December 13 – HOPE-- Isaiah 40:31

Light one candle for Hope, One small candle for Hope.

Christ gives Hope to everyone, He comes, He comes.

This is one of the verses of a little song that is often sung by children as the Advent Candles are lit.   Each week a new verse and then on Christmas Eve the Christ candle is lit. Yet, we know that some in our world live without Hope.  They live in despair, which is the opposite of Hope.  We ourselves can often slip into despair especially when life’s situations confront us. Hope is also described as Trust: The willingness to rely on the actions of another.

When I first started this reflection I worried that with the way the world is today with so many people living within war, poverty, and abuse, that I wouldn’t be able to find Hope. 

But I went to trusty old Google and typed in “Hope, Biblical”.   Here is where we find our hope.

Throughout both the Old and New Testaments we find literally hundreds of assurances from God that in God and through God we will indeed find our Hope. After reading numerous quotes fro the Bible, both Old Testament and New Testament, I have come to realize that Hope is not our wishes but is a gift from God. It is a gift purchased by the life of Jesus Christ.

Hope in God through Jesus Christ is a trust that all will happen as it should.   God gives us hope that through Jesus Christ we shall find our hope. 

It is our faith in God, our trust in the words of Christ, his dying on the Cross and his resurrection that gives us hope.

 – Sr Louise, SSJD