Advent (Hope): On the Horizon

“For the great human family, it is necessary to renew always the common horizon toward which we are journeying.  The horizon of hope!  This is the horizon that makes a good journey.”

~ Pope Francis, Dec. 1, 2013

 We have just emerged from a period of Thanksgiving, when we have focused our awareness on all of the myriad blessings in our lives.  Yet it can be easy to look out at the world and begin to despair – war rages on around the globe, the natural environment is in crisis, hunger is pervasive, attitudes are becoming increasingly polarized…  It is precisely because there are such urgent challenges facing us that it is essential that we take the time and energy to focus continually on renewing hope.

There is hope in remembering that all seven billion of us are on this life journey together.  There is hope in knowing that, even in the midst of numerous critical challenges, there is goodness everywhere we look.  Everyone wants to believe that we are journeying toward something better, and Pope Francis’ words above remind us that, if we come together, we have the ability to achieve it.  The human capacity for resilience is immense – we can withstand adversity, we can overcome opposition, and, when united, we can conquer the obstacles that stand in the way of achieving the grandest of goals; peace and justice being foremost among those.

When, as a human community, we believe that things can be better than they are, and when we put forth our collective efforts to make them so, we are bolstered by hope.  The seas may still be far from calm, but if we see hope on the horizon it makes the sailing smoother.  And that makes for a good journey, indeed.

~ Christiana 

 

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