Arrivals are one of those things that we get excited about. Big or small; a letter from a loved one, that parcel you have been waiting for, or the amazing longed for gift of birth of a child. Arrivals have always been important in our lives.

This Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent, the first day of the church’s year. So happy new year to you all. During this time we see things are a little different around us. Like during Lent, there are no flowers in the church, there is no Gloria at Sunday Mass, and the vestments are purple. Why is this? Advent is not Lent, though it resembles it in some ways. Some describe it as a “Little Lent”. We are not asked to sacrifice things as in Lent, but we are invited to slow down a little, even to press the pause button on life as much as we can, and to pay attention to one of the key moments of our salvation and the history of the universe – the birth of Our Lord and Saviour.

One of the great things about the church’s calendar are our festivals. Every year our festivals call into the present moment key events in the history of our salvation. This is more than recalling something; for example every time we celebrate the Mass together we literally bring into the present moment the moment when Jesus gave us his very self to help and sustain us. Each year Easter brings literally into the present moment the resurrection of Jesus and shows us, if we are faithful and do our best to stay close to him, that eternal life is our destiny too.

So what of Advent? Advent is a version of the Latin word Adventus which means coming or arrival. At the time of Jesus the Jewish people had waited centuries for the "adventus" of their promised Messiah. They had a sense from whom he would be descended, King David, and where he would be born, Bethlehem. In practical terms that was about it. They expected a political leader who would fix things on earth. And yet the prophets of the Old Testament, though the guidance of the Holy Spirit, somehow sensed that the Messiah would be so much more than a politician or a war leader. The Messiah would be the saviour of all nations who would destroy the very implements of war.

This must have been a difficult message for the Jewish nation. Their Messiah was not just their saviour but everyone’s, including you are me. This act of limitless generosity on the part of God must have been deeply upsetting for some and perhaps still is.

So what are you waiting for this Advent? Jesus has arrived in his church and lives among us. He gives us his very self in the Eucharist, and he comes to us each and every one of us through in word and the other sacraments too. But what about you? Are you ready for the "adventus", the arrival, of Jesus in your heart and soul? At the moment which will be your own end time on earth, are you ready to be stand confidence before him and to be with him forever? Day to day do others experience the the arrival of Jesus through us or do we block the way?

During Advent purple is worn; we are entering a mini Lent with God’s help let is take a step back from things around us perhaps we need a one word prayer, Maranatha (an Aramaic prayer probably familiar to Jesus himself) – “Come O Lord”.

As always, be assured of my daily prayers for your intentions.

God bless and keep you.

Fr Chris