Oxford student Jonathan Garner shares his thoughts on Advent and the Eucharist 

I have often wondered what Holy Communion is and what I’m supposed to be thinking when I go up there to receive it. No more is this the case than in Advent, a time of looking forward. But looking forward to what exactly? I have sat through plenty of sermons that have centred on the coming of Christ during the period of Advent, but I’m struck by the force required to put the focus on the resurrection and not, dare I say, merely the incarnation. 

Taking communion during this time of anticipation has an impact on the posture and outlook with which one receives. I have noticed that the essence of this feeling is shared by a number of people I have spoken to recently, both layman and theologian alike. 

Living in a city like Oxford means there are far too many churches to choose from. I have somehow left my Pentecostal upbringing and moved to a High-Church Anglo-Catholic joint, for reasons that have less to do with theology and more to do with… (Register to read the rest of the article)