We are coming to the end of our Jubilee Year of “Pilgrims of Hope”.
HOPE is such a reassuring word. It attracts. It leads us to light, even in the midst of the darkness of hopelessness.
HOPE is not a philosophy of life. It is not a motivational motto. It is a person: Jesus. At Christmas we celebrate the birth of all our hope.
The little baby of Bethlehem is HOPE personified. In a big world so full of mixed messages – comes the little child who carries the universal message of the Good News – that we are loved and forgiven by God! This is our hope in the darkness of the night.
Jesus gives hope and reassurance to Mary and St Joseph in their unexpected Bethlehem accommodation – a stable.
Jesus gives hope and courage to the Magi who make a long and dangerous pilgrimage to follow the bright star to Bethlehem.
Jesus gives the poor shepherds the hope and confidence to become the first Christian proclaimers.
Likewise, even today, we are surrounded by the darkness of homelessness and Domestic/Family violence, substance addiction, mental health and disability, and imprisonment, wars and the threats of global wars.
We pray too for the victims of the recent Bondi terrorist attack. We stand alongside our besieged Jewish communities.
Yet, even in these “dark places” the seeds of hope bud. There is light. There is Jesus.
May I thank sincerely so many in the Archdiocese and Military who work heroically so that these seeds of hope can flourish in so many practical ways.
Over this Christmas/New Year Season, let us never miss an opportunity (as St Mary of the Cross MacKillop would say) to bring this light of hope to those who struggle in the darkness of indifference.
My prayer is for you and your loved ones to be filled with Christmas HOPE and joy over these days of rest.
God bless you always.
Archbishop Christopher Prowse
Catholic Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn Apostolic Administrator, Military Ordinariate of Australia