Dear Friends,

Sunday 2nd December is Advent Sunday, and the beginning of the holy season of Advent which is given to us by Christ through His Church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, as a time of self examination and preparation for the annual celebration of the Nativity or Birth of Christ Jesus into the world. The Coming of God into His world as a human baby, born of a virgin mother, was to teach by word and example the true meaning and purpose of human life.

On the 10th November, the Daily Telegraph reported that one Dr. Muhammad Abdul Bari, the leader of what is called The Muslim Council of Britain, said 'Britain has a lot to learn from Muslims.'

One can understand the concern of Dr. Bari, for many in Britain, which at one time led the world as a civilized, law abiding, moral and caring society, have turned their backs upon the principles that enables one to seek and accomplish the high ideals of true humanity, and are becoming more and more irreligious, immoral, and selfish.

It is not so much that Britain needs to learn from Muslims, but that Britons need to return to the teachings of Christ which change the lives of people from the ugliest into the most beautiful and holy, into living images of God their Creator, the truth and power of which many of our leaders, in both church and state, seem to have forgotten or deliberately turned against. Many people from around the world came to study, live and work in Britain, because they had experienced, or heard of, some of these Christian liberties and Christ's forgiving love in the former British Empire. Many of these folk, though not all, thank God, have become disillusioned, and are seeking to find man made answers.

Once again we need to return to and follow the Ten Commandments given by the Creator Almighty God to Moses as recorded in the Old Testament of the Holy Bible, and clearly and simply expounded in the New Testament by Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Himself who is the Eternal, unchangeable Word of God. He said: 'Love the Lord your God, with all your being, and love you neighbour as yourself. Do this and you will fulfil the Ten Commandments.'

But He also promised that, since as people prone to sin it is not always easy for us to do this, if we turn to Him especially in prayer, repentance and Holy Communion, He would give us the strength we need.

With the coming of the Word of God, whom we call God the Son, born of the Virgin Mary, through the power of God the Holy Spirit, human beings were able to understand for the first time what God means when He speaks about love. God's Being is Love, and all true love is of God. Because God is love He gave mankind, made in His image the gift of free will, which is the ability of choose to love God and all His works, or to hate Him and disobey His Commandments with the resulting consequences.

Until Almighty God revealed Himself in Jesus as the One God in Three Persons, God the Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, no one understood or could understand the true meaning of Love, its forgiving nature, and its necessary demand for true justice.

Christmass is the time in which we celebrate this wonderful event, and at the centre of it must be our attendance at, and participation in, the act of remembrance which Christ Himself commanded to be done in remembrance of Him. In this Mass of Christ (Christ-mass) we remember who His is and why we are celebrating His birth into our world.. This is so profound a truth and with such consequences that any honest person who is seeking to understand the true meaning of life and who Jesus Christ is and His amazing effect upon the world and the history of mankind, would want to think upon it, and truly prepare for it.

Advent is the Season for this preparation, and there are many glorious hymns that are sung at this time to heighten and encourage the experience. Advent also calls upon us to look forward to Christ's awesome Second Coming to close off the age and destroy for ever the Anti-Christ.

Our Lord Himself tells us not to listen to those who think they know or can tell the day and the hour of the Second Coming, or even deny that He ever existed. They are not to be trusted for only God the Father knows the time, and He has revealed the truth to those who have eyes to see and ears to hear and hearts to respond. However, He tells us to look out for the Anti - Christ, which will be part of the signs of the end.

We see around us the work of fallen humanity especially in the destruction of life, the environment and the resulting climate change; we witness the increase of false religion, and the attack on the truths and the doctrines of Christ as received and taught by His Holy Church; we see the attack on family life, abortion on demand, the abuse of sex, and the encouragement of same sex relationships, which is contrary to the natural order and the design of the Creator, all the result of the fall of man, and we can easily become depressed and even question why does He allows it; but let us not lose heart. Turn to Christ, remembering that we too are sinners saved by His grace and seek His help on how to share, in humility, with others the knowledge of His forgiving love and our need to repent. He will not let us down.

Sadly so many people take their religion, or lack of it, and the freedoms based on the Christian revelation, for granted. As has been said before, there is a real need for a revival of the whole Christian Faith as Christ's Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church has received, taught and practised the same from the beginning of the Christian Era and down the centuries.

Belief in Christ and the practise of true Christianity brings the knowledge and assurance that men and women are equal but complementary in their different functions and gives us perfect freedom, freedom from enslavement to sin and the fear and finality of death, freedom to become ourselves as God our Creator intended us to be, freedom to overcome the temptations of the fallen and distorted human nature which we have inherited from Adam's first disobedience to the loving Will of God, the freedom which Jesus Christ died upon the Cross and rose again to give to all mankind and has made available to everyone who is prepared to accept Him and repent of the sins they have committed.

God wants everyone to follow Christ, and be free to live forever with Him in heaven.

Invite your family and friends, and even the stranger, to come with you to a traditional act of worship at Christmass and the Lord shall bless you and them.

Dr. Bari is right to be concerned, but there is a better way than the one he suggests. There is the Way of Christ for He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. His is the Way of true Love and perfect Freedom, His is the Way to God.

Use Advent to prepare for Christmass.

Thanks to those who are responding to my appeal for our 'Training for Ministry Fund'. We need to be able to give the best of training to those men who respond to the call of God to preach the Gospel and administer the Sacraments.

My wife and family join me in wishing you all a holy Advent and a Merry Christmass.

Your Priest and Friend, Fr. Brian