Its November but the shops insist it’s Christmas?

Not yet for us Christians, instead its a time for memories. We have All Saints and All Souls and Remembrance, and later the commemoration of great women saints like Elizabeth, Hilda and Margaret. “We are surrounded, “ writes Priscilla, probably the author of Hebrews, “by so great a cloud of witnesses!”. As the 12th Century French scholar Bernard remembered, “We are standing on the shoulders of giants”, celebrated in the stained glass of Chartres Cathedral and many others.

And then we enter that very strange period in November, called Sundays before Advent. Sort of becoming prepared to be prepared. It ends with Christ the King, also called “Stir up Sunday”, originally from the Book of Common Prayer “Stir up we beseech thee O Lord the wills of thy faithful people”,,,,, but these days its a time to stir up our Christmas Pudding mixture and pop in the silver pennies.

A hugely busy month then, but I like to approach it in the spirit of Ezekiel 47, where the prophet encountered a stream of grace running from the Temple Mount. First it covered just his ankles, then it grew deeper up to his knees, then his waist until he found himself swimming in the sea of grace, which gave life wherever it touched. So in November, we are blessed with more and more heavenly grace.

But first I need first to put my foot in the water, and knowing my propensity for execrable jokes, I need to be careful not to put it into my mouth instead!

Every blessing

Much Love Fr. Mike