Behold, a Virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name will be called Emmanuel
As we enter the second stage of Advent, it is quite common to hear or to read about people regretting the way in which Christmas seems to start earlier each year, and how the particular character of Advent, with its accent on expectant and hope-filled waiting, gets pushed further and further into the shadows. I even wrote words like that in the Chairman’s Letter for the December Oremus, but to my great surprise and joy, this doesn’t seem to have happened this year and we have maintained the ”holy hush” of Advent right up to this weekend. The Christmas trees are now in the Cathedral and will be blessed at the Carol service this Sunday afternoon, and the Crib will set up in St Joseph’s Chapel early next week, and remember that this year we shall have the new figures of the Magi, thanks to your generosity.
As in past years the Cathedral has hosted a variety of Christmas celebrations throughout the month, and those that stand out were the Sankta Lucia celebration organised by the Swedish church and community in London, the St Vincent de Paul School Nativity Play, the Catholic Children’s Society celebrations, the Westminster Cathedral Choir School carol service, and the very beautiful Christmas Celebration. I was also privileged to take part in the Passage Carol service held in St Margaret’s Church, Westminster Abbey. All of these, in different ways, lead us to prepare for the great mystery of Christ’s coming to us in human flesh.
Another common expression, associated with this time of year, talks about “getting in the Christmas spirit”. This, as we know very well, can have a variety of meanings, some of which have little or no connection with greeting the Christ Child. Surely “getting in the Christmas spirit” means preparing our hearts and minds to receive the Lord and to welcome him with the joy of Mary and Joseph, the wonder of the shepherds and the awe of the Magi: to make a Bethlehem in our hearts and in the hearts of our families and communities, and to keep it there. Anyone can keep the Christmas spirit for a day, but our prayer must be that, helped by the Holy Spirit, we shall hold Christ in our hearts throughout the coming year and that his presence with us will make us the loving, caring, praying people that he calls us to be.
May the Christ Child bless you all this Christmas and in the year ahead.
We continue to expand the range of product in our gift shop which relates to or echoes the art and architecture of the Cathedral. Recent such editions are glass roundels which replicate in glass images, typically mosaics which can be seen in the Cathedral. The image of Our Lady of Walsingham which adorns the side of the pulpit in the Cathedral is a good example of this.