The Journey of Hope
There was certainly plenty of reason to experience hope last weekend at the Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola here in Palm Beach Gardens as we celebrated the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion. Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon brought well over 2,000 people to the cathedral to celebrate these rites. The cathedral, as well as the side chapel, were filled with participants. During this Jubilee Year of Hope, it was encouraging to see such a gathering of men and women who wish to be part of the Church and are preparing to do so at the Easter Vigil in April. The smiling faces, the enthusiastic response, the reverence of the elect, the candidates, as well as of the sponsors and many pastors and catechists from the parishes present, personified hope during this Year of Hope.
It was obvious that, in accord with the theme for the Holy Year, Pilgrims of Hope, all those present were on a journey. God created us and placed us in this world to make a journey to Him. We come into this world as infants, and grow through all of the stages of life, as on a journey, until we are taken into the fullness of life with God. That journey that we take is meant to be a happy one, even though we may face many difficulties, disappointments, sufferings and setbacks in life. Nevertheless, despite these, God is with us, especially through His Incarnate Son, Jesus Christ, and walks with us along the way. God calls us on this journey in order that we might deepen our relationship with Him and know the fullness of joy which comes from that. During the season of Lent, we are on a particular journey of 40 days to reflect more deeply upon our journey of hope and to come to know ourselves and God in a deeper way.
We are not alone on this journey of life to God. He created us in His image and likeness and entered the world through a family. The Trinity truly is the perfect family, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, giving of themselves to each other for eternity in love. When God created man and woman, He created them to give themselves to each other in a permanent commitment of love, in marriage, which brings life into the world by imitation of God’s life in the Trinity. While we are created as individuals, we are created to live with each other and journey with each other on our way to God.
The Church is the focal point of our journey with each other. Through the Church, we come to know the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist and all of the sacraments which give us His abiding love. We are strengthened in faith through the Church and strengthen the faith of each member of the Church, enabling us to walk together as God’s family. We are not alone on the journey, and the journey is not meant to be taken alone. The more we grow in support of each other and faith through the Church, the more we become the very Body of Christ. This reality was very evident in the celebration of the Rite of Election and Call to Continual Conversion this past weekend.
The hope that encourages us during our journey is the hope of eternal life. The theme for the Pilgrim Year of Hope is from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans, “Hope does not disappoint” (5:5). Our hope for eternal life, as we journey through this life, is sure and certain. Eternal life will be given to us, as God’s promise, the more we live this life in union with Him and with each other. The fullness of life in heaven will be without the tears and sorrows that we encounter in this world. We do not now see the life of heaven, our hope, for it is not based on a dream that may or may not come true. If we live as God calls us, the hope of eternal life will come true and definitely not disappoint us, and will fulfill our very existence here now.
As all of us continue our journey in life, the season of Lent presents to us, through the Church, a graced moment to reflect more deeply the hope that we possess. On this past Sunday, we listened to the Gospel from St. Luke, in which Jesus was tempted by the devil to give up His hope by abandoning His mission to save us through the love of His Cross. The temptation that Jesus faced was very real and would come to Him again during His ministry and ultimately on the Cross. However, Christ would never give in to the false hope that the devil presented to Him because He knew the true hope of His divine nature and His relationship to the Father. During our 40 days of Lent, we enter more deeply into God’s life and cannot but be encouraged by the true hope it affords.
The celebration of the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion certainly gave much hope during this Year of Hope as we all are pilgrims together on our way to the fullness of life with God in heaven. May this season of Lent continue to deepen that journey through the life of the Church in which we support each other in our lives of faith. All prayerful wishes to those who will be joining us this Easter!
Most Reverend Gerald M. Barbarito
