JUBILEE 2025
BECOMING PILGRIMS OF HOPE

By Brother Patrick

To hope is to pray for the future and dream about a better tomorrow. To hope is to trust in God’s closeness, compassion, and tenderness for us and for the whole world. To hope is to yearn for heaven, reach for heaven, and set our sights on heaven in all that we think, say, and do.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that hope is born at the core of our being. Hope is born in the human heart, which is blessed by God with an “aspiration to happiness (CCC 1818).” This happiness culminates in our longing for eternal life and peace (CCC 1817). Hope is not just about being cheerful. Hope is not just about having a positive attitude. It is about facing the future with confidence in God’s goodness, God’s mercy, and God’s plan for our lives and our eternal salvation.

Vaclav Havel (1936-2011) was a poet, playwright, and opponent of tyranny in all of its ugly forms. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Havel served as last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until 1992; and as first president of the Czech Republic from 1993 until 2003. He writes: “Hope is definitely not the same as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out (1986).” In this way, hope is less about our happiness and more about making the best of life as it exists, even during the darkest times.

During the Jubilee Year of Hope, Pope Francis calls us, all of us, to become Pilgrims of Hope. He beckons us to be hopeful, to be peacemakers, to be ‘weavers of goodness’ in an increasingly sick, suffering, and uncertain world. The Holy Father writes: “We must fan the flame of hope that has been given to us. We must help everyone gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, trusting heart, and prophetic vision. The jubilee can contribute abundantly to the restoration of an atmosphere of hope and trust, and to the rebirth and renewal that we all so urgently desire (2-11-22).” Here again, hope is less about happiness and more about working together to build a better world.

An era of dramatic change is underway in our country. Many will rejoice at the change. Many will resist it. Either way, we must realize that no one is save alone. We are all in this together. We are all children of God. We are all brothers and sisters. We are all obliged to love God, love each other, and welcome the stranger. We are all charged with caring for the poor, the sick and the left behind. We are all summoned, in the pope’s words, to be anchored in hope, to be voices of hope in our community, and to be agents of hope for all people in need.

In April 1945, just three days after the sudden death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a new president spoke to a Joint Session of Congress. Still engaged in a long and devastating world war, President Harry S. Truman spoke against darkness, despair, and defeatism. He spoke instead about hope. He called it the “secret weapon” against the forces of aggression and oppression around the world. He said: “As long as hope remains, the spirit of humanity will never be crushed.”

In our own time — racked, convulsed, and bedeviled by anger, hatred, and division — we may be tempted to lose our hope. We may be tempted to drop out. We may fear the consequences of preaching the Gospel by both word and witness. But we must beg God for the courage to persevere. We must ask God, again and again, with trust and without worry, for the grace to kindle the light of hope and to stoke that fire with our poor prayers and our humble good works.

One of the world’s most beloved Franciscan writers is Father Murray Bodo. He reminds us that to become pilgrims of hope, we must take a first step, then another, then another. Father Bodo writes: “Pilgrimage is a testing of the waters of eternity…There is always in the pilgrim’s way the way of the penitent. For as we embark upon a journey to God, we are immediately aware of how far we really are from him for whom we long, toward whom we are journeying.”

To hope is to trust. To hope is to carry on. To hope is to stay the course. To hope is to resist darkness and despair. To hope is to embrace light and love. To hope is to believe. And so we continue life’s journey as pilgrims of hope.

Glory to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Saint Francis of Assisi, pray for us! Saint Clare of Assisi, pray for us! Our Lady of the Angels, pray for us!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brother Patrick Garvey is co-founder and spiritual director of the Assisi Project. He is a graduate of the University of Southern Maine, Saint John Seminary, and the Catholic University of America. He is a writer, spiritual director, retreat leader, and university lecturer. He also serves as an Associate Minister in the Catholic Community of Gloucester & Rockport in Massachusetts. On October 3, 2023, the Feast of the Transitus of Saint Francis of Assisi, Brother Patrick was consecrated as a diocesan hermit by Bishop Mark O’Connell, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Boston. For more information about the Assisi Project and our ministries with adults of all ages and backgrounds, please contact Brother Patrick at brpatrick@assisiproject.com.

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ABOUT US

Founded in 2007, the Assisi Project is a Fellowship of Franciscans in Spirit with friends and followers throughout the world. We are dedicated to helping Christian believers of all ages more faithfully live the Gospel of Christ in the spirit of Saint Francis and Saint Clare of Assisi. The Assisi Project is a non-profit, tax exempt charitable organization. Please support our ministry via Pay Pal (see link below) or mail a tax-deductible donation to the Assisi Project, Post Office Box 3158, Gloucester, Massachusetts 01931-3158. The Assisi Project Podcast is produced by the Assisi Project, Inc. Copyright 2025. All rights reserved. May God bless you! May the Lord give you peace!

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