Dear Friends,
The theme of this 2025 Jubilee year is “Pilgrims of hope.” Our hope is in the salvation of Jesus Christ, who became Incarnate and made his dwelling among us. Our hope is in his promise that “I will be with you, even until the end of the age” (Mt. 28:20). But I must admit that sometimes my own “hopes” can rise up in my heart, and only in prayer and discernment am I able to align them again with true theological hope. The reflection from this month’s Magnificat resonated with me:
“On the practical plane, do not rush your decisions, lest you spoil God’s plan by substituting your own way of looking at things for his. If, on any particular point, circumstances indicate a change which would seem to be advisable and is feasible, act on it; but if for various reasons you are unable to carry it out, even though it appears to you to be desirable, then submit to the divine plan… Wait for God’s hour. God’s patience is more than we shall ever understand. He could break the resistance of evil doers, and make all evil cease in an instant, but he does not. Adjust, then, your pace to his” (Feb. 6, Dom Agustin Guillerand, O. Cart.).
It reminds me of the parable of the weeds and the wheat, where the master has sown good seed in his fields, but an enemy has come in the night and sown weeds. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest’” (Mt. 13:29-30).
Perhaps this Jubilee year is an opportunity to exercise this practical acceptance of reality as it is—with the firm hope that waits on the Lord with trust.
Yours in the heart of Christ,
Glory
