"Pilgrims of hope": preparation for the 2025 Jubilee begins"Luminous Christians are needed" with hope, Pope urges in NicosiaIt is said that on a silent night, four lighted candles were talking to each other. The first one said: "I am peace, but people cannot have me among them, so I will extinguish myself". So she did. The second one said: "I am faith, but in this world I am already like an accessory, I don't think I'm not going anymore", and it also went out. The third one complained: "I am love, but people do not know my importance, there is no point in keeping it burning". The fourth candle was still lit when a little boy entered the room. He felt sad to find his candles extinguished, he began to cry when he heard the fourth candle speak and said to him: "don't worry, nothing is lost if I am still lit, I am hope, use me to light the other three candles again".
Hope moves us to start again!
Neuroscience connects hope with joy in a directly proportional way. Believing that the best will come helps to face the day to day effectively. It maintains a cheerful attitude because it augurs well for the future. Dr. Rodrigo Ramos Zúñga has written a book entitled: "Neuroanatomy of Hope". In it he presents some scientific studies that clearly identify areas of the brain that are stimulated by psychoemotional processes such as hope and its relationship with the joy of living.
December is a month that calls us to joy, because in spite of everything, hope resurfaces when we realize that the positive change that Christ brings to each soul truly renews families and the whole of society. In the words of St. Josemaría: "Joy is a necessary consequence of our divine filiation, of knowing that we are loved with predilection by our Father God, who welcomes us, helps us and forgives us.
The Word of God calls us strongly: "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks to God in every situation, for this is his will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit, do not despise prophecy, put everything to the test, hold fast to what is good, avoid every kind of evil" (1 Thessalonians 5, 16-21).
My mother's example
In a very special way, I think my mother personifies this call. A few hours ago I went to pick her up at the airport as she came home to spend a few days with us. She has the gift of joy and knows how to carry it everywhere with her formidable 82 years of age.
I arrived at the airport for her, when I saw her I could feel the beating of her heart singing the joy of the reunion. Her gaze shines and her smile bursts out. Just seeing her is already infecting my heart... an endearing hug and the sweet word: "Welcome!"
Before we got to the car he had already enriched me with his hope-filled comments. She told me that she had a special encounter with a wise woman who was traveling on the same flight. As they went through the respective checks, they called my mom for an extra check of her small carry-on luggage. She was worried, looked nervous and heard the lady behind her say, "don't worry, everything will be fine". And so it was. They just checked and let her through right away.
They continued together to the boarding room and during the ride they talked; the pretty lady repeated this phrase two or three more times: "everything will be all right". My mom asked her why. "It is the greatest teaching that my grandmother left me," she said, "God is the father of love and always watches over us, we must have confidence. And he continued: "You lost your peace for a minute and we must avoid that, before any setback always say 'everything will be fine'".
When my mom finished the storytelling she said, "This left relief in my heart. I learned something new and I liked it. I told her so and thanked her".
At that moment I also felt hope. Joy is not a fictitious or naive posture, it is the fruit of the Holy Spirit! All must not be well for us to experience joy; it is compatible with adversity, even with pain. In a poetic and realistic way, St. Josemaría said that joy has its roots in the form of the cross. It implies accepting our reality with peace, with the certainty that God is there to make us better people, to guide our steps along the path of hope, knowing with certainty that he fulfills his promises.
This Advent, let us prepare our hearts and heed the invitation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Pope Francis in his bull: hope does not disappoint. In it he calls us to live a Jubilee year that rekindles hope. Let us be "birds of good omen" and share the good news, the good experiences, the good memories and the good desires and resolutions. There will be no better future if we do not talk about it and strive to build it together.
