A few weeks ago, the Queen and I were delighted to make a state visit to the Vatican, where we prayed with Pope Leo in a historic moment of spiritual unity.
Together we celebrated the Jubilee theme Pilgrims of Hope.
Pilgrimage is a word less used today, but it is particular significance for our modern world, and especially at Christmas.
It is about journeying forward into the future, while also journeying back to remember the past and learn from its lessons.
We did this during the summer as we celebrated the eightieth anniversaries of VE and VJ Day.
The end of the Second World War is now remembered by fewer and fewer of us as the years pass, but the courage and sacrifice of our servicemen and women and the way communities came together in the face of such great challenge carry a timeless message for us all.
These are the values which have shaped our country and the Commonwealth.
As we hear of division, both at home, and abroad, they are the values of which we must never lose sight.
For instance, it is impossible not to be deeply moved by the ages of the fallen, as the gravestones in our war cemeteries remind us.
The young people who fought and helped save us from defeat in both World Wars were often only eighteen, nineteen, or twenty years of age.
