Tomorrow Advent begins, one of my favourite times of the liturgical year - there is something about short days and long, dark nights, damp dankness and the warming glow of lights on windows that always reaches my soul. 

The hint of a promise of snow (oh how I love snow, being born into a world of snow in the 1962/63 winter) and the reality of rain; the shops with ridiculous offers and deals aimed to lure customers inside to overspend on goods they neither need or desire; the delicious smells wafting from restaurant doors and the arrival of red paper cups in certain coffee shops we shall not name.  The delightfully gaudy street decorations and the excited shine in the eyes of children; the choirs rehearsing carols and children practising their lines for the latest variant on an old, familiar tale...

And amidst it all, the strangeness that is Advent - eschatology and incarnation all muddled up, penitence and celebration side by side... never quite sure what we are meant to contemplate but knowing that we should reflect on something.

Advent Sunday tomorrow

Advent calendars and challenges begin on Tuesday

As we pause on the brink of Advent, I wish all my readers the blessing of wonder and love as we journey onwards together.