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Over the past 10 years, you have watched our children grow up through their Best Lent Ever and Best Advent Ever appearances. Those of you who are ambassadors have been watching them grow up for even longer than that in our personal Christmas cards each year. You may have noticed that our youngest, Simon, doesn't speak in the videos. He comes on at the end with Harry and Walter and Isabel and Ralph, and they clap and cheer and giggle, and what a beautiful giggle it is.

Simon was diagnosed with autism and a fracture of speech when he was three years old. And the experts didn't know if he would ever speak. More than 3% of children in the United States have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. The prevalence is similar across all racial and ethnic populations, though boys are four times more likely to be diagnosed with autism than girls. On the 1st of January, Simon will celebrate his ninth birthday. For these nine years, he has been the source of unimaginable joy for our family. This year, as the other children were filming their parts for Best Advent Ever, Simon joined in with his siblings, and as you can see, had a lot of fun doing that. And so we are delighted to share a little bit of his contagious joy with you this Advent season.

Around the other way. That's right. That's the way. Yep. And then hold it up. Okay. And then go.

The speed of joy is beautiful.

Patient.

Holy.

Life-giving.

Natural.

Timeless.

Amazing. Bye now.

Hi, I'm Matthew Kelly, and welcome to Best Advent Ever. For over 10 years now, myself and the team here at Dynamic Catholic have had the honor of serving you each day during Advent. And we're honored to make this journey with your game this year. Our topic this year is slowing down to the speed of joy. I think back on some summers, I think back on some Advents, I think back on some Lents. And as they come to an end, I have, I think, a sadness that I sort of missed the summer, or I missed the Advent, or I missed out on the full experience of the Lent.

And I don't want us to have that experience this Advent. I don't want us to arrive at Christmas and feel that way. And so let's take a few minutes each day to sit down, to reflect. Slowing down to the speed of joy is a great struggle for me. It has been a great struggle for me since I first started considering the idea over seven years ago now. It's a great struggle for me as I spent years working on the book. And I believe it would probably be a great struggle for me every day of my life. And that's okay. Different people have different personalities, and we struggle with different things. And it may come much easier to you than it does to me, and I hope it does. But if it doesn't, step up to the struggle because it is worth it. I do think our culture is diametrically opposed to the speed of joy, just as our culture is diametrically opposed to God's plan for our life. And so we need to be mindful that we're not going to step into the world. We're not going to step out into a world that makes it easy to slow down to the speed of joy. It is going to be a challenge. It is going to be difficult.

And so each day, I'm going to give you a short reflection from the book and a quote from the book. And then we will reflect on that a little bit. Today's quote is from The Prologue. "We have lost our joy. Look around. People are manic and panicked, living lives that are harried and frenzied, with hearts that are anxious and overwhelmed. Why? To what end? The whole world is searching for its lost joy. We've just been going about it the wrong way. The speed at which you do anything can change the whole meaning of that experience. The speed at which you do something can also completely change how you experience that experience. We've lost our joy."

It's clear when we look around the world. It's clear sometimes when we look in the mirror. I think there's some phrases here that really strike me. Hearts that are anxious and overwhelmed. I know times when my heart is anxious. I know times when my heart is overwhelmed. And I think you do too. The whole world is searching for its lost joy, very often in the wrong ways. And then this idea that the speed at which you do anything can change the meaning of that experience. Obviously, it can completely change the experience, but it can also change the meaning of that experience.

This particular part of the book was inspired by these writings I found by a Carmelite nun from 400 years ago. It was written anonymously, so I don't know what her name was, but she talked about at the time, 400 years ago, that the whole world had lost its happiness, and the whole world was searching for its happiness in all the wrong places 400 years ago. I know how much that's changed in my life. I know how much that's changed in the world since 10 years ago or 20 years ago or 30 years ago. And depending on your age, you do as well.

And so it's time for us to make joy, the joy that God wants to give to us, a priority in our lives. It's time for us to chase the joy that God wants for us, rather than the fleeting pleasures and trivial happinesses that the world tries to lure us into. And when we do that, we have this eruption within our hearts. Joy erupts within us when we allow an experience to touch the very depths of our soul. That cannot be rushed. It's time to slow down to the speed of joy. When we allow an experience to touch the very depths of our soul-- when is the last time you allowed an experience, any experience, to touch the very depths of your soul? That's what slowing down the speed of joy is about. It's about learning to allow, not just any experience, but every experience to touch the very depths of our soul.

Have a great day. I'm excited for our journey through Advent together. If you haven't picked up the book yet, pick up the book, grab a copy of the Limited Edition Journal that goes with it to deepen your experience as we make this journey together. God bless you. Have a great day. And remember, Be Bold, Be Catholic.

Thank you, Ambassadors. You are changing the world. See you tomorrow. Have a great day.

Have a great day.

Have a great day.

Have a great day.

Have a great day.

Have a great day. Have a great day. 

Bye-bye.

Have a great day.

Have a great day.

Have a great day.

Come on.

Have a great day. 

Have a great day.

Bye-bye.

Simon, come sit.

I love you.

Have a great day. 

Have a great day.

Come sit.

Have a great day.

Have a great day. 

See you next time. Bye. Have a great day.

Do you need to reprioritize your Sabbath? I know I did. One obstacle to slowing down on Sundays that I've faced is prioritizing activity on Sunday instead of rest. I would often save all my chores and errands for Sunday with the intention of leaving Saturday open for whatever social plans may come up. But leaving Saturdays open made my rest time unintentional. Saturdays often felt aimless, and Sundays turned into a rush of activity that left little room for God. One habit that's helped me reclaim my Sabbath is intentionally planning my week. Instead of cramming everything into one day, I now spread out tasks in smaller chunks throughout the week. The shift came when I started asking myself not just how much can I get done, but what do I want to prioritize. Even something as simple as running one errand after work or doing a quick load of laundry during the week has really lifted the weight of my weekends. And what I found is that intentionality isn't about cramming more in. It's about choosing what matters most. It's amazing how this simple shift has helped me stop feeling the pressure to make up for lost time, and I'm able to approach the Sabbath with a freer mind and more open heart.

The fruit that I've seen in my life as a result is a greater recentering on God and greater focus. Intentionally planning my week in this way has helped me feel more prepared to tackle all of my to-dos, but also has made me more mindful of the ways that God is showing up for me throughout the week. Living more intentionally during the week has reminded me that my time is not just about efficiency, but about presence, being present to the people around me, and most importantly, to God. Practicing rest on Sundays has helped me bring God alongside me in everything that I do. In all honesty, this is not something that I get perfect every week, but I've come to realize that practicing rest is not about achieving perfection. It's more about learning to trust God with my time, and that starts by making God the priority of my Sundays. So let me ask you again, do you need to reprioritize your Sabbath? Because when you make a little more room for God, the fruits are amazing.