“Christians,” said Pope Benedict XVI, “must learn anew in what their hope truly consists, what they have to offer to the world and what they cannot offer.” Our hope cannot consist in scientific achievement or political victory. Our hope cannot consist in mastering nature or arranging peacefully all human affairs. Christian hope is about something more.
The late Italian theologian and philosopher Msgr. Luigi Giussani said, “Hope is none other than the expanding of the certainty of faith regarding the future.” Advent is the privileged time for that expansion of faith, for feeding and nourishing faith to allow it to lead beyond, into the future.
Advent is the great season of expectation. Because Advent is a special season of preparation, it is the season, par excellence, of hope. Hope, teaches St. Thomas Aquinas, is the virtue that allows a person to pursue a future good in the face of great difficulty. By hope, we are empowered to seek and live for the things of heaven, though they are not yet present in their fullness. Thus the Catechism of the Catholic Church says, “The virtue of hope responds to the aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the heart of every man; it takes up the hopes that inspire men’s activities and purifies them so as to order them to the Kingdom of heaven; it keeps man from discouragement; it sustains him during times of abandonment; it opens up his heart in expectation of eternal beatitude” (No. 1818).
But a journey of hope should not be taken alone. And so we at OSV have prepared an Advent program for Christians to journey together in hope. My Daily Visitor will help you to find time for God each day with quick and easy Scripture-focused reflections, prayers and achievable actions to prepare for the coming of Christ. This simple model — reflect / pray / live — is accessible, impactful and revitalizing.
Sign up today to begin receiving a free daily email on Nov. 27, the First Sunday of Advent. Consider purchasing the My Daily Visitor devotional — a compact and portable companion — to help you throughout Advent.
“Hope is never still,” said Pope Francis, “hope is always journeying, and it makes us journey.” This Advent, journey to Bethlehem in hope. Be nourished by the Scriptures, stories of the saints, Catholic tradition and wisdom and be renewed. “This hope, which the Child of Bethlehem gives us, offers a destination, a sure, ongoing goal, salvation of mankind, blessedness to those who trust in a merciful God.”
Father Patrick Briscoe, OP, is editor of Our Sunday Visitor. Follow him on Twitter @PatrickMaryOP.
