On this Memorial Day weekend, we remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country! We pray for all from our parish who are serving and have served our country and especially for any who died in service. Their selfless example is one that should give us courage in our daily struggles. Here is a prayer we can pray for them: God of power and mercy, you destroy war and put down earthly pride. Banish violence from our midst and wipe away our tears, that we may all deserve to be called your sons and daughters. Keep in your mercy those men and women who have died in the cause of freedom and bring them safely into your kingdom of justice and peace. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
As a reminder, we are in the midst of this Jubilee Year of Hope. Hope is essential and something our world craves, needs. As Christians we are called to be a people of great hope. An important reflection for every one of us is, “How do I share hope in my life, through my faith? Would someone else describe me as a person of hope?” The Catechism defines hope in this way: Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. So ultimately our hope does rest in feeling a certain way, but living a certain way. By being a person who chooses to trust and rest in God’s presence and power in our lives. May we not miss the opportunity to call upon Him and rest in Him, yes, amidst the messiness of life.
I don’t know about you, but I have felt a great hope in our new Holy Father, Pope Leo, who is calling for unity by directing the whole world to Christ! In his Inauguration Mass homily, he preached: For our part, we want to be a small leaven of unity, communion, and fraternity within the world. We want to say to the world, with humility and joy: Look to Christ! Come closer to him! Welcome his word that enlightens and consoles! Listen to his offer of love and become his one family: in the one Christ, we are one… With the light and the strength of the Holy Spirit, let us build a Church founded on God’s love, a sign of unity, a missionary Church that opens its arms to the world, proclaims the word, allows itself to be made “restless” by history, and becomes a leaven of harmony for humanity. With love and truth, ultimately found in Christ, in our lives may we strive to be this conduit of deeper unity and peace for our world.
