Illuminate: A Guided Advent Journal for Prayer and Meditation

by Fr. John Nepil

“If we do not embrace the darkness,” writes Fr. John Nepil, “we cannot welcome the light. This is the heart of a season of trustful surrender, renewed receptivity, and silent vigil. It is the time when we wait for the coming of the light—not just in the Christ child at Christmas, but in the inner illumination of God’s presence in the soul. God, who is conceived in silence and born in poverty, comes again to fill the soul with light.”

In A Guided Advent Journal for Prayer and Meditation, Fr. John leads you on a four-week journey through darkness to light. Beginning with the prologue of St. John’s gospel, he reveals the profound hope found in the Word made flesh—the sacred mystery of the Incarnation.

Week 1: Word—“In the beginning was the Word…”
Encounter the eternal Word of God and learn to hear his voice speaking into your daily life.

Week 2: Light—“The light shines in the darkness…”
See how Christ’s light breaks through fear, doubt, and uncertainty, guiding you to embrace truth and hope.

Week 3: Faith—“He came as a witness to testify to the light…”
Like John the Baptist, become a bold and faithful witness to Christ’s love, bringing light to those around you.

Week 4: Life—“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
Celebrate the miracle of the Incarnation and experience the fullness of God’s love in your everyday life.

Conclude your Advent journey by welcoming Christmas morning with the powerful words of John’s gospel proclaimed at sunrise Mass.

Through daily meditations, reflection questions, prayer, and beautiful artwork, you’ll move beyond abstract ideas to discover practical, life-changing ways to recognize and share Christ’s light in your everyday life.

Perfect for personal reflection or group study, Illuminate includes free companion videos and a downloadable leader’s guide, found at avemariapress.com.

This Advent, step into the light—and let it lead you to deeper hope, faith, and joy.

144 pages, Paperback

Published September 5, 2025

Reviews

[Brandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Illuminate is a great guided meditation and journal book. While designed for small groups, I found it can also be a great resource when used individually. I loved the artwork as it seemed to perfectly capture the essence of light and the role the season ushers in regarding the true Light. It is a four-week journey through John 1: 1-14. Fr. John Nepil pulls from reflections from Norwegian readings to better examine the journey from darkness to Light. The pattern is the same each week, an idea, a meditation, reflection questions, and a closing prayer. There is an entry for each day of the week and space to journal your thoughts as you reflect on the questions or themes that move you, challenge you, or encourage you. In full disclosure, I did read this while it is not yet Advent, but I am glad I found it because it will be a resource I look forward to utilizing during an upcoming advent season.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and all opinions expressed are solely my own, freely given.

[Jenna McFall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was exactly what I needed this advent! While the beginning was hard to understand at some points as the book moved forward it was more and more easy to understand. I think he was really enthusiastic about the first week and went into something really deep that honestly could have been a whole book. Other than that it was incredible, the questions were just the right amount of deep and practical. The prayers were beautiful, I honestly want to use them in my daily life! I will be going back to this for a long time, advent didnt seem long enough to soak in everything!

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy.
I'm currently writing this one week from advent. Since it is just around the corner this is an excellent choice for the season of Advent. Fr. Nepil etches out a simple journey from darkness to light featuring a brief them, meditation, reflection questions and prayer.