Beautiful saints we have come to the end of our Advent waiting, and arrived at the promise of God made to every generation—Vero Cras “Truly I shall come”. The light that shines in the darkness and the darkness does not overcome it, is a promise we all need to hear particularly at a time like this. 2020 has been a very hard year in so many ways. Yet it has also been a year offering us new perspectives. Perhaps the invitation to a great re-set not only personally but also as a human family. So, as we enter this second wave of infections, let us remain vigilant and responsible yet without fear. Trusting in God’s unwavering commitment to what God has created, and particularly to our human condition. By entering the world as a vulnerable child, God embraces our vulnerability. By submitting to the complexity of family life, God embraces our complex family dynamics. By choosing to live and move among us, God seeks to encounter us in new and transformative ways. This is the great hope on which we build our relationship with God and one another. That God is present, active and committed to the world and all we encounter in it. Vero Cras “Truly I shall come”. This promise echoes through the ages and the appearance of the Star of Bethlehem on Monday after almost 1000 years, feels to me like a loving reminder from God that with Him all things are possible. Vero Cras…Come afresh and anew to us Lord Jesus. Enfold us in the light that you bring. Allow us to be transfigured and healed by the light that shines in our darkness. Be to us the Saviour we so deeply need. Fill us with hopeful expectation, a renewed trust in your love for us, and strengthen us with your life giving spirit.

As we enter this Christ Mass Season, we are offered a time of deep reflection on the choice God has made to “become flesh and dwell among us”. The mystery of the Incarnation and all that this implies invites us into fresh understandings of God at work in a broken and wounded world. May your Christ Mass Season be filled with unexpected and transformative encounters, and may you and your loved ones remain safely held in the hand of the One who made you, and died for you. Jesus the Christ has come. The hopes and fears of all this year are met in Him this season.

Wishing you and yours a blessed Christ Mass filled with light and love. Pray for me, I am praying for you.