Fr. Lomax Christmas Message 2021

Is it only me who thinks how quickly Christmas seems to come about? No sooner have we lit that first purple candle on the Advent wreath, than Gaudete Sunday is here and Rose-coloured vestments are being worn and before we’ve written a Christmas card or thought about trees and decorations, Christmas is here!

Sadly, this year, like last, it’s certainly being affected by all things Pandemic and now alongside “Delta” we add “Omicron” to the list of variants to be concerned about.

Naturally enough one can’t help but wonder when it will all actually come to an end. For so many this Christmas must appear very much “Deja vu” indeed, as we get older and think about life in general, it’s all pretty much “Deja vu” as each Christmas is no different from those of past years and tinged with that feeling of having been here before. Sadly, as years progress the gifts become less exciting and any social gatherings, if we can remember what they used to be, are less appealing as the draw of the “quiet Christmas” becomes a viable option. And although the actual story of Christmas remains the same, each year, new challenges present themselves as we limp along the well-trodden, festive familiar route.

But through all the darkness, calamities and challenge of our present ever-changing world there is one who abides, a child born to us each year in a stable all forlorn. And although his birth was long ago foretold and his arrival eagerly awaited by many, nevertheless, when he finally arrived, like Christmas itself, the season of his namesake, he arrived quickly, leaving his parents Mary & Joseph with no place other than a stable to bear the Son of God.

And it is to that Bethlehem scene that we too must once again present ourselves spiritually. For although we know how the story will end, nevertheless the joy of its beginning sustains us on our own journey with the Lord. As the carol “O Little town of Bethlehem” reminds us: “Yet in the dark streets shineth the everlasting light; the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight”.

On behalf of the Catholic Police Guild of England & Wales, I wish you all a very Blessed Christmas and Peaceful New year.

Fr. Barry Lomax,

The National Chaplain

December 2021.