It is Christmas Eve and today we celebrate the great Vigil of Christmas with many churches holding a church service or Midnight Mass tonight. Today is often a blizzard of last minute Christmas shopping, wrapping presnts and preparing as much as we can in advance. Tomorrow we spend the day with family and friends, please give a thought to your neighbours or anyone spending Christmas alone. Today try to take a few minutes in the midst of the business of preparation to pray.

The Dictionary has two definitions for the word Vigil:-

1. A period of keeping awake during the time usually spent asleep, especially to keep watch or pray.
2. (In the Christian Church) - The eve of a festival or holy day as an occasion of religious observance.

Vigils are intended as prayerful preparation for the coming important Religious Holiday and are only kept for major religious holidays and apostles, Christmas Day is a major Holiday, especially in New Zealand where it is double celebration as it is also the anniversary of the first time the gospel was preached in New Zealand.

That being stated, enjoy the Christmas Carols today and for the 12 days of Christmas, and remember in the crush of last minute shopping that it is a season of Goodwill and Peace. Tomorrow we celebrate Jesus Birth!

One more sleep till Christmas.