Rejoice! Advent meditations with Joseph

by Mark Toups

Rejoice! Advent Meditations with Joseph is a prayer resource with daily meditations that will enrich your Advent by inviting you to experience the first Advent with Joseph and Mary, as they await the birth of their son, the Savior of the world.

This journal calls you daily to see through Joseph’s eyes, feel what is in Joseph’s heart, and read the Scripture that Joseph read, so you can fully prepare to welcome Jesus into your heart this Christmas. Each week, readers can enjoy supplemental videos featuring guided meditation with Fr. Toups himself.

Genres: Catholic, Nonfiction, Christian

135 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Eliana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really beautiful daily meditations that brought me closer to the holy family, especially Joseph. It uses a lot of Ignatius-style contemplative prayer by bringing you into the scenes of their journey as parents of Jesus, of God.
I decided to do all the medications for the Fourth Week of Advent, since they weren't labeled by day, and the last few meditations for the Fourth Week were not great. I could tell they copied-pasted the end prayers from earlier meditations for the week and it really felt like the author was just trying to drag out the birth of Christ as long as possible, though I still received some blessings from those meditations.
Overall, it's a beautiful book, and I would definitely recommend it to help you prepare for Advent, especially if you would like to grow closer to St. Joseph.

[Bannie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was a beautiful book. The prayers helped me pray more intentionally in this advent season. The prompts helped me think and I enjoyed opening my Bible and reading along with the passages from scripture.
The only thing that was hard for me was the “speculation” of what could have/would have been happening. We do not fully know what Joseph and Mary were thinking and word for word doing.

[Leslie Ladd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Never had I pondered an Advent through the eyes of St. Joseph. This perspective was enlightening, heart-warming, humbling. I had always wondered what kind of man it would take to enter into a relationship like this one with the Blessed Mother. This book takes you deep enough to see just what kind of holy man Joseph was and reveals the unique love and respect he must have had for Mary.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm glad I read (some of) this but all of the "imagine you are there" meditation prompts here are not my cup of tea. I kept asking, "How do you know Mary looked this or that way? How do you know Joseph was like this or that?" They seem like flights of fancy not rooted in Scripture or in Church tradition (that I know of). Maybe I"m just bad at Christian meditation. IDK.

[Denisele · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this devotional. It was thought provoking and really helped me to think about Joseph and the Christmas story in a new and deeper way. It was just the right length for each day and I liked the built in journal page each day. Would definitely recommend this to others and will look for other devotionals by this author and in this format for next lent/advent.

[Ramon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was also a journal. Although I did not journal as much as I should have I found the information relative, easy to understand, it brought me into a closer appreciation to Joseph. I will keep this as my regular advent reading.

[James Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

We used this book at my parish for our Advent mission, which was directed by a parish staff person. This is a good entry-level overview of Saint Joseph. While not particularly deep, it is definitely sufficient for its purpose. Recommended!

[Gilbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read this book in 2025. Highly recommend, the passages are thought provoking enough for prayer, and to see Saint Joseph with a different lens. Very insightful Advent book that ends with one reflection on Christmas.

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great daily meditation resource for Advent. Joseph is often misunderstood in the Christmas story and now I feel like I know him better.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Growing in anticipation of Christmas while journeying with Joseph during this year of Joseph is a glorious slowing down and contemplating just how strong znd holy Joseph is.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

We really enjoyed working through this devotional together this month.