St. Elizabeth Ann Seton to be Featured in ICSST Advent Reflection Series

"The interest of the heavenly and everlasting kingdom in the true spirit of faith and hope should be always in our minds." – St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. 

Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology (ICSST) continues its Advent daily meditation tradition beginning Sunday, November 30. Written by our faculty, administrators, students, seminarians and alumni, the reflections will be shared with subscribers via email and posted on the Seminary’s website starting on the first Sunday of Advent through Christmas Day. The series is sponsored by ICSST’s Preaching as Hospitality Formation Program. 

Titled “Charity and Hospitality: Praying through Advent with St. Elizabeth Ann Seton,” each mediation will feature a quote from Mother Seton’s letters, journals and conversations in honor of the 50th anniversary of her canonization this year. Reflections will also include the Scripture of the day and Setonian imagery from around the Seton Hall campus. By combining interpretations of Scripture, quotes from Mother Seton and the writers’ personal reflection, each message will be an invitation to prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of our Lord. 

Readers of past reflections expressed gratitude, explaining that the words were comforting and beautiful as they inched closer to the celebration of Christ’s birth. “They helped me slow down, just for a few minutes, during an extremely busy time for me,” said one reader. 

We encourage you to join us as we reflect on these quotes, questions, and more, in preparation for the joy of the Christmas season. Sign up here today! 

About the Preaching Program

The Preaching as Hospitality Formation program of Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology seeks to form seminarians, diaconal students and religious and lay graduate students of theology to be compelling preachers who will offer a hospitality of the heart as they break open the Word of God. The initiatives help to form preachers who will understand and embrace preaching as hospitality a ministry of inviting, welcoming, and offering compassion. The program also focuses on newly ordained priests and deacons and newly appointed pastors (less than five years) who are invited to re-imagine their preaching through the lens of Christian hospitality. Among the many offerings are the Wisdom Figures of Preaching videos (featuring priests and deacons ordained at least 30 years) and various programs open to the public such as the Many Faces of Hospitality Evenings of Recollection and the annual University Parish Mission. The program also offers Advent and Lent daily reflections, graduate courses on Scripture and Hospitality and Pauline Preaching Clinics. 

Categories: Faith and Service