“Look, I am going to send my messenger before you; he will prepare your way.” This gospel passage reminds me of the road from Alice Springs to Santa Teresa, which is a remote Aboriginal community where I’m assigned at the moment.

The oldest liturgical cycles in our Church, dating back to the second century, are the Lent/Easter Cycle and the Advent Cycle.  The Advent cycle came at the end of the Roman Year and in its origin had nothing to do with the Birth of Christ. 

Here we are in Advent, the beginning of the new liturgical year, and oh boy, are we ready for a fresh start.

After a year which began with bushfires in Australia, then floods and of course the unexpected arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, people are weary and are looking to turn the page. Advent is the perfect season to slow down and re-set.

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John1:14)

God became human and lived among us. What a mind-blowing reality. As I come to the end of my six-year term as Provincial, I have been reflecting in this Advent season on how the missionary must be the incarnation for the people to whom we are sent. We must embody the reality of God-with-us.

How many of us whenever Christmas comes around, can’t wait to open up our gifts? Whenever somebody hands us a gift, we try to shake it, press on it to feel what could this be. If somebody gives us a long box we feel that it is a wine bottle. Sometimes, if it comes in a box, it must be chocolates.

Every Second Sunday of Advent, we are introduced to one of the most important persons associated with Advent, and he is St John the Baptist.

We are indeed blessed to have a season like Advent in which we spend time reflecting on the perennial hope of humanity for a saviour – for someone who will lead us along the right path to life and fulfilment.

As we head into the Advent season of preparation and reflection, Pope Francis’ recent trips to Thailand and Japan illustrate for us yet again, one of the key messages of his papacy – we must be a Church that goes out to the margins.

Both Japan and Thailand are countries with only a tiny percentage of Christians, but Pope Francis travelled all the way from Rome to encourage and support them, as well as to meet with the leaders and people of other faiths.

As we have moved into the second Sunday of Advent, we are invited to spend some time examining ourselves and preparing our hearts for the upcoming celebrations of our Saviour’s birth.

“Religious extremism is on the rise!”, “Massive earthquake in Indonesia!”, “Severe droughts in Australia!”, “Russia is on a warpath with Ukraine!”, whenever we hear these headlines, it brings chills down our spines, and with it we could be forgiven for thinking that the end of the world as we know it is coming.