Speaking Programs
Rediscover the Holy in the Holidays
Maria Rodgers O’Rourke is the perfect speaker for your Advent gathering. Whether a day of reflection or church gathering, the prayer, presentation content, and discussion format are tailored to your group’s needs. Click on the links below to meet Maria! Some suggested topics:
Christmas Moments—the Hidden Joys of the Season
The Advent/Christmas season offers many opportunities to connect with those we love, but sometimes we’re too busy to notice. This talk explores the invitation to live in the present moment and emphasizes daily prayer as a source of grace and peace that will help us be present to those we love.
Laughing, Loving, Longing—the Gifts of Christmas
While the holiday season is a time of good cheer (laughing), adults know the bittersweet feelings of the season, as we remember loved ones from Christmases past and celebrate with friends and family today (loving). This reflection will focus on the adult experience of Advent and Christmas, and how we, like the children, long for our dreams to come true. That fullness will be found, not in material things, but in God’s love (longing).
Advent—Wait, Watch, and Wonder
Examines how the seeker is invited to wait (trust in God’s time), watch (be open to mystery and surprises) and wonder (praise the glory of God) during the Advent journey.
Gratitude & Grace—Living the Christmas Spirit
Explores the centrality of deep gratitude in our relationship with the Trinity, and how this deepening relationship helps believers to live in God’s grace more fully everyday—during Advent, Christmas and all through the year.
Celebrate a Great Christmas—Simply!
Reflections on the true meaning of the season, and the challenge/invitation to simplify our celebrations and expectations so we can enjoy the season with less stress. Some practical tips for simplifying things are included.
Mary—the First to Say “Yes!”
Reflecting on the blessed Mother and her “fiat” which changed the world. Mary is not only a saint, she is a woman, wife and mother who shares our joys and sorrows. Through her example, and in her friendship, we too can be women of faith and carry Christ into the world.
Advent—a New Year Begins
The Church places Advent at the top of each new liturgical year. This reflection explores the power and importance of the Advent season for believers, and touches on some similar themes to “Wait, Watch and Wonder.”
We are the Magi
Creative imagination is the basis of this presentation which explores the roles of the players in the Christmas story (Zachariah, Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, etc.). We’ll reflect on each and discover many ways we share common concerns, challenges and faith. Emphasis on the Magi and our commonalities as seekers, believers, dreamers and beloved children of God.
Prepare Your Heart and Home for a Great Christmas
Touches on themes found in “Celebrate a Great Christmas—Simply” and “Christmas Moments—the Hidden Joys of the Season.”
Maria Rodgers O’Rourke is a popular writer, facilitator and speaker who has given numerous workshops and retreats. She contributed her story, “Love and Potato Chips” to Chicken Soup for the Soul Devotional Stories for Women (2009). Author of Prepare Your Heart and Be a Great Mom (2009), and Prepare Your Heart for a Great Christmas (2008), she has been a contributing columnist to the St. Louis Post Dispatch and local radio show host. Maria has served the church on the national and local levels as executive director of the Conference for Pastoral Planning & Council Development, Communications Director for the Midwest Province of the Vincentian Priests and Brothers, and as an agency director in family life, lay spirituality and associate director of stewardship for the Archdiocese of St. Louis. Maria holds a Master’s Degree in Pastoral Studies. A long-time co-presenter at King’s House in Belleville, Illinois, in 1999 she provided color commentary on the Odyssey Network for the Papal Visit of Pope John Paul II to St. Louis. Married for over 15 years, Maria and her husband have two daughters.
