Hope in him, hold firm and take heart. Hope in the Lord!
Hope in him, hold firm and take heart. Hope in the Lord!
A sign of hope in St Mary’s RC High School, Herefordshire
Advent is a season of hope – a time when we live in the contradiction of ‘already’ and ‘not yet’. Christ has already come to dwell among us as a baby in a manger, experiencing the messiness of our world. But he will also come again to redeem the whole of Creation.
Pope Leo XIV tells us, “We proclaim a hope rooted in the One who came down from heaven to ‘create a new story here below.’ For this reason, those who believe are committed to ensuring that a greater justice will take the place of inequality, and that the industry of war will be replaced by the craft of peace.” (Magnifica Humanitas #240)
Our hope strengthens us and enables us to be there for one another. It leads us to take action, to have courage and to face each day anew. It causes us to walk alongside our brothers and sisters experiencing poverty and injustice and to work together to build a better future.
That Christ knows what it is to be human is deeply reassuring, especially in those times when hope can be hard to sustain. No matter how hard life is, no matter how much we despair at the state of the world around us, we are not going through this alone. For in the words of today’s psalm, “The Lord is our light and our help.”
Lord, our light and our help,
grant that our hope in you
may inspire us to live differently,
to be there for one another,
so that peace and justice may reign.
Amen.
Read on to discover how we are supporting women and girls around the world to live lives free from violence and fear and to overcome inequality.
