St Martin Magazine - December 2023

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For Christians the high point of the Liturgical Year is Easter, but of course that great feast would not be possible if it had not been proceeded by Christmas. In December we celebrate the nativity, and our magazine cover has a lovely image of a baby to draw our attention to the fact that at the heart of this wonderful Season is the birth of a child. In his Editorial Fr Walsh reminds us that Jesus the Word of God made flesh, the second person of the Blessed Trinity becomes needy and dependent in his human form. The Christmas theme continues in our story on page 2, a haunting legend about an encounter in the manger. Did you know there was a real Santa Claus? He was Nicholas of Myra our Saint of the Month. In Echoes, Patricia Hope traces the ways in which Christmas has been celebrated through the years. Fr Kellan Scott OP asks us to consider Christmas as an adventure; both Advent and adventure derive from the Latin word adventus : a coming. ‘It Happened This Month’ recalls the Christmas Truce, a series of ceasefires along the Western Front in World War 1 during December 1914. Appropriately for this time of year the Holly is the subject of The Cloister Garden. In his article, ‘Behold the Face of God’ Fr John Harris OP illustrates how Christmas shows us that God does have a face, and that each one of us can seek him and know him face to face in an all-loving relationship. Don’t forget there is still time to order our traditional square St Martin Christmas Candle and avail of our Special Offer. Our 2024 St Martin Charity Calendar and Diary would also make lovely gifts.