From the prophet Isaiah 40:10 “Here is the Lord coming with power”.
As we celebrate the weeks of Advent; we begin by lighting the first candle “the candle of hope”. Quickly followed by the “the candle of peace”. The prophet Isaiah proclaims “Here is the Lord coming with power….”. Yet when we gather to celebrate Christmas with the birth of the child Jesus, then the true focus of that power is love. The Christ child presents us with our greatest model of love.
As he matures from being a baby, He is like a Shepherd feeding His flock, gathering lambs in his arms. In our lives it highlights the love that is closest to His heart with a challenge, “as long as you do this to be least of my brethren, you do it to me”. We have to acknowledge with sorrow, that all too often we in the church are not seen to be like this.
The work that continues to take place at the heart of our parish are steps in this direction to become a living community. As we focus upon the parish council that will work to develop our parish communities for the future, the briefings that are given as we focus upon this with a parish council that works as part of the instrument, is a good work in progress. Our parish celebrations at this time are essential to creating an environment that allows us to strengthen our faith. The sacrament of reconciliation, Tue 13th Dec, the parish Christmas Carol Service, the Christmas Eve Nativity Mime and the celebration of our Masses will provide the nourishment that is essential.