My dear friends
16th November was not the feast of Christ the King; it was 22nd, as I am sure you all knew. My apologies if you were misled. I can say with certainty that Sunday 29th November is Advent Sunday, the beginning of the church’s year, for it always follows Christ the King. We hope and pray that this will be a far better year than the present one which is ending. None of us knew how dreadful this year would be when it began with hope. Let us begin this new year with hope as vaccines are emerging to help us conquer this evil virus. We need to pray for the souls of those who have died during this past few months. There may be a number of memorial services for those whom we have remembered inadequately because of the restriction on numbers at funerals.
Advent is not merely a time of preparation, a countdown to Christmas, a parallel to Lent and Easter. It is a penitential season and so the liturgical colour is purple. We must be aware that during Advent we pray for the second coming of Christ in glory. This is advised in the well-known hymn by Bishop Ken,
“Live this day as if t’were thy last.” (New English Hymnal 232 v.2)
It is a common phrase to say “don’t worry; it’s not the end of the world.”
As Christians we should rather say “Rejoice! It is the end of the world.”
With my love, Fr David