This is a jubilee year in the Catholic Church with the theme of ‘Pilgrims of Hope.’
The theme is both beautiful and powerful. And it carries a heavy responsibility for us. To be pilgrims of hope we are called to do something.
The beauty of the theme, in my opinion, is in the word “hope” itself. Hope means to be forward looking to something beyond, to something better. It makes us feel that all is not lost or given to despair because there is hope. Hope gets us through to the next step and the next step and the step after that.
The power of that theme comes again in the word hope because if we have hope, we have power over darkness in our lives. There is power in the word pilgrim also. It means to forge ahead to something new. It means being a leader, and leadership can be powerful when practiced with responsibility.
The whole jubilee then calls on us to do something. And in this world today we need pilgrims, and we need hope. In our Church today we need pilgrims to take us forward, and we certainly need to have hope that the Church is not shrinking and doomed to disappear.
As I have reflected lately on this, I realized that there will be a lot of people who will think they cannot be pilgrims, and they cannot be hopeful. Sometimes the lofty goals of a yearlong celebration overwhelm us, and we might feel like there is no place for us, especially if we are limited in physical ability, financial resources or suffer from doubt and discouragement. But this theme, even though it seems like a daunting task to be a harbinger of hope, is really a good fit for everyone.
We can bring hope and be hope to others. And we can be pilgrims. Let me offer you some examples.
Prayer is hope. So, anyone can pray, especially for others. The Observer prayer calendar can help you find someone or some group to pray for.
Invite someone to Mass or an event at your parish. This can be your way of being a pilgrim for someone. Perhaps invite a friend or a neighbor to visit one of the pilgrimage parishes. Have coffee or lunch at a local non-chain restaurant and support small businesses.
Share in the hope being offered at St. Elizabeth Catholic Community Center. Call and ask about making a donation of food that would fit your budget and help so many.
Send a card or letter to someone who is ill or just lonely. Offer a ride to someone. Save your change and then give it to charity each month. Those small gestures can give hope to others and make hope a habit.
By now you should have received, or will receive, your Observer subscription renewal in the mail. Fill it out and send in your renewal. Or hop on your computer or phone and renew a subscription and buy one for a friend. The Observer offers information many of us didn’t know we needed. I’ve heard from some readers who found things going on in the diocese that they didn’t know about, and the stories about people helping others and involved in parish ministries, they said, made them proud to be Catholic. To me, that has hope written all over it. So spread the word and spread some hope with an Observer subscription.
Hope comes in many forms and can be offered to others in many ways. And each time you offer hope and offer kindness, you show others what it’s like to be a Catholic, what it’s like to be Christ to others. That is evangelization. That is hope.
