The Christmas story is God's way of telling us that we are loved radically and unconditionally by him, and this is how we are to be defined as people, the people of God, the people who belong to God, the people of God. Such love by its very nature is intimate, revealed in the birth of a child who was born in a stable and laid in a manger, whilst at the same time sharing our flesh and blood. Why do we find this so difficult to believe? Perhaps, it is because that, deep down, we see ourselves as being unattractive and undesirable. Yet time and time again, throughout the Gospels, we discover a God who, through His Son, seeks out the rejected, despised, unwanted and unloved and assures them of one thing, God's unconditional love. This book invites the reader, therefore, to simply spend time with the word of God during the seasons of Advent and Christmas. In this way, a treasure might well be discovered that God is, in fact, closer to us than we could ever imagine and loves us more than we could ever know. In his writings Deacon Sean has sought to help spread the Gospel to the world at large, encouraging the reader to not only read about the faith but to go out, and live it as well, through practical language, and simple faith. Father Andrew Franklin Parish Priest Our Lady of the Wayside