In Touch: A Year of Hope

Sisters and brothers. In May of this year, Pope Francis announced a Jubilee year, a year in which we are called to celebrate hope. Hope that does not disappoint. Here, as we prepare for the Christmas celebration this week, we remember the hope of people from the time of Adam through the ancient Jews and Israel. That hope of redemption, that hope of salvation that came to us in Christ Jesus.

Hope is a virtue, we are told, in which we struggle to achieve those things that are difficult but possible. The redemption that we have come to is made possible for us by Christ.

in the incarnation.

The year of the Jubilee runs from December 24th, 2024, to January 6th, 2026.

It is a full year and an opportunity for us to reflect on the role of hope in our lives. One of those virtues, theological virtues implanted in us in Baptism, Faith, hope, and love infused in us in Baptism.

The line that the Pope uses for this year. Hope does not disappoint. It reminds us that we are called to hope for the goods that are difficult in our life, in our society, and even for eternal life, our ultimate hope.

Hope is a source of purpose and joy, the Holy Father tells us He says to us, this coming Jubilee will thus be a holy year, marked by the hope that does not fade. Our hope in God. May it help us to recover the confident trust that we require in the Church and in society, in our interpersonal relationships,

in international relationships, and in our task of promoting the dignity of all persons and respect for all of God's creations.

Sisters and brothers, as we prepare to celebrate this wonderful season of Christmas, let us also recall that we're entering into a year of hope and joy and doing so, let us indeed find new purpose this year.