In this Jubilee year, we are invited to be people of hope, indeed the Pope asked us to:

‘become singers of hope in a culture marked by much despair. By our actions, our words, the decisions we make each day, our patient efforts to sow seeds of beauty and kindness wherever we find ourselves, we want to sing of hope, so that its melody can touch the heartstrings of humanity and reawaken in every heart the joy and the courage to embrace life to the full.’

The seasons of Advent and Christmas are seasons of hope. Advent is a time of waiting for the coming of Jesus. In our waiting, we are called to nurture our sense of hope as we look forward to the coming of Jesus at Christmas but also each day in our lives and our encounters with others. We find in these words of Saint Louise a call to carry our hope with us as we love our brothers and sisters:

‘I hope from the goodness of God that, as He bestowed on us His grace in giving us the will to work only for His glory and the good of our sisters and our neighbours, He will not be offended by the way we act in this matter. He is too good, my dear Sister. Let us truly love each other in Him, but let us love Him in each other since we are His.’

We are especially called to take time during this busy part of the year for reflection and spiritual nourishment so that we can be carriers of hope. Let us pray for each other and for all those whom we encounter with these words of St Paul:

‘May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.’ (Rom 15:13)