Dear friends in Christ

We have just ended one liturgical year and begun a new one in our characteristic manner—with the Forty Hours’ Prayer. These last three days prepared us for the consideration of the coming of God’s Kingdom which is prefigured by the Blessed Eucharist. Advent which begins now, is the hope of our future glory. We await Christ in this life and in the next and during Advent this vigilant hope is heightened. The liturgy of these first days of Advent points us to the end of the world and the Second Coming of Christ. As we move through Advent, our thoughts are guided towards the coming of Christ in time—the Incarnation. We need to try to live Advent properly. The world may already be celebrating Christmas with the glitz and the parties. The Christian is meant to use this time as one of sober consideration of what happened when God came into our world; when He will come again; and as He comes to us today in various guises. Allow the Prophets of the Old Testament to guide us, so that our hearts do not become dissipated and distracted by the lure of material things. Allow St John the Baptist to speak to our hearts in tones of repentance and conversion. Allow our Blessed Lady—whose Immaculate Conception we shall celebrate on Friday—to open our hearts as she did, to receive the Word made flesh.

May God bless us, as we move through three short weeks of Advent, to the celebration of the Incarnation!

Msgr Kevin Hale