From Holidays to Holy Days

An invitation to see Advent and Christmas through the eyes of a Benedictine monk to find the holy and peace in the hustle and bustle of the season.Take a Benedictine walk through the season of Advent with Benedictine monk Albert Holtz. Join him on his daily outings as he heads out of his abbey and through the colorful, noisy streets of Downtown Newark, New Jersey. In these once-a-day meditations, Father Albert points out the often-unnoticed connections between our secular celebration of the holidays and the deeper, spiritual meaning of the holy seasons of Advent and Christmas. In a string of colored lights, a crowd of shoppers, or the window of a toy shore, readers will uncover the traditional advent themes of watchful waiting, repentance, and selfless love. In the bustling sidewalks and busy malls, readers will learn to see Isaiah, John the Baptist, and even Jesus himself, all speaking their ancient messages of peace, hope and good will.