Today we begin our Advent journey. Advent is an annual wake-up call (“Stay awake!”), inviting us to shake off our routine & weariness and reflect on the difference that faith/our relationship with Jesus makes in our lives. On this 1st Sunday we are invited to look forward to the time when Christ will come again in glory to fulfil all God’s promises and complete God’s plan of salvation which was first revealed when Jesus came into the world as a tiny baby over 2000 years ago.

The readings for this 1st Sunday of Advent all share the word “come”. We believe in a God who wants to come into our world, to be at the heart of our lives – a God who has already come to us and who will come again. But today’s readings remind us that we must also come to God – “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord” as the prophet Isaiah tells us; “Let us go to God’s house” as we hear in the psalm. The Gospel warns us that if we are not awake to God in our lives in the here and now then we will not be ready to welcome him when he comes in glory “at an hour we do not expect”. So Advent invites us to “come back to the Lord” and with his grace to change what needs changing in our lives. This means we need to come to listen to his word of hope in the Scriptures, to bring back to the centre of our lives Christ’s coming in the Eucharist, to make time before him every day for prayer in stillness & silence. To help you with this, we have prepared a booklet of reflections on the daily readings for every week of Advent for you to take home. I hope that this will help you to come closer to God.

When we come back to him, God can renew us and heal our broken relationships. As the Angel Gabriel said to Mary, “Nothing is impossible for God.” This is his promise, this is our hope – the hope that in God’s hands everything and everyone can be healed and made new. Come, Lord Jesus, come - fill us with your hope!

With blessings & prayers, Fr Richard, Fr Ephrem & the parish team.
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