Preparing for Christmas Daily

A timeless collection of Advent meditations inviting a deeper, more mature understanding of Christmas, from one of today’s most beloved spiritual teachers

What if Advent is not merely a sentimental countdown to Christmas but a summons to deeper awakening?

In Preparing for Christmas, Richard Rohr invites readers to explore beyond the nostalgia of the holiday and into the true cosmic meaning of the Incarnation. Organized around the daily Scripture readings for the Advent season, these reflections follow the Roman Catholic lectionary from the First Sunday of Advent through Christmas Day, guiding readers into a fuller encounter with the reign of God proclaimed by Jesus.

Rohr challenges watered-down religion and invites readers into a faith marked by surrender, hope, non-dual awareness, and courageous trust. With characteristic clarity and pastoral urgency, he reframes familiar Advent themes—waiting, darkness, humility, the Incarnation, and the Lordship of Christ—as invitations to transformation here and now.

Rather than offering private piety detached from the world’s suffering, Preparing for Christmas calls readers into conscious participation in God’s larger story. Advent becomes not a passive season of anticipation but an ongoing way of life: awake, alert, and ready for the coming of Christ in every moment.

Richard Rohr is a globally recognized Franciscan friar and ecumenical teacher whose work bears witness to the deep wisdom of Christian mysticism. He is the founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico, an educational nonprofit that introduces seekers to the contemplative Christian path of transformation. He is the author of many books, most recently, the New York Times bestseller The Universal Christ. His work has been featured on The Oprah Podcast, Krista Tippett’s On Being, and in The New Yorker and Harper’s magazine.