Sunday, the Fourth Sunday of Advent, this year is rapidly followed by Christmas. There is hardly any time for the last candle on our Advent wreath to get going! Maybe that is how it will be at the end of time; Jesus time and again tells us to be always ready to meet him. We encounter our Blessed Lord directly in the Sacraments, particularly in the Eucharist, but how ready are we to encounter him face to face as we all will. During Advent we say and sing "maranatha", come Lord Jesus but are we ready ready for that meeting? I suspect that none of us are ever truly ready but Jesus comes to us in love, mercy, and compassion despite our weaknesses. At Christmas he comes to us not as a king in glory but as a baby. Everybody loves a baby, we are instinctively drawn to babies, we like to hold them and make them smile. So do not be afraid, embrace the infant Jesus in your heart and soul. He longs to be close to you, to embrace you too.

Be assured of my prayers for you all over the Christmas period and always.

Fr Christopher