Talk story: This Advent, share the hope, share the joy

OFFICE FOR SOCIAL MINISTRY

“Our life becomes beautiful when we await for a dear one or someone important. May this Advent help us transform our hope into the certainty that He whom we await loves us and will never abandon us.” (Pope Francis, Nov. 27, 2021, Twitter post)

Since the beginning of his papacy, Pope Francis has shared the beautiful Advent message of hope — awaiting with joy. This year on Nov. 28, the first Sunday of Advent, he again emphasized the excitement of the season by asking all to share their joy and hope with others, especially those who are suffering during this COVID crisis.

During that first Angelus of Advent, Pope Francis also called us to “be vigilant” and to “reawaken the soul from sleep,” through intensive active prayer. He says prayer is the secret to vigilance. Even in the toughest of times, it can be a source of strength and light. During Advent, Catholics around the world light special candles for each of the four Sundays before Christmas. Just as Jesus was the Light of the World for us, Christians are called to let their light shine for others who may be experiencing darkness and isolation.

Pope Francis repeats his message of hope in his latest encyclical “Fratelli Tutti” where he invites everyone to renew hope in God, in themselves and in each other: “Hope speaks to us as a thirst, an aspiration, a longing for a life of fulfillment, a desire to achieve great things, things that will fill our heart and lift our spirit to lofty realities like truth, goodness and beauty, justice and love. … Hope is bold: it can look beyond personal securities and compensations which limit our horizon, and it can open us up to grand ideals that make life more beautiful and worthwhile. Let us continue, then, to advance along the paths of Hope.”

Franciscan friar Father Joe Nagle, a Pax Christi peace ambassador, recently suggested reading “Fratelli Tutti” as a way to reflect on the hope of the season, even during a pandemic: “Pope Francis calls for what we might call a ‘new Advent.’ It can well serve as a consoling, challenging and visionary meditation for us who struggle to find evidence of ‘the tender compassion of our God who will cause the dawn from on high to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death.’”

As we journey through this Advent season together, one suggestion is to read the “Fratelli Tutti Advent Reflections” produced by the Ignatian Solidarity Network, Education for Justice. This enlightening project offers short daily meditations to inspire Advent prayer by reflecting on the role of responding to vulnerable persons in need as a vital part of the hopeful Christmas infancy narrative. “Doubly poor are those women who endure situations of exclusion, mistreatment and violence, since they are frequently less able to defend their rights.”(“Fratelli Tutti” #23) During this Advent Season, we pray that the rights and the dignity of all women are respected and supported in every nation.

Pope Francis ended his first Advent Angelus prayer of 2021 by asking the audience to repeat the words, “Come, Lord Jesus,” three times in unison. By saying this simple, but powerful phrase throughout the Advent season, we are inviting the Light of the World into our lives to inspire a light in our hearts that will in turn shine as a beacon of light for others.

For more inspirational quotes, check out the “Fratelli Tutti Advent Reflections” at the following link: educationforjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Fratelli-Tutti-Advent-Reflections.pdf. Or visit the Office for Social Ministry website: www.officeforsocialministry.org for ways to spread the joy of hope this Advent by ministering with vulnerable brothers and sisters in need.

Also, in the Gospel spirit of active Advent awaiting, Pope Francis urges all to pray to the Madonna, the mother of Jesus, who “awaited the Lord with a vigilant heart” so that she may accompany us as we accompany others in need this Christmas season.

Mahalo,

Your friends at the Office for Social Ministry