“This is what the name Benedict means for us: profound knowledge of a person who is alive today. To have deep faith and trust that Christ is closer to us than we think. Not just as a figment of our imagination, but as the real thing.” – Thomas Griffin
“What would Jesus’ new year resolution be for you? His deep desire is that each of us grows close to Him, day by day. He has given to us His own mother to help us because no one can survive in this world without the love and guidance of His mother.” – Debra Black
“When you give to the Avila Foundation, these men receive a gift not unlike the one God offered me so long ago: they receive the companionship of fellow discerners, the spiritual fatherhood of holy priests, and the knowledge that people like you care.” – Joseph Hollcraft
“Are we not incredibly privileged to be people of the New Testament, witnesses to the life-changing power of His coming?” – Dan Burke
“We celebrate at night so as to bid farewell to the darkness. It cannot prevail. It is destined to be scattered by a Light far more powerful than it is, a Light it must obey, a Light that overwhelms and replaces it.” – Monsignor Charles Pope.
His name will be Emmanuel: God with us (cf. Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:23). If we understand the significance of this name Emmanuel, we will find
“Both Mary and Joseph show us how their yes fosters a state of obedience in their souls toward God that gives them freedom.” – Fr. Matthew McDonald
“Like Veruca Salt in the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, we figuratively (or occasionally literally in my case) belt out, ‘Don’t care how—I want it now!'”
“If there’s one thing my time at Avila has helped me understand, it is that not all the thoughts in my head are my own. And I’ve learned to renounce and reject the suggestions that ‘things will always be this way’ or ‘why bother?’” – Ann Virnig
“While Advent can be a time of anxiety and chaos, allow these four weeks to prepare us for the peace and joy of Jesus Christ. Intentionally make small changes, so when the Christ child arrives, we will anxiously await to greet and welcome Him into our homes.” – Adam Minihan
