Today we begin Advent. We often think of Advent as a time of waiting and the people of the Old Testament were waiting for a Messiah to come. We are waiting for the Messiah to come again and establish his kingdom in all its fullness. Can we do anything to hurry this up? It`s possible that God is waiting for us to change our ways and work with his grace to establish his Kingdom here and now. I don`t know this; I am not privy to God`s thoughts…. but I think waiting can be a form of prayer, in that we focus on God coming to us in his own good time. If we open ourselves to God, He will come and makes his home in us here and now.
At the moment we are waiting for a vaccine which will protect us from coronavirus. We may feel there is not much more we can do but wait, but we can choose to live, so as to keep one another safe. This means accepting the restrictions and privations imposed on us. Let`s try to do this in the spirit of Advent.
We are also waiting for Christmas. There will be a Christmas Mass time-table in next Sunday`s bulletin. Places at Mass will be limited and you will have to book to come. You are under no obligation to come, so you must do what you think is best for you. I wish you a holy Advent.