Daily Devotions for Advent 2018

Award-winning journalist and popular blogger Deacon Greg Kandra accompanies you in prayer and reflection through the busy days and long nights of the Advent season to help you spiritually prepare for Christmas. In Daily Devotions for Advent 2018, he comforts, challenges, and leads you toward the undying hope of Christ’s birth.

Daily Devotions for Advent 2018 offers prayerful guidance from the first Sunday of Advent to Christmas Day through a daily reflection on the gospel reading, a focused spiritual exercise, and a brief prayer that sums up the day’s theme and asks for God’s blessing.

 

Deacon Greg Kandra, creator of The Deacon’s Bench and popular blogger, will challenge you to celebrate Advent with patience and help you be ready for a happy and holy Christmas.He keeps you focused on the mystery of Christ’s coming and shows you how to prepare your heart to welcome him.

 

Each two-page daily devotion offers brief Bible verses, prayers, wise and practical reflections on the Word of God, and an easy-to-do spiritual exercise that you can usually accomplish in a single day. Kandra’s daily reflections will help root your Advent journey in the daily gospel readings and lead you to spiritual renewal as you get ready for Christmas.

 

The compact size and affordable pricing make this ideal for individuals as well as bulk purchases in parishes, schools, diocesan offices, and other Catholic settings.

The Living Gospel series of devotionals for Lent and Advent offers spiritual insight and practical wisdom from popular Catholic preachers, speakers, and homilists. A new voice each season and a simple format invite Catholics to hear and embrace the living Word of God.

 

Features & Benefits
·         Deacon Greg Kandra has been blogging since 2007 at The Deacon’s Bench. His blog has garnered more than twelve million readers from around the world.
·         Since the series launched in Lent 2013, The Living Gospel devotionals have sold more than 128,000 copies.

Greg Kandra serves as a deacon in the Diocese of Brooklyn, is a multimedia editor at the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, and is the author of The Deacon’s Bench blog on Patheos. He was a writer and producer for CBS News from 1982 to 2008 for programs including The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, Sunday Morning, 60 Minutes II, and 48 Hours. Kandra also served for four years as a writer and producer on the live finale of the hit reality show Survivor. Kandra has received two Peabody and two Emmy awards, four Writers Guild of America awards, three Catholic Press Association Awards, and a Christopher Award for his work. He also was named 2017 Clergy of the Year by the Catholic Guild of Our Lady of the Skies Chapel at JFK International Airport. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Maryland. Kandra cowrote the acclaimed CBS documentary 9/11. He contributed to three books, including Dan Rather’s Deadlines and Datelines, and a homily series. His work has been published in America, US Catholic, Busted Halo, and The Brooklyn Tablet. He has been a regular guest on Catholic radio, including Gary Zimak’s Spirit in the Morning and is a regular contributor to Give Us This Day. Kandra lives with his wife, Siobhain, in the New York City area.

“Inside is a fresh, easy-to-use theological reflection approach to living Advent day by day: begin, pray, listen, reflect, act, pray. Perfect for wondering about God’s love and our response to it in the busy days leading up to Christmas.”

Rose Pacatte, F.S.P.

Director of the Pauline Center for Media Studies

“For me, Advent is the most wonderful time of the year and Deacon Greg Kandra’s reflections for the season are the perfect match for the movement of the weeks leading up to the celebration of Jesus’ birth. I’m grateful to have them for the people of my parish, my region, and our many viewers on The CatholicTV Network.”

Most Rev. Robert P. Reed
Auxiliary Bishop of Boston and president of CatholicTV

“I always look forward to Deacon Greg Kandra's monthly appearances on my radio show, knowing that I’ll end up with some advice for growing closer to Christ. Needless to say, I am very excited to have this book as an Advent resource. Highly recommended!”

Gary Zimak

Catholic author and host of Spirit In the Morning on Holy Spirit Radio

“I’ve never thought of Advent as an adventure before! But thanks to Greg Kandra’s book of reflections, I’m changing my approach. Carve out some time to be silent this season and renew your prayer adventure with God’s Word and real-life reflections as the good deacon serves us well with faith-filled candor and timely prompts for action.”
Pat Gohn
Author of All In