A year of hope

The end of a calendar year always leads us to reflect on the past year—on the joys and sorrows, on the successes and the failures. The holidays wrap up and we prepare to enter into a new year, whatever it might bring.

In listening to the recent words of Pope Francis, it seems that one of the most important things to focus on as we enter 2017 is hope. Whether we have had a hard year or not, the future and the trials that 2017 might hold are unknown to us. Just last month as we prepared for the birth of the Lord, hope was a theme that tied Francis’ addresses together.

“The Crib and the Tree are a message of hope and of love…Before the Crib let us allow ourselves to be attracted, with the spirit of children, because there we understand God’s goodness and contemplate His mercy...”

I wonder if all the struggles and pains of each year are always meant to end with this message of hope for the new year. We see the meekness of Christ, and the miserable conditions into which He was born. We can join our past and upcoming trials to His, and look to the future, to the new year, with hope. Just as Francis is telling us to, and just as baby Jesus shows us.

Earlier in the month, Francis spoke about never forgetting to smile, even when times are tough. This sign of hope, a smile, is something that he wanted to emphasize as the year drew to a close. “When we are in darkness and difficulty the smile doesn’t come, but there is the hope that teaches us to smile on that path to find God.”

As we enter the unknown territory of 2017, it’s fitting to prepare for whatever life throws our way. “Life is often a desert, it’s hard to walk in it, but if we entrust ourselves to God it can become beautiful and wide like a highway.”

This entrusting doesn’t require anything monumental on our end. It only requires a simple and very humble hope. “It’s enough to never lose hope, it’s enough to continue to believe, always, despite everything.”

It seems fitting to take on this attitude and virtue of hope as we bravely enter 2017. Francis seems to think this virtue is what the world needs. It’s up to each of us to embrace it and let it shine through us throughout the coming year.