Christmas is always a feast of Light, emphasising Christ is the Light born into the world and shining in the darkness. We see lot of lights in Christmas decorations as a symbol for that meaning.

Most of us would want to have an eventful day so that we may feel that our day has been productive for us. In the gospel for today, it is an eventful day for Mary and Joseph as they presented the infant Jesus at the temple.

Christmas is being celebrated in a range of different ways throughout the SVD Australia Province, but at the centre of it all is the birth of the Christ-child in Bethlehem.

Several parishes across the Province held Christmas carol gatherings, while in others parishioners donated Christmas hampers for those in need, and in poorer parts of the Province, basic food staples were given to parishioners to help them celebrate.

Advent is drawing to a close and as you receive this edition of In the Word in your inbox, the joy of Christmas is just days away.

This Christmas, as we struggle with the reality of significant conflict in our world, the impact of the loss of the Voice Referendum for our indigenous brothers and sisters, the cost-of-living crisis which affects us all, and general exhaustion after a long year, we look more than ever to the coming of the Prince of Peace at Christmas.

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.\

It’s now the start of another liturgical year. This year is Year B, meaning that most of the gospel readings for Sundays will come from the Gospel according to Mark and also a good number of Sundays will be coming from the Gospel according to John.

We are about to begin the season of Advent, a time of waiting and preparing for the coming of Jesus Christ, both in the manger at Bethlehem and his second coming at the end of time.

As we look around our world at the serious situations of conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine and various other places, we know that we are more in need than ever of the coming of the Prince of Peace at Christmas.

In this feast of the Magi, the Church celebrates the welcoming of the nations to the scene of that first holy night: Mary, Joseph, and the child Jesus.

Happy New Year! And, with the New Year we are blessed with three occasions for this day. First, we celebrate the Solemnity of Mary as Mother of God. Second, we also celebrate the Octave of Christmas and lastly, we celebrate the beginning of the New Year.

It’s difficult to say something about Christmas that has never been said before! Maybe, though, that’s not an issue, as at this special time of year, traditions are important.