on the left side of the page)); 5 minutes silence
Week 2: Begin and end each day with 5 minutes of prayer, attend one extra Mass
- Day 8: 5 minute warmup; Isaiah 11; two decades of the rosary; 5 minutes silence
- Day 9: 5 minute warmup; Luke 2:1-21; one decade of the rosary; 10 minutes silence
- Day 10: 20 minutes of prayer: your choice
- Day 11:5 minute warmup;reading from St. Bernard of Clairvaux; 10 minutes silence
- Day 12: 5 minute warmup; the Office of Readings; 10 minutes silence
- Day 13: 5 minute warmup; Stations of the Cross
- Day 14: 5 minute warmup; “In the Bleak Midwinter”; 1 John 4; 10 minutes silence
Week 3: Begin and end each day with 5 minutes of prayer, attend two extra Masses
- Day 15: 5 minute warmup; John 1:1-18; reading from St. Gregory Nazianzen; 10 minutes silence
- Day 16: 25 minutes of prayer: your choice
- Day 17: 5 minute warmup; “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”; 15 minutes silence
- Day 18: 5 minute warmup; Isaiah 61-62; 15 minutes silence
- Day 19: 5 minute warmup; full rosary (joyful mysteries); 5 minutes silence
- Day 20: 5 minute warmup; memorize Isaiah 9:5 (“A child is born to us…”); 10 minutes silence
- Day 21: 5 minute warmup; make a good examination of conscience, asking God to cast light into all the areas of sin in your life and to make you truly repentant and grateful for his love and mercy; go to confession; 15 minutes silence
Week 4: Begin and end each day with 5 minutes of prayer, make two chapel visits
- Day 22: 5 minute warmup;the Office of Readings; 15 minutes silence
- Day 23: 5 minute warmup; Jeremiah 31; 15 minutes silence
- Day 24: 5 minute warmup; 15 minutes journaling on why you need the incarnation; 10 minutes silence
- Day 25: 5 minute warmup; Isaiah 35; reading from St. Augustine; 20 minutes silence
- Day 26: 5 minute warmup; Matthew 1:18-2:23; G.K.Chesterton “The House of Christmas”; 20 minutes silence
- Day 27: 5 minute warmup; full rosary (joyful mysteries); 10 minutes silence
- Day 28: Half an hour of prayer: your choice
I’ve compiled the non-Biblical readings here if you want to print them in advance: Advent Boot Camp readings
This is going to max you out at 30-35 minutes of prayer at one time. If you feel like you can do more than that, go for it. If you’re a beginner when it comes to non-liturgical prayer, though, this might be a good way to get started. Whether you’re interested in this approach or not, do spend some time praying about how you’re going to try to grow closer to the Lord this Advent. But don’t stress about it–it’s supposed to be a time of preparation and peace, not frantic anxiety, despite what the mall might do to you this time of year. You might consider starting to read the Bible through in a year using this schedule. Or read Caryll Houselander’s The Reed of God. Just be sure you do something more than bake and shop to prepare for Christmas this year. The Christ Child is coming, after all. Offer him your heart.
- Ten points if you read that in your Hans and Franz voice. [↩]
Thank you for this bootcamp. I’m a new follower of this blog. Just a question: is it the idea to do those things in a chapel or can one also do them at home? And how strict is it with time? I have a rather busy shedule and i sometimes only come home after midnight, would that still count as having done that days piece, even when it’s de facto done the next day i.e. after midnight? I’m sorry if those are stupid questions but i’m a fairly recent revert to the church and i’m horrible at being a catholic.
Hey Nicole, now I did not write this blog entry, but I happened to see your comment and wanted to encourage you. What God cares about is the heart behind your actions. So if you can’t do this devotional until after midnight, but you still do it, God is so overjoyed! Do it wherever you can — but maybe not your bed because it’s so tempting to fall back asleep ;). If you miss a day or days — no worries! Just jump right back in because God is constant and will meet you wherever you are. I am praying now for you in this advent season and am so excited you are rediscovering your catholic faith. I have too in the past year (and I also used to think I was a horrible Catholic – which I now think is just a lie we can sometimes believe from the enemy that keeps us from finding freedom in our faith!!). Anyways, you got this Nicole! Happy Advent!
Sorry, Nicole, I didn’t get a notification that you had commented so I’m just seeing it now. Be very, very patient with yourself! If the devil can’t trick you into being lax about your prayer life, he will trick you into being overly scrupulous. If you can get to a chapel, that’s great but it’s certainly not necessary. And I never consider a day to have ended at midnight. I go with the time I get up until the time I go to bed. Welcome back to the Church! I’m sure you’re not horrible at being Catholic, just new. Think how pleased fathers are with their children’s earliest attempts at writing. It might be objectively bad, but they’re thrilled by it and right now I’m sure God is thrilled with you. Don’t let the devil tell you otherwise!
I didn’t see this until today, but it is not too late to start right in the middle.