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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
“Hope does not disappoint,” Pope Francis asserts, citing the words of Saint Paul. Twenty-five years since the Jubilee of 2000, Pope Francis declared a Jubilee Year of Hope for 2025. Why hope? Why not charity? Or faith? Or solidarity?
So many other worthy themes could have been chosen by the Holy Father for our focus this year. But he chose hope.
And what a timely choice it is. In recent years, hope often feels like it’s slipping away from us. We find ourselves becoming more cynical. Pessimism settles into our conversations. Despair enters hearts burdened by life’s challenges. And yet, hope remains one of the three theological virtues, along with faith and love. (They are referred to as theological because they relate directly to God [theos] and are given to us by God.) And among the theological virtues, hope is perhaps the least understood, yet maybe the most urgently needed.
We live in a world in which cynicism motivates so much of humanity’s actions and non-actions. It can be easier to criticize than to believe, to withdraw rather than to trust. But hope does not disappoint. As a people who hold on to faith in a God who is good, a God who makes promises, and a God who keeps promises, we are encouraged by Saint Paul – and Pope Francis – not to let hope slip away.
After 40 days of Lent, we now celebrate and rejoice in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Jesus promised that he would rise from the dead, and we stand at the empty tomb. He also promises eternal life to those who believe in Him (Cf. Jn 11:25-26) and that He will be with us always in our journey of life (cf. Mt 28:20). These promises are not only about what is to come—they can shape how we live now.
Let us hold fast to that hope.
Hope that Christ walks with us even when the road is hard.
Hope that God has indeed sent his Holy Spirit to strengthen and guide us, the Church, as we continue to plant seeds of God’s kingdom, of his reign of justice, love, and peace.
Hope that Jesus Christ’s redemption of the world will truly take root and bear the fruit of faith, hope, and love in our society.
Each year, I am privileged to travel around our diocese, celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation with a couple of thousand young people across our parishes and schools. They bring optimism, energy, and joy to the Church, and I see hope. When I visit with the elderly who have seen the ups and downs of life and still rejoice in their faith, I see hope. When I visit prisoners who are searching for a life of integrity and clutch dearly to their faith, I see hope. Even when people bear disappointing hardships and crushing disillusionment, I am continually moved by how often they hold on to hope, knowing that God does not abandon them in their trials.
Recently, I visited someone who was recovering from pneumonia. Each day, this person had to perform breathing exercises so that the infirmed lung would not collapse but grow strong again. I found myself thinking, hope is like that. We, too, need to exercise our spiritual lungs through faith and love to allow the Holy Spirit to breathe deep within us the gift of God’s hope.
So, this Easter Season, let us hold fast to hope in a God who is good, a God of promises, and a God who keeps his promises. For hope does not disappoint.
May the peace of the Risen Christ fill your hearts this Easter Season.
Most Rev. Oscar Cantú
Bishop of San José